Champagne Chassenay d'Arce

Chassenay d'Arce

A growers' house in the Arce valley of the Côte des Bar, the southernmost part of Champagne — closer to Chablis than to Reims. The Côte des Bar is overwhelmingly Pinot Noir country, and that shows in the house style.

The cuvées

Cuvée Première Brut is the entry bottle, in 75cl and magnum, with a Cuvée Rosé Brut alongside it. The vintage range covers Confidences Brut Millésime 2012 and Confidences Rosé Millésime 2015, plus a trio from 2014 — Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, and a Pinot Blanc Extra Brut, which is worth noting: Pinot Blanc is a permitted but rarely bottled Champagne variety. The house also makes Ratafia, the fortified regional aperitif, in 70cl.

What to expect

Côte des Bar Champagne is priced below the Marne villages for reasons of address rather than of winemaking. This is the part of Champagne to buy from when you want vintage-dated bottles without vintage-dated pricing. It is not a name your guests will recognise on sight.

Serving

Serve at 8–10°C. The 2012 and 2014 bottlings are already cellared releases and can be opened now; Ratafia is served chilled, after dinner.