Pascal Agrapart’s 2013 L'Avizoise Blanc de Blancs is a show-stopper.

L'Avizoise is one of our favorite Champagnes. We love its balance of lavishness and electric minerality. It offers a crystal-clear expression of Chardonnay.

For us, 2013 is a truly exciting vintage for Champagne; it will likely be considered a great vintage in due time. 2013 produced wines of finesse, subtlety, and incredible clarity. The Côte des Blancs, where Agrapart is located, was particularly successful.

Pascal Agrapart’s Champagnes are some of the most terroir expressive wines being made today. From his vineyards in Avize, Agrapart makes three wines from what he considers to be the region’s three main terroirs: the up-slope, down-slope, and mid-slope. He then vinifies each wine in the exact same way to highlight their differences in terroir.

L’Avizoise comes from the clay-rich soils at the top of the slope. It’s undoubtedly the most powerful wine in Agrapart’s lineup. It stands out for its combination of presence and length with exacting focus, lift and finesse.

The 2013 dramatizes the wine's drive and focus in a seriously compelling way. The fruit feels complete and just ripe, but perfectly so with an incredible amount of high-toned nuance. The underlying delicacy and subtle complexity really dazzles.

Agrapart is a fourth-generation vigneron; the house was founded in 1894 by Arthur Agrapart and has been family run ever since. The majority of the 9.5 hectares lie in grand cru villages in the Cote de Blancs, including Avize, Oger, Cramant and Oiry. All farming is organic.

There are few expressions of the Chardonnay grape from anywhere in the world as exciting as the L'Avizoise. As I said at the beginning, the 2013 is simply dynamite. Don't miss.

To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Ian McFadden

Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits