William Saintot Prestige Premier Cru Extra Brut
William Saintot Prestige Premier Cru Extra Brut — A Premier Cru Champagne from William Saintot, based at Avenay-Val-d’Or between the Vallée de la Marne and the Montagne de Reims, with winemaking by Morgann Trébutien.
Around 90% of the alcoholic fermentation takes place in oak fûts, the remainder in stainless steel, with malolactic either partial or skipped altogether, and no fining or filtration. Four grower-wine decisions, and not one of them is standard practice at a large Champagne house.
What defines the cuvée is the solera method: roughly 30% of the blend comes from a solera begun in 2010, built onto a 2020 base wine, with long ageing on lees before disgorgement. A solera is a vat that is never emptied — a portion is drawn off and new wine added every year — so every bottle contains a fraction of every harvest since 2010. That is the source of its unusual savoury depth and texture.
Dosage is 3 g/l, which places it in Extra Brut territory: virtually no expedition sugar, and therefore nothing to hide behind. Bottled at 12.5% alcohol.
Serve between 8 °C and 10 °C, in a wine glass and never in a flute — in a Champagne this vinous, a flute wastes the aromatics you paid for. At the table: charcuterie and aged cheese, shellfish, grilled fish, dark-meat poultry, mushrooms and truffle dishes. It will carry a full meal.
As a non-vintage Champagne built on a solera, the grape proportions and the base wine vary from release to release.
Around 90% of the alcoholic fermentation takes place in oak fûts, the remainder in stainless steel, with malolactic either partial or skipped altogether, and no fining or filtration. Four grower-wine decisions, and not one of them is standard practice at a large Champagne house.
What defines the cuvée is the solera method: roughly 30% of the blend comes from a solera begun in 2010, built onto a 2020 base wine, with long ageing on lees before disgorgement. A solera is a vat that is never emptied — a portion is drawn off and new wine added every year — so every bottle contains a fraction of every harvest since 2010. That is the source of its unusual savoury depth and texture.
Dosage is 3 g/l, which places it in Extra Brut territory: virtually no expedition sugar, and therefore nothing to hide behind. Bottled at 12.5% alcohol.
Serve between 8 °C and 10 °C, in a wine glass and never in a flute — in a Champagne this vinous, a flute wastes the aromatics you paid for. At the table: charcuterie and aged cheese, shellfish, grilled fish, dark-meat poultry, mushrooms and truffle dishes. It will carry a full meal.
As a non-vintage Champagne built on a solera, the grape proportions and the base wine vary from release to release.
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