NV Dosnon Champagne Récolte Blanche Brut

View From the Cellar

• By John Gilman
  Mar/Apr 2022, Issue #98, Recently-Tasted Champagne And Sparkling Wines Spring 2022

  (NV Champagne Dosnon “Recolte Blanche” NV (Avirey-Lingey)) Login and sign up and see review text.

Decanter

• By Panel Tasting
  Global blanc de blancs sparkling PT Sept 2019, 6/10/2019, (See more on Decanter...)

  (NV Dosnon, Recolte Blanche Brut, Champagne, France, White) Login and subscribe to see review text.

JancisRobinson.com

• By Julia Harding, MW
  10/12/2015, (See more on JancisRobinson.com...)

  (NV Dosnon, Récolte Blanche Brut ampagne White) Subscribe to see review text.

• By Josh Raynolds
  November 2012, (See more on Vinous...)

  (NV Dosnon & Lepage Recolte Extra Brut Blanche) Login and sign up and see review text.

JancisRobinson.com

• By Jancis Robinson, MW
  5/8/2012, (See more on JancisRobinson.com...)

  (NV Dosnon & Lepage, Récolte Blanche NV Champagne White) Subscribe to see review text.

• By Jancis Robinson, MW
  5/11/2011, (See more on JancisRobinson.com...)

  (NV Dosnon & Lepage, Récolte Blanche NV Champagne White) Subscribe to see review text.

• By Josh Raynolds
  December 2010, (See more on Vinous...)

  (NV Dosnon & Lepage Recolte Extra Brut Blanche) Login and sign up and see review text.

• By Josh Raynolds
  December 2010, (See more on Vinous...)

  (NV Dosnon & Lepage Recolte Blanche Brut) Login and sign up and see review text.

JancisRobinson.com

• By Jancis Robinson, MW
  1/25/2010, (See more on JancisRobinson.com...)

  (NV Dosnon & Lepage, Récolte Blanche NV Champagne) Subscribe to see review text.

ChampagneGuide.net

• By Peter Liem
  (See more on ChampagneGuide.net...)

  (NV Dosnon & Lepage Récolte Blanche Brut) Subscribe to see review text.

• By Peter Liem
  (See more on ChampagneGuide.net...)

  (NV Dosnon & Lepage Récolte Blanche Brut (base 2008)) Subscribe to see review text.

• By Peter Liem
  (See more on ChampagneGuide.net...)

  (NV Dosnon & Lepage Récolte Blanche Brut (base 2007)) Subscribe to see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  3/9/2010, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (NV BLANCHE Recolte DOSON & LEPAGE) Champagne Dear Friends, This will be quick due to the avalanche of responses from this morning's Belle Terre offer. For reference on this up and coming and emerging house, please see my original offer for the "Recolte Noir" bottling (I've cut and pasted it below - we offered it last fall). Tonight we offer the big brother and big sister wines, the Recolte Brute and Recolte Blanche and both are far more limited than the Recolte Noir (which is a less expensive cuvee). Both wines below are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as gorgeous and electric examples that are relative values in the top-tier of NV Champagne. If this is your first foray into Dosnon & Lepage it most certainly will not be your last... Both are EXTREMELY LIMITED and VERY HARD TO FIND - it is impossible for me to play favorites in this group as each wine is exceptional in its own way: NV Dosnon & Lepage Extra Brut "Recolte Brute" (the "e" in "Brute" is intentional) NV Dosnon & Lepage Extra Brut "Recolte Blanche" Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Champ8880 Champ8890 ****************************************** (original "Recolte Noir" offer for background reference - from last fall): Dosnon Dear Friends, While I was in France last spring, one of my favorite producers in Champagne sent me to taste the portfolio of Dosnon & Lepage - he sent me there to make a point. His point was that wine production had changed in France for the better and there was no turning back. In his highly decorated world, Dosnon & Lepage personified what was right about the youth culture of France - they personified many decades of change, slow change, that allowed a Champagne house like theirs to exist...and thrive. I didn't have time to taste Dosnon & Lepage that week but on my return to Paris one of my closest sommelier friends treated me to a complete retrospective of their Champagne and I've been searching for an allocation ever since. Dosnon & Lepage is the culmination of two movements that could never co-exist in the past but (in our new wine world) they stand side-by-side with fabulous results. As an expression of here and now, Dosnon & Lepage never shy from their hippy/organic leaning but they prove that natural methodology and modernity can swim in the same vessel and all of us are better for it. You don't need to be a militant biodynamic winemaker that follows the oxidized movement to make great wine - you can produce ultra-precise, clean and sensual wine with the same organic and hands-off approach to farming and vinification as the hard-core sect but still apply modern technique to add a signature brushstroke. The results speak for themselves and my guess is that you will be convinced by the time a second sip has graced your lips... From Peter Liem: "These are bold, confident wines that have a distinctly contemporary, polished personality and character. They bring to mind fine jewelry in some way, not ornamental but somehow ornate, combining a plush opulence with precision and grace. Overall, this is a house that's doing everything right, from their work in the vineyards and the cellar to their ecologically-aware business practices. Care for the environment is of primary concern to Dosnon and Lepage, and in fact, respect for the environment is built into their mission statement: "The fundamental philosophy of la Maison Dosnon & Lepage is one of harmony: harmony of mankind, of terroirs, and of wines in their environment. Though young producers of champagne, we are nonetheless highly aware of the environmental impact we have on this harmony, and we feel that we are therefore obliged to minimize the effects of our actions." This attitude is manifested in their insistence on sustainable viticulture, as well as in their support of 1% For the Planet, an organization whose members donate at least one percent of their annual sales to environmental groups around the world. Imagine if all champagne houses did that. Dosnon and Lepage own two hectares of vines in Avirey-Lingey and purchase fruit from about five additional hectares in the surrounding area, making for a total production of around 50,000 bottles a year. All of their wines are fermented entirely in barrique, giving them a warm, slightly smoky richness. "The barrels give roundness and complexity, without sacrificing structure, purity and finesse," says Lepage. But he admits that oak requires more care and attention to produce quality wines. "To work successfully with barrels, you've got to be a super-maniac. Like him," he laughs, pointing at Dosnon. The wines are neither fined nor filtered, and the two are working more and more with indigenous yeasts, which they find to give more character and complexity to the wines. Beyond this, everything is done according to the needs of the moment, with "no dogma" to force their actions. The vines are worked organically, but with the possibility for treating against catastrophe; malolactic is done or not done depending on the character of the particular wine; bëtonnage is performed or not, according to similar sensibilities. Even their philosophy of wood is open to debate-so far all of the wines have been in barrel, but they say that if they encounter one that won't support vinification in oak, it will go into stainless steel tank." The "Recolte Noir" is 100% Pinot Noir vinified in old barrels from a legendary name in Puligny-Montrachet. It announces a complex encounter with a shimmering color and an electric, imminently drinkable personality that seduces as well as begs for your intellectual attention. I've enjoyed a great deal of Champagne this year (whoa is me) but Dosnon & Lepage's Recolte Noir is among the most interesting as it is the least Brut in style but it does not taste of artificial dosage. It asks the taster for full attention but does so in a way where half the bottle is gone before you look peek into the rear view mirror to utter "what happened?". This is the type of wine many collectors search for when guests arrive and they need to impress each and every palate, regardless of preference - a difficult task indeed. A wine to be gulped as well as pontificated over. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for ambitious results and an unusual but still natural approach. This parcel is set to arrive in the fall with perfect provenance: NV Dosnon & Lepage Champagne "Recolte Noire" Brut - SOLD OUT NV Dosnon & Lepage Champagne "Recolte Noire" Brut 1.5lt - SOLD OUT