Delavenne
Lumière
Pale gold robe with green highlights, crossed by a fine, delicate bubble that rises unhurriedly. The nose, forthright, opens on fresh fruit and white flowers, then reveals citrus and a very fine minerality — the chalk of Cramant, unmistakable. The attack is lively and crisp, followed by a lovely…
THE CUVÉES OF MAISON DELAVENNEThe expert verdict
The structure of this champagne
TASTING NOTES
Pale gold robe with green highlights, crossed by a fine, delicate bubble that rises unhurriedly. The nose, forthright, opens on fresh fruit and white flowers, then reveals citrus and a very fine minerality — the chalk of Cramant, unmistakable. The attack is lively and crisp, followed by a lovely roundness that three years on lees have softened without ever weighing it down. The finish, saline and persistent, closes a wine of great purity, at once lively and refined.
The composition
Terroirs
One hundred percent chardonnay, hand-harvested on the Cramant terroir — a grand cru of the Côte des Blancs, whose deep chalk soils give blanc de blancs their characteristic minerality and tension. The wine ferments in stainless steel vats with only the plot's indigenous yeasts; malolactic fermentation is not sought, and the wine is neither fined nor filtered. It then rests for three years on lees before a discreet dosage of 7.5 g/L. The house, based in Bouzy, also holds plots in Ambonnay and Cramant: three grands crus, and it is the last that defines this cuvée.
About this house
Delavenne Père & Fils is a family grower-producer established since 1920 in Bouzy, at the heart of the Montagne de Reims. Jean-Christophe Delavenne and his wife Maëlle now run the fourth generation. The estate works its own plots across three grands crus — Bouzy and Ambonnay for pinot noir, Cramant for chardonnay — and practises sustainable viticulture, now engaged in a conversion to organic farming.
The house's philosophy can be summed up in a few words: preserve and innovate. Vinification in stainless steel vats, indigenous yeasts, no malolactic fermentation, no fining or filtration, and a long ageing on lees — a craftsman's approach that lets the terroir speak without artifice.
Lumière is the cuvée that best embodies this approach: a blanc de blancs from Cramant, from a winemaker best known for his Bouzy pinot noirs. It received the Gold Medal at the ELLE À TABLE 2018 competition and 91/100 in the Champagne Guide 2020-2021.
The perfect pairing
Aperitif
The delicate bubble and lively attack cut cleanly through the richness of the parmesan shortbread — the aperitif recommended by the house itself.
Starter
Chalk against iodine: the minerality of Cramant and the wine's saline finish match the oyster without overpowering its flesh.
Main course
Fish and seafood, the pairing signed by the estate: the dosage held at 7.5 g/L leaves the freshness of the seafood platter intact.
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