2010 Champagne Drappier Grande Sendrée Rosé

Expressive notes of steeped raspberry and cherry fruit pull you into the glass of this vivacious rosé Champagne, riding the satiny mousse and layered with accents of mandarin orange peel, dried thyme and biscuit. A vinous version, with the finely knit flavors underscored by a streak of tangy mineral that drives through the spiced finish. Drink now through 2030.

The 2010 Champagne Grande Sendrée Rosé is 20% Chardonnay and 80% saignée method Pinot Noir that spent ten years on the lees. Pale salmon-hued with a hint of copper, the nose is elegant and fresh, with ripe stone fruit, apricot, peach, strawberry, and fresh flowers. The palate is dry and structured, with citrus pith and grapefruit, and its tannic grip makes this a gastronomic style to have at the table.

Disgorged in April 2018 with six grams per liter dosage, the Pinot Noir-dominated 2010 Brut Rosé Grande Sendrée is showing very well, offering up an attractive bouquet of raspberries, wild plums, rhubarb and spices. On the palate, it's medium to full- bodied, vinous and tightly wound, with racy acids, a concentrated core of fruit and a sapid finish. This is a very serious Champagne that's still playing its cards close to its vest, and it will amply repay five or six years patience, even if it can be pleasurably broached sooner. 2021 - 2040.

A fine and elegant rising bead of bubbles. Offers a very expressive and layered nose: red plums, raspberries, dried redcurrants, blood orange, a hint of wild strawberries: Pinot Noir really bursting from the glass! Full-bodied but fresh and vibrant, with a lingering finish and a hint of structure on the tactile mouthfeel. A blend of mostly Pinot Noir (92%) and a little Chardonnay (8%), the winery believes that the Chardonnay aids in aging (aged in clay for 10 years). Only first press wine is used, the malolactic is carried out and about 35% of the total wine is aged in barrels. Like the non-Rosé Grande Sendrée, this Rosé Champagne’s bottle is also a replica of the very pretty Louis XV model that was found in the Urville cellars. The wine takes its name from the cinders that covered the vineyards in the aftermath of the great fire that destroyed much of Urville in 1836; a land registry spelling mistake after the fact led to the wine’s name being spelled with an “s” instead of the correct “c” (the word should normally have been cendrée, not sendrée).