Champagne Agrapart & Fils 7 Crus NV Base 23

Champagne Agrapart & Fils 7 Crus takes its name from the seven villages that supply it, all of them estate-owned and estate-farmed.

Agrapart are based at Avize in the Côte des Blancs and hold a reputation as one of the more rigorous grower houses in Champagne. This is the entry point to the range, though the fruit comes entirely from vineyards the family owns and farms. The seven villages are Avize, drawing on younger vines of twenty to forty years, plus Cramant, Oger, Oiry, Avenay-Val-d'Or, Coligny and Vauciennes. The blend is mostly Chardonnay with around 10 per cent Pinot Noir from Avenay-Val-d'Or, and it carries reserve wine raised in neutral oak. It is the most approachable cuvée in the range while staying refined and saline.

Drinking well on release and holding five years or so. Serve at 8°C with oysters, tempura or a simple roast chicken.