Agrapart "EXP.19" Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Champagne

The NV Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Exp. 19, the most unusual wine in Agrapart’s lineup, is crafted without the addition of external yeasts and sugar and without dosage. Ambroise adds indigenous yeasts and pressed grape juice (not fermented) from the following harvest (2020, in the case of Exp. 19) to the 2019 vintage base wine to provide the equivalent of 24 grams per liter of sugar for prise de mousse, to drive the secondary fermentation in bottle. Therefore, Exp. is not vintage-dated. With a lower-than-average level of alcohol (around 11.5%) but trenchant acidity, it’s a wine with incisive personality, offering up scents of ripe apple, pear, vanilla, and toasted nuts. Expressive and textural, complemented by pinpoint mousse, it does not have the same cut and completeness as the rest of the wines, making it harder to justify the choice when there are such superb wines as Minéral, Avizoise and Vénus in the range. It’s also a cuvée that, in my experience, ages less gracefully. (KK)