Champagne De Sousa - Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Caudalies

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

Straightforward, saline, deep, with fine bubbles and a mouth that's both creamy and taut, with a background of aromas combining brioche and fresh pineapple. Great purity!

About the domain :

Érick de Sousa is a highly talented winemaker, who has been working on the family estate since 1986, ten hectares in the Côte des Blancs region that have been biodynamically farmed for over twenty years. Uncompromising and meticulous, he forges a range of scintillating wines with pure, nuanced expression, playing on the terroirs of Avize, Cramant, Oger and Le Mesnil, planted with chardonnay, with some pinot noir from Aÿ and Ambonnay, and a little meunier. The result is a very wide range of champagnes, different in approach but with a family link in smooth texture and aromatic originality, enhanced by very fine wood ageing. From this point of view, cuvée 3A is representative of this irresistible slide, as is the remarkable cuvée mycorhize, not forgetting cuvée caudalie, which over the years has become inseparable from the house and its standard-bearer. As for the vintage, the 2008 holds its own, while the 2010 surprises with its fresh balance in a year reputed to be supple. If the nose can sometimes surprise, it's on the palate that you discover the stylistic charm of this house with an established reputation.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

Cuvée des Caudalies Grand Cru Extra Brut, with its intense citrus color, is made from 100% Chardonnay from old Avize vines. [...] The wine opens with an intense, concentrated bouquet, still yeasty and toasty, with lots of brioche and refined "reserve" aromas. Pure and linear on the palate, but also rich and intense, with a charming roundness (dosage of five grams per liter), this Cuvée des Caudalies is still terribly young, but well-structured and expressive, and the finish reveals remarkable saline purity, complexity and mineral tension.

About the domain :

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

Réserve perpétuelle, preserved in barrels from vintages ranging from 2011 to 1995: this cuvée is milder, but offers a wise bubble and vinosity.

About the domain :

The estate, run by the new generation, brilliantly continues the work of the late Eric de Sousa. Charlotte is in charge of sales, Julie is in charge of the vines and the horses, and Valentin is in charge of the cellar. The estate comprises 14 hectares of vines, mainly Chardonnays from the Avize Grand Cru, as well as Pinot Noir from the Aÿ and Ambonnay Grands Crus. Certified organic in 2010 and biodynamic in 2013, the estate also boasts vines of advanced age. The controlled management of ageing in wood underlines the magnificent substance of the wines.

James Suckling

About the wine:

Old vines of Avize Chardonnay, fermented in oak barrels and blended with a solera reserve wine. Highly concentrated and subtle, it has a complex personality with a deep, rich feel of peach, lemon and grapefruit. It delivers a long, saline mineral thread on the finish. Very concentrated and distinctive. Drink now or wait.