JEROME PREVOST Champagne La Closerie Les Beguines (LC14) NV Bottle

Description

The Jérôme Prévost La Closerie Les Béguines LC14 is a masterpiece of grower Champagne and a profound expression of Pinot Meunier. Sourced from the unique sandy-calcareous soils of the Les Béguines vineyard in Gueux, this highly sought-after cuvée (based on the 2014 vintage) is fermented in oak barrels using indigenous yeasts, resulting in a deeply vinous and characterful wine.

In the glass, it pours a rich golden hue, immediately offering a complex bouquet of bruised red apple, dried apricot, and wild red berries, beautifully interwoven with striking notes of ginger, baking spice, and a subtle, intentional oxidation. On the palate, it is incredibly textured and powerful, balancing savory depth with a laser-like acid spine and a pulsating, chalky minerality. A monumental, food-friendly Champagne.

THE WINE ADVOCATE 94 - Drink Date: 2019 - 2030 - William Kelley, 30th Aug 2019
"Wafting from the glass with a complex bouquet that marries notes of crisp yellow orchard fruit, warm bread and red apples with nuances of dried white flowers, licorice and sotolon, Prévost's NV Extra Brut Les Béguines LC 14 is medium to full-bodied, tangy and incisive, with chalky extract, crisp fruit tones and a saline finish. This was the year Champagne was plagued by the Suzuki fruit fly, Prévost reminds me, and perhaps that lends this comparatively open, expressive young Les Béguines an added high-toned edge.

Jérôme Prévost farms just over two hectares of old-vine Pinot Meunier in the village of Gueux, where the soils are a millefeuille of calcareous sands and clays. Working with a variety that's often sneered at, in a village few had heard of and with terroirs that are far removed from the clay-chalk stereotype that dominates discussion of Champagne, Prévost's tiny estate named La Closèrie nonetheless produces some of the most sought-after wines in Champagne."