2018 M. Brugnon Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne 750 ml

Vintage Champagne: We’ve always considered it one of life’s true luxuries—and therefore about the furthest thing from common. But if any bottle proves it can be both, it’s the 2018 M. Brugnon Blanc de Blancs. 

This is the long-awaited follow-up to the 2015 and 2017 vintages, two sell-outs that together earned a staggering 4.5 stars from our members. That rating puts Brugnon’s Blanc de Blancs up with Billecart-Salmon, Bollinger, Dom Pérignon, and even Louis Roederer’s Cristal—the greatest Champagnes in the world. 

A vintage bottling sourced largely from precious Premier Cru terroir, we won this gem through our friendship with Alain and Valerie Brugnon, and we imported it ourselves. This stellar bottle’s only path to the States runs through Wine Access, which means our members are the only ones who can get it. 

Lemon-colored with a strong bead of fine bubbles, the 2018 bursts with rich, layered, luxurious aromas of toasted brioche, lemon cake, green and yellow apple, vanilla beans, and honeysuckle. It’s full-bodied on the palate, with a delicate, refined mousse and smooth texture balanced perfectly with juicy acidity and flavors of toasted apricots, almond cake, peaches and cream, crushed stone, white flowers, and toast. 

For this Blanc de Blancs, Alain tapped the chalky Les Barbettes and Les Maladries plots in Rilly la Montagne, with the 35-year-old vines of the former bringing complexity and restraint while the young vines of the latter supply precocity and verve. He preserved that energy by eschewing malolactic fermentation, and the choice shines through in a wine that vibrates with energy. It will delight in its youth but also develop beautifully over the next decade.