A Perennial Favorite: Aspasie Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne

I have drunk countless bottles, magnums and even a few halves of the Ariston Aspasie Blanc de Blancs. I am confident that it is the Champagne that I have consumed more of than any other over the course of my life, and I wouldn’t put back a single drop. This cuvée always makes me happy, and is in a clean, refreshing, precise style that I can’t stop going back for more of. Looking back, it is a wine that has made my list for 10 most memorable Champagne experiences of the year almost every time I have compiled a retrospective. It is there for a reason.

Paul-Vincent Ariston. Aspasie is his maternal great grandmother.

This Champagne comes from one of the most special vineyards in the region. Located in the far northwest corner of Champagne, in the village of Brouillet, La Goutte d'Or can be spotted on the right-hand side of the road if you are coming in the back way from Prin. It is the first vineyard you see and backs up to the high plain where wheat is grown. This site faces dead east, crucial for growing Chardonnay, which needs the morning sun to avoid spring frost, and is so steep that one can barely walk up the slope without grabbing onto the bottoms of the vines. Even though it is wall-like in its steepness, this vineyard never makes a wine that is too big or too heavy—just the opposite, this terroir gives us a wine of ultimate finesse and delicacy.

I can’t visit every vineyard site in Champagne every year, but this is one that I make a pilgrimage to without fail—and I hope to keep my streak going later in 2021. Typing this in March, this is the time that I would normally visit, and I miss the Aristons and this special piece of vineyard very much. I have so many great memories here; once in still-full sunlight in high summer at 10 PM, another marching up the slope in scorching mid-day heat, and, my favorite of all, when we spun Paul Vincent Ariston’s Citroen rallying up to the dirt road to get to La Goutte d'Or with Alex Schroeder.

Last night, I drank this with a delicious kale salad with bacon and a fried egg on it that Cinnamon prepared for our dinner. The aroma of small white flowers and fresh baked sourdough took me straight back to Brouillet, and the clean, pure nectarine fruit and racy, bracing acidity left me both refreshed and satisfied. This is a wine all Champagne lovers should have at least once. Before I drink it all!

A toast to you!

- Gary Westby