De Sousa : Cuvée des Caudalies Le Mesnil "Les Chétillons" Grand cru 2012

Characteristics and tasting tips for the Cuvée des Caudalies Le Mesnil "Les Chétillons" Grand Cru 2012 from Maison De Sousa

Tasting

Appearance

The appearance features a pale gold hue with delicate green highlights. The effervescence is fine and regular, forming a persistent bead. The mousse, thick and tight, bears witness to the perfect integration of the carbonation.

Nose

The bouquet opens immediately with precise mineral notes evoking carbon, pencil lead, and chalk. Floral aromas of acacia mingle with touches of citrus, notably lemon zest, accompanied by fine herbs and springtime humus. With aeration, the nose reveals nuances of brioche and fine pastry, testifying to the barrel aging. More complex tertiary notes appear next: white truffle, cashew nut, and empyreumatic touches.

Palate

The attack is clean and lively, carried by an immediate chalky minerality. The mid-palate develops a creamy and rich texture despite the extra-brut dosage. Flavors of candied lemon and chalky minerals unfold gradually, accompanied by white flowers and candied stone fruits. The finish impresses with its remarkable length, where notes of candied lemon, chalk, and white flowers persist. It concludes with lovely controlled bitterness that adds complexity and character.

Food and wine pairings

This Champagne pairs perfectly with oysters and fresh seafood. It also elegantly accompanies scallops, lobster, crab, or delicate white fish. Aged hard cheeses, such as a 24 to 36-month Comté, also constitute a harmonious pairing.

Service and cellaring

The Cuvée des Caudalies Le Mesnil "Les Chétillons" Grand Cru 2012 is ideally served between 8 and 10°C. This Champagne can be enjoyed now and will continue to evolve favorably until around 2037.

A Blanc de Blancs Champagne from the Côte des Blancs combining minerality and complexity

The estate

At the end of the First World War, the "poilu" Manuel De Sousa, a member of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps, left his native land to settle in France in Avize. Taken by illness before reaching the age of thirty, this hard worker left behind a wife and children. Fortunately, his son Antoine married Zoémie Bonville, the daughter of a winegrower, a few years later, and from their union the Champagne De Sousa House was born. For three generations now, the continuous quest for excellence and respect for nature and the environment have nourished the soul of the estate. At the helm of the family Champagne house since 1986, Erick De Sousa has ensured the continuation of his predecessors' work while ensuring the proper transmission of the values of passion and tradition from generation to generation.

The vineyard

The Les Chétillons lieu-dit is located in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, on an east-northeast facing slope. The subsoil consists of Campanian white chalk, rich in cephalopod fossils. This porous geological formation perfectly regulates the vine's water supply while conferring a distinctive mineral signature to the wines. The vines, aged over 60 years, develop a deep root system reaching up to 30 to 40 meters, allowing for the extraction of minerals and salts dissolved in the chalk. The biodynamic management of this Champagne vineyard, including plowing by horse on certain plots, favors microbial life in the soils and deep rooting.

The vintage

The 2012 vintage in Champagne was characterized by a contrasting growing season. After incidents of frost and hail in the spring, as well as occasional mildew pressure, the summer proved hot and relatively dry. These conditions allowed for prolonged ripening of the grapes, producing concentrated and aromatically intense wines. On the Côte des Blancs, and particularly in Les Chétillons, the 2012 vintage yielded Chardonnays combining concentration, lively acidity, and the mineral tension characteristic of the Le Mesnil-sur-Oger terroir.

Vinification and aging

The Cuvée des Caudalies Le Mesnil "Les Chétillons" Grand Cru 2012 is vinified entirely in oak barrels, with approximately 15% new wood and 85% barrels of one wine or more. The house employs a perpetual reserve system inspired by the solera method, where 50% of each vintage since 1995 is added to the reserve. This cuvée thus contains components from 22 different vintages, creating remarkable complexity and depth. Prolonged aging on lees develops aromas of brioche and pastry, while the barrels provide structure and texture without dominating the expression of the terroir.

Grape variety

100% Chardonnay from old vines aged over 60 years.