TASTING NOTES:

Nose: Lean, mineral-y, floral → green apple, chalky minerality, jasmine flower + hints of rose petal; slightly oxidative w/ hint of macadamia nut

Palate: Luscious, creamy texture with a lot of brightness despite the age

FOOD PAIRING RECOMMENDATION:

Almond-crusted halibut w/ beurre blanc
or
Gouda with almonds and fig jam
or
Grilled oysters

ASHWIN'S REFLECTION:

The Bistrøtage expression from Champagne Françoise Martinot is always a single-vintage expression Blanc de Noirs — in this case a 100% Pinot Noir. While the wines are bottled under Françoise’s name, the winemaker is actually Charles Dufour who chose to give his mother’s name instead of his own to the label as a nod to her inheritance, her heritage. Charles’ approach is about as hands off as it can get in Champagne: no industrial yeast, minimal SO2 addition, very low dosage, and so on. He uses organic cane sugar mixed with wine for the liqueur de tirage to trigger the secondary in-bottle fermentation that results in the luscious bubbly texture in the bottle. The name of the expression “Bistrøtage” is meant to be a nod to a bistro, i.e. a Champagne meant for the table and meant for drinking.