2014 Suenen Les Robarts Cramant Blanc de Blancs Champagne

Champagne nerds might recognise this lieu-dit as one of the sources of Pascal Agrapart’s stunning Avizoise cuvée. Suenen’s vines lie across the border in the Cramant section of this vineyard, at the top of a small hill. Originally planted in 1952, then further in 1978 and 1984, the average age of Suenen’s vines is 37 years old with a large portion of massale selection vines. Suenen describes this terroir—30 cm of silty clay over degraded, upper Campanian chalk—as combining the tension and salinity of Oiry with the concentration of Chouilly. It is the most textural of Suenen’s four lieux-dits releases and also, arguably the most complex. Depth and concentration yet with great freshness and drive—it’s impossible to describe neatly but it’s superb.

The 2014 was aged in a single Rousseau 20-hl foudre for 10 months before bottling. As with all the single-site wines in 2014, this spent five years on lees until disgorgement, with two grams per litre in this case, in June 2020.

Other Reviews....
Disgorged in July 2020 with two grams per liter dosage, the 2014 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Cramant Les Robarts is showing very well indeed, offering up aromas of peach, pear, clear honey, citrus oil, white flowers and praline. Medium to full-bodied, saline and layered, it's fleshy but precise, with a long, penetrating finish. Sapid and intense, I can't wait to revisit it after some more time on cork. Drink 2022 - 2040.
95+ points
William Kelley - Wine Advocate (Apr 2021)