Cramant is one of the six Grand Cru villages of the Côte des Blancs, and home to this unbelievable Champagne house that boasts a history dating back to the 15th century! Sommeliers and wine shop owners the world over often tout the virtues of this producer for good reason – they have an ironclad reputation for crafting impeccable wines. This exemplary cuvée, Fleur de Passion or “Flower of Passion,” is one of my top picks for prestige cuvées in all of Champagne at any price. Now, it’s your turn to try it at one of the best you’ll ever see in the USA!

Many of you diehard Champagne fans will definitely know Champagne Diebolt-Vallois. The Diebolt family has been in the Côte des Blancs area since the late 19th century, while the Vallois family has been even longer – working as grape growers since the 1400s! This esteemed house definitely knows what it’s doing, and a single sip is all it takes to assure you of their well-earned reputation. Jacques Diebolt ushered the estate into its modern era and in 1978, when innovative and extensive changes were made to both the cellar and the winery that changed Champagne Diebolt-Vallois for the better. Over the five decades since, the house style and fine-tuning of practices has only amplified their reach… making their top cuvées nearly impossible to acquire here in the USA!

Fleur de Passion – and what a wonderful name for the wine – is DV’s tête de cuvée. Of course, the vines come from Diebolt-Vallois’ own estate in Cramant, but not only that – the fruit is from the best plots of the estate – the seven oldest that are aged between 55 and 75 years old. And as this is the Côte des Blancs, this is 100% chardonnay that has been vinified in small oak barrels without malolactic conversion, so as to preserve the freshness and the acid of the wine. Finally, Diebolt-Vallois does not filter their Fleur de Passion – allowing for added complexity and texture to the final product. Recently disgorged in January of 2022 after having sat on the lees for a full eight years, and then a very demure and very mindful finishing dosage of just three grams per liter. It…is…wondrous!

Full revelation of my obvious bias disclosure: Diebolt-Vallois is one of my favorite Champagne producers. I love most ALL Champagne, to be sure, but I do have my go-tos. THIS is one of them. It’s a rich prestige cuvée of the utmost quality. Whenever I drink this, I feel like I’m eating a full meal. There’s so much depth of flavor and dimension here that I swear I hit all taste buds in all parts of the mouth. On the nose there’s a flinty-like gunpowder tea, lemon peel, exotic spice notes with a tart, tangy yogurt and underripe, crunchy nectarine. The palate is both salty and creamy, with citrus and green apple notes, that same exotic spice note that was on the nose, with lemongrass and toasted sourdough bread, as well. Bravo! The bubbles are very fine, making the texture feel extra linear. It’d go great with grilled oysters and, really, everything. It’s that versatile and that delicious. I fell in love with this wine the first time I had it, and it still just gets me every time I take a sip. I’m sure the lucky handful of you that score this will feel the same way too. Let me know what you think, won’t you?