Champagne Extra Brut 'Origines Croisées' Bertrand-Delespierre 2012

Bertrand-Delespierre elaborates the Champagne "Origines Croisées" to pay tribute to the foundation of the domaine, born in 1980 through the crossing of the Bertrand family, represented in the cuvée by the Chardonnay, and the Delespierre family, symbolised instead by its Pinot Noir. A union of people and varieties intended to express a powerful yet refined interpretation of the territory in which they are rooted.
Champagne "Origines Croisées" comes to life in the Bertrand-Delespierre cellar through the blending of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay. Grapes from this vintage account for around 60% in the creation of the base wine, while the next 40% is made up of the vins de réserve, in a skilful and important blend usually involving the four previous vintages. The villages from which the grapes are sourced are 100% Premier Cru and are located within the Petite Montagne de Reims territory: a little-known area extending in the centre of the northern part of the natural park and some fifteen kilometres from the city, located to the north-east. The plots are composed of plantings with an average age of around 30 years: on the gentle slopes that touch 200 metres in altitude, they offer north and north-east oriented exposures, and show soils with a strong lithological complexity, composed of clay, silt, siliceous sands and calcareous marls. Harvesting is, as is obligatory, carried out by hand and the grapes are pressed traditionally in a vertical press. Alcoholic fermentation develops spontaneously thanks to the work of indigenous yeasts and takes place in steel tanks and in 600-litre demi-muids for part of the mass. Malolactic fermentation, on the other hand, is blocked in order to preserve the natural acidity of the blend. After bottle fermentation, the wine remains on the lees for 48 months and the final dosage is between 2 and 4 grams per litre.
Delicate and brilliant is the dress of Bertrand-Delespierre's 'Origines Croisées' Champagne. The nose expresses both fresh and ripe aromas, mixing citrine notes with the persuasiveness of baked apple and toasted brioche. The palate is long and clear-cut: yet the mineral verticality leaves a balanced space for a dense, rounded matter in which the bubbles are both accessory and necessary, expressed by a superb creaminess.