The Lamiable family has become one of our greatest discoveries in Champagne over these past few years. The family settled in the Tours-sur-Marne region, along the eastern edge of the Montagne de Reims, way back in the 18th century. They have always farmed the region, though it wasn’t until after World War II that the family turned to planting their own grapes. These wines are extremely limited in production and nearly impossible to find here in the States. (We found only one other shop in the U.S. and they have exactly one bottle!) We got more than that, but it still might not be enough! Get a couple and we promise, you’ll be glad you did.

This low-dosage, Extra Brut Champagne (at 4.5 g/l) clocks in at 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay, with 40% of the wine coming from the estate’s perpetual reserve, crafted solera-style and going back a few decades. After thirty months on the lees, the resulting wine is compact, fresh, and concentrated in flavors with Bartlett pears, salted plums, green apple, toasted rice, almond skin, apricots, cut grass, dried peaches… there’s clearly a whole lot going on here – a masterclass in complexity and harmony. The mouthfeel is round and soft, yet uplifted by a sharp and bright acidity and minerality throughout. The high percentage of the reserve wine gives the wine  a slightly oxidative style – where nutty and toasty flavors add further nuance, without ever crossing the line into unctuous and overly ripe.

The fruit hails from the Grand Cru territories of Tours-sur-Marne and neighboring Bouzy. The Lamiable family’s first parcel of vines was planted in Tours-sur-Marne in a place called “Les Vignes des Meslaines” that has become their signature plot, with a percentage blended into nearly all of their wines as a sort of calling card (similar to Pierre Gimonnet and their “Cuis” site, yet this is Grand Cru, unlike Gimonnet’s Premier Cru Cuis). Tours-sur-Marne is a small wine-producing village in the pinot noir dominant Montagne de Reims, just east of Aÿ and south of Bouzy. Set in the shadow of the 70-million-year-old Mont Sinaï, the tallest point of the Montagne de Reims, this village inherits a cross-section of geology focused on chalk, sand, clay, and limestone that lends this Champagne its mineral-driven, salty and fresh characteristics. Truly, a fantastic offering that we’ll proudly pour for the most discerning of our cherished bubbly brethren. A “breath of the stars” indeed!