Though the family has been growing vines in Ludes since 1737 (the same place the wildly famous and culty Bereche brothers hail from), the Champagne house was founded in 1930 by Ernest Monmarthe, and the family has farmed this plot in Ludes ever since, fine-tuning their production and quality over the past seven generations. Currently, seventh-gen vigneron Gauthier Monmarthe leads the winemaking – and though their village may be little, their reputation has soared with a sternly impressive portfolio of enthralling cuvées.

This 95-point cuvée is named “Le Nid d'Agace,” or “The Magpies” in old French, for the crafty birds that reside in the trees surrounding the vineyards. A single-vineyard cuvée, made from fruit that grows on a gentle slope a few hundred yards from the winery itself, it is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. The latter grows where the soil is predominantly clay at the top part of the vineyard, while the Pinot Noir grows below, where the soils have shifted to mostly chalk-based. The vineyard produced enough for a scant 419 cases in 2016, and after six years on the lees and a final dosage of a mere 4 grams per liter, only 20 cases made it here to the USA. This most recent disgorgement is from October 2023, extending the six years’ aging to nearly seven full years! 

The final wine is enchantingly layered and complex, with a vibrant and full mousse that boasts aromas of red currants and rose petals, plus flavors that ebb and flow like the ocean. Then, red cherries, ripe Galaxy peaches, baked apples, and Anjou pears coexist effortlessly. The whole thing is framed with bright acidity that carries everything to a long and electric finish. The wine’s medium weight is all from its few months in barrel as a vin clair and the six years on the lees in bottle that followed, so no malolactic conversion here, making this exceptionally age-worthy for those who have the patience of saints. I grabbed a handful for myself in hopes that at least one bottle will survive a few years to see how this beauty evolves – we shall see how that turns out! Perhaps you have more discipline than me in that regard, though whatever your plans for the wine, you simply can’t go wrong. This absolutely delivers, especially at such an insanely reasonable price! We snagged every last bottle we could… and now, it’s your turn!