Gaston Chiquet "Tradition" Brut Champagne
SKU #1022057
91 points
John Gilman
Nicolas Chiquet certainly gives his non-vintage Brut “Tradition” plenty of aging prior to release, as this current bottling is from the base year of 2015 and was disgorged in July of 2021. It is composed of a cépages of forty percent pinot meunier, thirty-five percent chardonnay and twenty-five percent pinot noir. Twenty percent of the blend is from the previous year of 2014. The wine offers up a fine nose of apple, fresh-baked bread, a fine base of soil tones, a hint of hazelnut and a smoky top note. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a fine core, elegant mousse, bright acids and lovely length and grip on the well-balanced finish. This is very good juice.
(9/2021)
90 points
Wine Advocate
Disgorged in November 2019, the latest release of Chiquet's supremely dependable NV Brut Premier Cru Tradition reveals an inviting bouquet of crisp yellow orchard fruit, fresh peach, honeycomb, citrus oil and warm biscuits. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and charming, with a classy mousse, a succulent core of fruit and ripe but racy balancing acids. It's already drinking well. (WK)
(3/2021)
90 points
Wine Spectator
A bright, snappy Champagne, mineral-driven and crisp in texture, displaying a range of tangy apple and kumquat fruit with hints of smoked almond, biscuit and lemon thyme. Disgorged November 2019. (AN, Web-2021)
Vinous
Chiquet's Brut Tradition is an ample, potent NV Champagne with tons of depth and plenty of Pinot character. Plum, kirsch, spice, menthol and dried flowers flesh out in this decidedly big Champagne. Disgorged: February, 2021. (AG)
(11/2021)
K&L Notes
Brothers Fernand and Gaston Chiquet created the Champagne house Chiquet Brothers back in 1919. The pair were pioneers in the region, and according to the winery, they were the very first winemakers to keep their own grapes, and to vinify them into wines that they would sell. According to wine writer Peter Liem: "This is one of the finest grower estates in the Grande Vallée de lar Marne. Chiquet's wines combine a generous depth of fruit with a pronounced character of place—if you want to know what the wines of the Grande Vallée should feel like, these are an excellent introduction. Chiquet's wines generally show well young, thanks to the forward fruitiness of their Marne terroirs. Yet with their balance and depth they can also age extremely well, even the non-vintage Brut Tradition, as I've seen from several old examples dating all the way back to 1964." The Tradition Brut is a classic cuvée of 40% Pinot Meunier, 35% Chardonnay, and 20% Pinot Noir.
