Dérot-Delugny "Cuvée Fondateurs" Brut

This is a very rare, and very delicious 100% Pinot Gris-based champagne. The pinot gris leaves a clean, floral, mineral-laden bouquet on the nose, but on the palate the strength and power of the fruit are striking: pear and green apple, white flowers and a touch of lemon zest are amplified by serious acidity, and a long, focused finish of minerals and lemony goodness. This is Champagne like you’ve never experienced!​

This little number is Champagne made from 100% Pinot Gris and it's not like other Champagnes I've had. Nosing the glass I get pear and crisp apple notes that transform into tropical floral scents. There's a touch of cream and chalk, but the flowers and fruit keep coming back in waves. The palate continues these characteristics, though the creaminess is slightly more pronounced (in flavor and texture). Then add flavors of lemon peel and soft oak spice, ending with more tropical fruit notes.

100% Pinot Gris champagne? Yes it's a thing and yes it's really tasty! About 300 years ago, 50% of Champagne was planted with Pinot Gris (aka Fromenteau). It's not as popular in the modern times, however, we are lucky to gain one of the few producers who continue the tradition of using the grape in their champagne. Aromas of white flowers, tropical fruit along with citrus zest. The finish is long and dru with minerality notes, it makes this champagne great with your next sushi meal or alone with a cheese plate.

This bottle hangs its hat on the Pinot Gris construction but its strength lies in it's champagne tendency more than anything else. A whiff of honeysuckle nods at the abnormal grape selection, but beyond that its totally acid and stone, with just small mentions of pom fruit and cream to the end.

After 4 months of loving this bottle, I didn't think I had anymore to say but after tasting it again in a champagne line up I found it had matured and mellowed. It was a nervous champagne when I 1st tasted it. It is now most secure in what it is meant to be. WOW! This Champagne is so fun! 100% Pinot Gris and 100% Champagne. This is a legal grape in Champagne but not much is planted anymore. The nose has a lovely perfume of quince and the palate is a blast of fruit, more quince and pear, with the high acid dancing around on your tongue. The long finish gives up lots of limestone with finesse. A must try!

This was such a fun wine to smell. Very pretty on the nose with notes of white flowers and pear jelly bellies (my favorite). The palate was clean and soft with lightly minerals from a crispy pear.

This champagne speaks to me so profoundly...The balance of acidity and dosage is so perfectly played here! The wine has the lift of an extra brut with the weight of a brut. Every aspect of this wine fits together so wonderfully and elegantly that it leaves you wanting more with every sip! Bright and sweet citrus to start, ripe orchard fruits in the middle, and a touch of salinity to accompany the brioche lies notes. Simply incredible!

In the world of champagne, painfully few varietals are permitted to be turned into the lovely sparkling wine that we all love. When we got to try this bottle though, I was shocked to find that it is made entirely of Pinot Gris. Unlike almost any other sparkling I have tried, this will hold a place in my memory for its maple nose mixed with cherry, and slight sherry note. The palate is beautiful with a combination of bright green apple, and round spiced golden apples.I would recommend anyone give this a try, you are not likely to see much like it again!

Lovers of Pinot Gris will like this for the bright pit fruit and crushed melon flavors but the body is pure Champagne through and through. This is bold, aristocratic and classically dry with a long austere finish of mineral and talc. A touch exotic but filled with power and grace.

Being 100% Pinot Gris makes this an oddity, but it is certainly not a gimmick. This is serious, world-class champagne. Vivid aromas of ripe apple and citrus blossom fly out of the glass, and the complexity therein is immediately apparent. Apples, pears and nectarines strike the palate accompanied by bright acid and further wake the senses. The finish brings crisp limestone and a supple, mouth-coating texture. One of the most unique bottles for the price, and its quality is unquestionable.

I was incredibly excited to try this 100% Fromenteau, but as so often happens with great wines, the terroir and style overrides the grape variety. While I didn't get much of an indication of Pinot Gris, the wine is a joy to drink, the Derot Delugny is classy, with golden fruits, a fine bead, and a nicely dry palate impression. There is something old fashioned and timeless about the flavors, texture and overall impression of this wonderful Champagne.

Expressive on the nose, with hits of white flowers and tropical fruit, this 100% Pinot Gris (!) Champagne displays its uniqueness right out of the gate. The palate shows lush but snappy citrus - think mandarin oranges - followed by a creamy texture through to the super long finish. There’s enough crunchy minerality here to remind you that this is classic Champagne, but it’s balanced with an easygoing drinkability. Dérot-Delugny "Cuvée Fondateurs" Brut would be great with food, and is delicious enough to be a crowd-pleaser that’s a bit out of the ordinary.

As our first 100% pinot gris Champagne, the Derot Delugny is causing quite a buzz around the office! An exotic beauty with notes of topical fruit and white flowers. Generous and mouth-filling, it ends with a more classic limestone finish. Those of you that want to branch out and discover something just a LITTLE bit different should absolutely give this a try!

We all know Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay from Champagne, but a small fraction (less than 1%) of the vines are of 4 other heritage varietals including Pinot Gris (Fromenteau) from which this beauty is made. This rare gem is a definite must for the lover of history and heritage crops and of course any Champagne lover. The Champagne really surprises right from the initial aromas which are remarkably rich. The flavors follow through with very lively acidity, absolutely dancing on the tongue and a clear bright palate of apple, pear and quince. The wonderful influence of lees compliments the palate perfectly and a lingering finish lures you back for more. What a great find!

While I have tasted champagnes with Pinot Gris in them (eternal favorite Aspasie Cepages d' Antan), like the other reviewers here, I have not tasted one that is 100% Pinot Gris. Well, if this is the benchmark, please people, make more in this style! A very pretty nose of white flowers, cream and nectarine. On the palate, very clean and zippy, at first, and then, lemon meringue, and cantaloupe sneak in mid-palate. Wonderfully long finish of lemon and minerals! Very interesting and just plain delicious!

I refer to this champagne as "liquid silk." It is a texturally magnificent (and not to mention wildly unique) champagne, and the only of its kind that I have ever been able to get my hands on. And when it comes to champagne...I'm handsy. But even if you are not a hardcore collector of bubbles, this is not a bottle you want to miss. The nose is restrained and subtle, but take a moment to let it wash over you and you will be rewarded with vibrant waves of chalky mineral, tropical melon and tangerine. This wonderful panoply of flavors and smells carries through to the palate (joined by pineapple and papaya), earning the liquid silk nickname with an effortless mousse that slips across the tongue with cat-like grace. If you're quick enough to beat me to the punch-- I highly recommend stocking up.

This is the champagne for champagne drinkers who have had everything. Beautifully elegant aromas of anjou pear and a dusting of lemon zest that pull you into the glass. On the palate, it is delicately textured with a totally unique umami note that I had yet to experience until this bottle came along. It delivers in balance, quality, while being totally unique. This champagne has had the staff running to buy bottles for ourselves. Loved it.

The Derot-Delugny estate has been producing their own Champagne for four generations in the tiny village of Croutes-sur-Marne in the western part of the region. Everything they do is estate, and this all Pinot Gris Champagne is their smallest production. It is the only time I have ever tasted a single variety Pinot Gris from Champagne, and it is fantastic as well as exotic! With both effusive and tropical notes, this is still grounded in the world of dry Champagne with a dry (7g/l) finish and plenty of minerality. A must try with asian cuisine!