2018 Champagne Christophe Baron Les Hautes Blanches Vignes Brut Nature | Charly-Sur-Marne Champagne, France 1.5L MAGNUM

With Pinot Meunier fruit harvested from old vines, tiny yields and a minimalist approach in the cellar, Champagne Christophe Baron creates wines of great depth, high complexity and intense minerality. The style is vinous, dry and gastronomic. No dosage is added, which allows the terroir to shine through.
Each parcel is vinified individually, and the wine crafting is as naturally non-interventionist as possible. Both the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations are carried out with indigenous yeast, in a mix of demi-muids and barrels. The wines are neither fined or filtered, are disgorged with no dosage and are bottled only in magnums.
This dedication to purity and craft yields serious Champagnes that are highly singular and energetic. The wines offer a remarkable combination of power, structure and transparency, and a creamy finish adds further complexity.
As a result the Champagnes created are intensely soil-expressive and strikingly original in personality, with vibrant balance and intensity. Disgorged 2022. | Christophe Baron

Seriously impressive in this warm vintage... On the nose there are toasty marzipan and nutmeg tones that combine with suggestions of cantaloupe and guava, giving this an exotic edge. The palate is deep and rich with a silky texture and very refined mousse upon entry. Finishing long with bright citrus fruits and copious minerals, this is a dashing, deep Champagne with loads of aging potential. | 97 points, Owen Bargreen for owenbargreen.com

...powerful and full of Meunier character shaped by the natural warmth of this mid-slope parcel. Dried pear, cinnamon, ginger and dried flower all grace this rich yet finely cut Champagne from Christophe Baron. Bright saline notes punctuate the expressive finish. | 95 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous

This has beautiful notes of pastries, lemons, kumquats, chamomile, cheese puffs and caraway seeds. It's medium-bodied, fragrant and textured, with very fine bubbles and delicious salty pastry character. Fantastic tension and length. 100% pinot meunier. From organically grown grapes. | 96 points, James Suckling

Champagne always tastes better in magnum. | Ernest Hemingway