Description
Drappier Millesime Exception 2016 750ml is a vintage Champagne from the 2016 harvest, made by Champagne Drappier at Urville in the Côte des Bar. Pinot Noir leads, with Chardonnay and Meunier, and the wine is finished in an Extra Brut style after three years on lees. Low yields in 2016 gave the wine extra concentration.
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Serve it cool rather than icy, at about 8 to 10°C, in a generous white wine glass so the spice and baked fruit can open. It suits roast pork with apple, or a mushroom and thyme tart.
- 2016 vintage Champagne, Extra Brut
- Pinot Noir with Chardonnay and Meunier
- Three years on lees
The 2016 season gave low yields, and that shows in the concentration of the wine. Where a lighter year might produce something purely fresh and citrus driven, this bottling leans toward cooked fruit, spice and a firmer texture on the palate. Three years on lees add the toasted bread character, and the Extra Brut finish keeps sweetness low so the savoury side stays in view.
The Drappier family have been at Urville since 1808. Their vineyards sit on south-facing slopes of Kimmeridgian limestone, a soil Michel Drappier describes as poor but capable of great wines. Pinot Noir makes up about 70% of the plantings, which explains why it leads here. The house also has a long-standing interest in using as little sulphur as possible, an approach partly driven by the family’s own sensitivity to it, and in handling wines gently by gravity.
The nose is lightly cider-like and spiced, with cooked ginger and baked apple. On the palate there is tart autumn fruit, ginger and toasted bread, with soft acidity and dense, chewy grip at the back.
A characterful bottle for those who like savoury, rustic Champagne with their food, rather than a light aperitif style.
