Agrapart Champagne Venus Blanc de Blancs 2012 Bibendum Wine Co

Although Champagne Agrapart isn’t so well known in these parts, mostly because of the paucity of wine produced, these are currently at the very top of the grower tree and get the same, coveted, three-star rating in La Revue du vin de France’s Le guide des meilleurs vins de France (the highest possible rating). This is the same rating granted to Selosse, Egly and Krug and only nine Champagne estates in total. Not bad for a grower who produces less than 6000 cases in any given year. This stellar Domaine now deserves to be counted among the very finest producers in the region.

Pascal Agrapart is a grower at the top of his game. In France, he is now routinely compared to his neighbour Anselme Selosse, even though the style of wine produced by these two men is markedly different. If you were looking for a Burgundian analogy, you could think of Selosse as Lafon to Agrapart’s Coche. Both in the same village, both exceptional quality, yet both growing wines that are very different. In short, Agrapart picks earlier, uses larger, older wood and bottles earlier, resulting in wines that are less influenced by oxygen. Stylistic differences aside, the quality is on a very similar level which is why La Revue du vin de France is now giving both growers the same three star rating (their highest classification, handed out to only seven Champagne producers in total). Avize has always been a special village, and today, thanks to Agrapart and Selosse, it is at the heart of the great grower movement in Champagne.

You only have to look at the range of wines we offer below to understand how special and unique this grower is. There is now the Complantée, Vieux Millésime and Expérience (a wine that is unique in Champagne), adding further depth and interest to the historical, terroir specific range of Minéral, Avizoise and Vénus (this latter is today simply one of the greatest cuvées of the region). Together, these wines represent a remarkable line-up of Avize mousseux (with a little Cramant), all grown in historically important vineyards by a grower who has few peers in his region.

– Importer Note