Jestin
Extra-Brut 2010
A deep golden robe with amber highlights, beneath a fine, unhurried bead. The nose is that of a great mature champagne: baked apple, candied mirabelle plum, honey and beeswax, followed by roasted hazelnut and toasted bread inherited from the barrel and over fourteen years on the lees. The palate is…
THE CUVÉES OF MAISON JESTINThe expert verdict
The structure of this champagne
TASTING NOTES
A deep golden robe with amber highlights, beneath a fine, unhurried bead. The nose is that of a great mature champagne: baked apple, candied mirabelle plum, honey and beeswax, followed by roasted hazelnut and toasted bread inherited from the barrel and over fourteen years on the lees. The palate is broad and wine-like, yet remains taut: the zero dosage leaves nothing in the way, and the Trépail chardonnay stretches the material toward a long, saline finish of almond and orange zest. Serve around 10-12 °C, in large glasses, and allow it to breathe.
The composition
Terroirs
Three villages, three growers, three grape varieties. The chardonnay, half of the blend, comes from Trépail, premier cru of the Montagne de Reims, at David Léclapart's; the meunier, a quarter, from Cumières, premier cru of the Vallée de la Marne, at Georges Laval's; the pinot noir, a quarter, from Bouzy, grand cru of the Montagne de Reims, at Benoît Lahaye's. Three estates certified organic and farmed biodynamically, harvested on "fruit" days. Hervé Jestin ages the wines for ten months in oak barrels, following the rhythm of the lunar cycles, then leaves them for over fourteen years on the lees: the 2010 vintage was only disgorged in March 2026, with no dosage whatsoever. 5,050 bottles, 12% vol.
About this house
Hervé Jestin spent twenty-four years as cellar master of Duval-Leroy before founding his own house in Épernay in 2006. Committed to biodynamics for over thirty years, he advises biodynamic estates in France and abroad and crafts the wines of Leclerc Briant. His signature: bioenergetics, a reading of the lunar and planetary cycles applied to every step, from harvest to disgorgement, with as little intervention as possible.
For a long time, the house owned no vines of its own. Its millésimée cuvée is a winemaker's cuvée: Hervé Jestin selects the grapes of three bio growers he admires, David Léclapart, Georges Laval and Benoît Lahaye, vinifies them in barrels, and lets them wait far longer than usual. The 2010 Extra-Brut, disgorged in March 2026, is the proof.
The perfect pairing
Aperitif
The wine's hazelnut and beeswax notes echo those of a long-aged Comté; the zero dosage cuts through the richness of the ham.
Starter
Forest-floor and toasted barrel notes against the umami of mushrooms: the natural pairing of a mature champagne.
Main course
The wine-like body of the 2010 and its length stand up to truffled poultry just as a great white Burgundy would.
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