Arnaud Moreau
Tradition Grand Cru
A clear, bright robe, alive with a fine, steady bead. The nose is charming and generous: ripe apple and peach first, then brioche and a light buttery note, the mark of Bouzy pinot noirs that have reached full ripeness. The attack is generous, the palate round and enveloping — this is the cuvée's…
THE CUVÉES OF MAISON ARNAUD MOREAUThe expert verdict
The structure of this champagne
TASTING NOTES
A clear, bright robe, alive with a fine, steady bead. The nose is charming and generous: ripe apple and peach first, then brioche and a light buttery note, the mark of Bouzy pinot noirs that have reached full ripeness. The attack is generous, the palate round and enveloping — this is the cuvée's signature —, carried by fine bubbles and a freshness that stays in balance: the 6 g/L dosage supports the fruit without ever weighing it down. The finish returns to citrus, crisp and thirst-quenching. Serve it between 8 and 10 °C, in a tulip glass rather than a flute, and drink it within three to five years: its pinot noir from Bouzy also allows it to age a little longer in the cellar.
The composition
Terroirs
Bouzy stretches along the southern flank of the Montagne de Reims and is one of the seventeen villages classified Grand Cru, the top of the Champagne cru scale. Here the chalk regulates water and radiates heat back; the south-facing slopes bring the pinot noir to a ripeness that few terroirs offer so consistently — hence these full-bodied, structured champagnes with red fruit aromas. The estate cultivates four hectares in Bouzy and Ambonnay, two of Champagne's seventeen Grands Crus, using sustainable viticulture and hand-harvesting: every grape is, by definition, a Grand Cru grape. Tradition is its most direct expression: 70% pinot noir, 30% chardonnay, cellared in 2022, dosage 6 g/L.
About this house
Three generations have succeeded one another on rue Gambetta, in Bouzy: François, then René, then Arnaud Moreau, who took up the family torch after a first career in IT. The estate has four hectares of vines in Bouzy and Ambonnay, two villages classified Grand Cru, farmed using sustainable viticulture and hand-harvested. From this heritage come seven cuvées, from Tradition to the single-plot Érynn: each one a different reading of the same terroir.
Tradition carries the number 01 and the word the house chose to sum it up: Elegance. It is the estate's flagship cuvée, the one through which you enter the Moreau world — the gesture passed down over three generations, the everyday balance of a Bouzy Grand Cru, to be opened without waiting for a special occasion.
The perfect pairing
Aperitif
Fine charcuterie is one of the four pairings the house recommends: the roundness and ripe fruit envelop the fat of the cured ham, while the citrus finish cuts through it.
Starter
Another house pairing: the fine bubbles and balanced freshness meet the briny iodine of oysters and shellfish, without the 6 g/L dosage sweetening them.
Main course
The pairing the house highlights: the wine's buttery, brioche note extends the creamy sauce, while the Bouzy pinot noir holds up the poultry's flesh.
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from Maison Arnaud Moreau
