Champagne Gounel Lassalle Single Plot Study (3-pack)

Spanning over 150 years and four generations, the Gounel-Lassalle journey is a compelling story of patience, conviction, and devotion to the land. The family put down roots in Chigny-les-Roses by the 1950s, when Arnaud's grandmother Hélène joined the local cooperative, and in 1972 his father Pierre assumed stewardship, gradually expanding the domaine's vineyard footprint. When Arnaud stepped in during 2002, he inherited both a heritage of craftsmanship and a calling to let the family's wines express their true identity – a vision realized in 2018, when Gounel-Lassalle completed its first harvest as a Récoltant-Manipulant. These three cuvées are that philosophy distilled to its essence.

This set is built around a simple, revealing idea… to hold everything constant except the ground the vines grow in and the grape type. All three are Chigny-les-Roses Premier Cru Champagne, all three spent 44 months on the lees, and all three are Brut Nature with zero dosage – no added sugar to round any edges or blur the picture. What you're left with is the pure voice of each plot that you can choose to pour back-to-back or spread out over time at your leisure.

Let’s start with the two Meuniers. Les Agneaux (96 points) is a small 0.27-hectare parcel planted in 1987, sitting up on the village's higher ground – its name nods to the sheep once penned on the slope – with an east-west exposure and soil the family describes as beautifully balanced in nutrients. It’s that upper-slope clay and compact chalk which gives the wine its finesse and tension. Then we have Les Noues (95 points), which is considered the emotional heart of the estate. With plantings dating to 1968, it's the oldest parcel Gounel-Lassalle works, its curious name drawn from an Old French word for a marshy meadow. Same grape, same village, same cellar treatment – yet older vines and different ground give it its own distinct personality.

Then the wildcard – Les Ruelles (94 points), a 0.2-hectare Chardonnay parcel that has always belonged to the family. It was farmed by Arnaud's own great-grandparents, planted on mature vines with a north-south exposure that sets it apart from its Meunier siblings. Running through the center of Chigny-les-Roses, its clay-rich soil lends the wine a round plumpness in the mouth, while the chalk beneath brings a mineral tension and cut. Tasting this lone Chardonnay against the two Meuniers is a real lesson in what grape and ground each bring to the same storied corner of Champagne.

Together, the trio tells three distinctly delicious and fascinating stories. Les Agneaux offers spiced apple and quince compote over a textural palate of vanilla, crème brûlée, and salted caramel; Les Noues opens with a mentholated lift of mint and eucalyptus before blossoming into quince, marzipan, and tangerine on a smooth, richly saline palate; and Les Ruelles brings anise, menthol, and crisp, rocky minerality alongside white peach and fresh almond, round and generous yet beautifully fresh. Assembled individually, these would run about $300 – but today they’re yours for UNDER $220. With only 77 packs available, you’ll be wise – and long-pleased – to scoop one up!