Chartogne-Taillet Cuvée Sainte Anne Brut NV Base 23

Chartogne-Taillet Cuvée Sainte Anne is the house's calling card, named for the patron saint of the village of Merfy.

Chartogne-Taillet is based at Merfy in the Massif de Saint-Thierry, a cluster of villages north-west of Reims that sit apart from the classic Champagne heartland and on notably sandier ground. Alexandre Chartogne farms the family's parcels there, and Sainte Anne is built from mature plots in Merfy and Saint-Thierry, each vinified separately and then blended, so that site expression rather than a house recipe drives the assemblage. The 2023 base is 50 per cent Chardonnay, 40 per cent Pinot Noir and 10 per cent Meunier, blended with 40 per cent reserve wines drawn from 2022, 2020, 2019 and 2018. It was matured for nine months in oak barrels of various sizes and disgorged with a dosage of 4 g/L. Antonio Galloni has called it one of the best values in the world of wine, sparkling or otherwise.

Drinking well on release and capable of several years in bottle. Serve at around 8°C with oysters, tempura prawns or a plate of charcuterie.