Long-Aged Grower Champagne from Fallet-Dart in the Marne
Tomorrow night, Paul Fallet will stay up past dawn in his vineyards because the forecast is for a freeze and the vines have already budded. This could destroy the crop, and he will be ready to protect the vineyard with sprinklers. Yesterday I tasted his impressive 2023 vin clair (the still wine that becomes Champagne after the second fermentation in bottle), and his whole range at the domaine in Drachy, near the far western edge of the Champagne region. It will be a while before the 2023s are released—the youngest element in his regular Brut is six years old! I have my fingers crossed that everything goes well with the weather and no crop is lost to frost this year.
All of the big houses say that this part of the Marne is just for Meunier and only good for the shortest-aged blends. Fallet-Dart proves them wrong. They grow great quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir here as well as fantastic Meunier and offer the longest-aged current release Champagne that we stock at 19 years old. Everything that they make is grown on their own estate. I should not have been surprised by how well the wines showed given how long we have worked together, but wow, these are world class, and the value from top to bottom is simply amazing.
We started off by tasting the Fallet-Dart "Cuvée de Réserve" Brut Champagne $32.99, which is now based on 2018 with reserves from 2017 and 2016. It is composed of 60% Meunier and 40% Pinot Noir and has been aged for more than four years on the lees. If you love a toasty style non-vintage, this is a must as it is full of brioche and Tarte Tatin on the nose and in the mouth. It is a round style without hard edges and has a creamy, tiny bead from the long aging.
Fallet-Dart "Grande Sélection" Brut Champagne $34.99 is aged even longer, an incredible seven years, and is based on 2016. This bottle is composed of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay and shows off elegant sourdough toast and subtle red cherry Pinot Noir fruit. The bead is tight, tiny and reminiscent of vintage wines due to the long ageing. The finish is crisp but not austere, making it a fantastic aperitif.
Perhaps the wine with the most dedicated following of the range is the Fallet-Dart Brut Rosé Champagne $34.99, which is based on the Brut Réserve but with red wine added from Les Chaillots, an over 50-year-old plot of massal selected Meunier. The red is only made in declared vintage years and gives this wine a delicate strawberries in cream fruit that is balanced by a dry, elegant finish.
Many of you have followed the vintage wines of this house and they age incredibly well. I am still getting requests for the 1999 library release that is drinking so well right now. The current release is the 2016 Fallet-Dart Brut Champagne $49.99 and is composed of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir, with 20% of the malolactic fermentation blocked to preserve acidity and longevity. With a great combination of citric, zesty freshness and baguette toast, this wine has a long but round finish and makes a great aperitif right now. If you decide to age it, it will deepen and gain complexity for at least another 10 years.
Nothing in Champagne is as rare or as sought after as the few clos (walled vineyards) that are bottled individually, and no other current release in our portfolio of Champagne is aged for as long as the Fallet-Dart "Clos du Mont" Brut Champagne (2006) $69.99 This monumental, barrel-fermented wine has been kept for 18 years now, and the patience of the Fallet family has rewarded us with a wine of kaleidoscopic complexity. This gently sloping vineyard close to the Marne River is planted to 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. The wine has a light golden color and the bouquet is full of toasty brioche, chanterelles in cream, and Meyer lemon confit. In the mouth it is very rich, with brioche front and center, a tiny bead and graceful texture, and a finish that goes on for miles. I love this with pâté, as it brings out the still fresh zest and minerality in this complex bottle.
Don’t miss Fallet-Dart. They have records of producing wine in Drachy going all the way back to 1610, and their 13 generations of experience lends the wines class that few others have. A toast to you!