Fan-Favorite Champagne Launois Back In Stock
Our ship of Launois recently arrived, just before I shipped out to Mesnil to visit the property. I just tasted all of these wine with Séverine Launois and as usual, their range of estate-grown, Grand Cru Chardonnay–centered wines were amazing. There is a reason that these are the best-selling Champagnes at K&L; they refuse to use anything other than their own vineyards, and those vineyards are exclusively planted to massal selections from their own mother vines—they do not have any cloned plants at all here. The heart of the vineyard, the place where they have the most land, is none other than the legendary Mesnil Grand Cru—the most expensive and most sought-after in all of the Champagne region.
From the very start, the Launois "Cuvée Réservée" Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $34.99 delivers the class of pure Grand Cru Chardonnay, mostly from Mesnil but also including some Oger. These 30-40 year old vineyards are on the flattest pieces of land the family owns, and provide an ideal, open aperitif style that still dazzles with chalky class. The current batch is a combination of the snappy, but unfortunately tiny 2021 harvest and reserves from 2020. This wine has the pain au levin toast balanced by citric vivacity up front, and pure, classy chalk carried by a clean, bright acidity. It is no surprise that this is the #1 Champagne at K&L.
Sourced from the tops and bottoms of the slopes the Launois "Veuve Clemence" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $44.99 is in fact a “secret” 2020 vintage right now. Again, pure Grand Cru Chardonnay, again primarily Mesnil, but this time supported by the aromatic wines of the steep slopes of Cramant. This is the insiders secret Launois with an extra year on the lees over the Réservée, lovely white fruit in the middle, a classy bead of bubbles and a profound expression of Mesnil chalk on the back end.
The vineyard site Les Chetillons in the mid slope of the grand cru of Mesnil is legendary in the world of Champagne, and Pierre Peters, Moncuit, and many others make single vineyard vintage wines from it that cost more than $100. The Launois "Quartz" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $39.99 is exclusively from that site, and bottled at slightly lower pressure (4.5 as opposed to 6 bars) to better show off the terroir. The thinking is that more lees in the bottle give more toast, obscuring the unique fruit expression of this nearly sacred site. I can’t argue with the results, and I can’t tell that there are less bubbles, instead I find this wine to be among our best aperitifs with white peach balanced by subtle baguette on the nose and in the mouth, and grounded by pure Belemnita chalk class on the back end. This is also « secret » 2020 vintage.
The vintage of 2017 was a difficult one for Meunier and Pinot Noir, but a great success for Chardonnay, and the 2017 Launois "Cuvée Maxime" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $49.99 is one of the best yet to be released. Sourced exclusively from mid-slope Mesnil Grand Cru vineyards, this was a strict selection of the best old vines this time, and not much was produced. If you love the brioche and Cara Cara citrus style of top Blanc de Blancs vintage, this is for you. Not only does this have richness and body, it also has a classy dry finish, carried by a straight line of acid and perfect chalky minerality.
Also back in stock is the cult favorite Launois "Dorine" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $39.99 from their Sezanne Chardonnay vineyards, all fermented in old tonneau the fastest selling Champagne in the history of the Champagne club, the Launois "Oeil de Perdrix" Brut Champagne $49.99 and the fragrant Launois Brut Rosé "Valentine" Champagne $39.99 which is the only rosé we have in stock that gets its color from red wine mixed with the dosage at disgorgement.
For our connosieurs of long-aged Champagne, we were able to secure a small allocation of the all 2010 (but not labeled as vintage) Launois "Severine" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $59.99. This wine, named after Séverine Launois herself by her father comes again from only old vines from the mid slope of Mesnil Grand Cru. The twist is that it was fermented in oak barrels coopered from the families own forest in the village of Mesnil, giving this wine a white truffle savor on top of its rich brioche flavors. One of the best foie gras pairings in the store, it has the back end cut to deal with the richest of dishes, even though the Meursault-like power up front feels like it could be a meal in itself.
A toast to you!