Jerome Prevost La Closerie ‘&’ Extra Brut LC20

Jerome Prevost takes a Burgundian approach to Champagne as his wines are always of a single vintage which he indicated by a code starting with “LC” (Lot Consigne) on the base of the label to indicate the year of harvest. He harvests all grapes by hand, and his wines are fermented only with indigenous yeasts and aged with a mix of used barrels and 600L demi-muids.

The champagnes are disgorged about 16 months after bottling and are finished with no dosage and very little sulphur to preserve the purity of the wine. He believes the most interesting evolution in his wines occurs in the bottle in the months and years following disgorgement, more like still wine than champagne.

This is a new bottle from Prevost which started last vintage (LC19). This is a blend that marries 20% Les Béguines with the balance deriving from other sites in Gueux that share the same sandy soils. This offers up aromas of pear, red apple, walnuts, fresh bread and mandarin, it’s medium to full-bodied, layered and vinous, with a fleshy core of fruit and a saline finish. While it’s produced from purchased grapes, Prévost farms some of the sites and determines the date of harvest and sorting, though he told me that the average yield is naturally a touch higher than in his own vineyards.