2018 Champagne Christophe Baron Les Alouettes 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

...Intense ginger and white peach aromas combine with salted mixed nuts and a dusting of peat moss on the nose. The palate is plump and round, as the generous texture really entices. This has both the weight and bright acidity to cellar well for at least another 15 years - and potentially more. I would consider giving this one more year of bottle time. | 97 points, Owen Bargreen for owenbargreen.com

An impressively chiseled pinot meunier with aromas of lemons, pear blossoms, white apricots, hazelnuts and salted focaccia, with a sprinkle of sea salt and toasted sourdough. Tight and focused, with a medium body and fine bubbles. So much structure and sharpness here. 100% pinot meunier from vines planted in 1968. From organically grown grapes. Only in magnum. | 97 points, James Suckling

...a bit more tense and airy than the Hautes Blances Vingnes, Baron's other Champagne from the vineyard in Charly-sur-Marne. Elevation and strong winds in this site confer tons of sheer energy. White pepper, mint, crushed rocks and jasmine are all finely cut in this wonderfully chiseled, crystalline Champage. Bright saline notes build into the palate staining finish. Superb. | 95 points, Antonio Galloni for Vinous

Champagne always tastes better in magnum. | Ernest Hemingway