This wine is the Côte des Blancs on a widescreen. It blends fruit from four Grand Cru villages — Avize, Oger, Cramant, and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger — all of them paragons of chalk and Chardonnay. But these aren’t just any parcels. They’re from old vines, carefully selected for their low yields and deep-rooted expression of terroir. The base vintage is 2018, a warm year that brought generosity, but it’s been tempered by vinification and élevage in stainless-steel tanks to maintain freshness and a firm mineral core that keeps everything in balance.

What’s most striking about this cuvée is its sense of completeness. You get the floral lift of Cramant, the tension of Le Mesnil, the mid-palate creaminess of Avize, and the ripe, golden tones of Oger — all in harmony, all stitched together with fine chalky structure. There’s an elegant classicism here, a feeling that you’re tasting not just a vintage or a village, but the platonic ideal of what Côtes des Blancs Chardonnay should taste like.

If the Grand Cru blend is the wide-angle lens, this bottle is the close-up — a deep dive into the particular magic of Vertus, the southernmost village in the Côte des Blancs and one of its most dynamic. Technically a Premier Cru (though many believe it deserves Grand Cru status), Vertus stands apart for its dual exposures: some vineyards face east, like the Grand Cru villages, others south, and the soils range from pure chalk to more clay-rich zones. This complexity gives Vertus wines a reputation for power and personality.

Hélène’s Vertus bottling comes from old vines in the clay-rich southern section of the village. It’s built on the powerful and highly-acclaimed 2019 vintage which delivers the perfect balance of ripeness and fine-grained detail. The vin-clair for this cuvée aged in older oak barrels bringing a gentle kiss of toastiness to the bright, crunchy white fruit.

What jumps out first is the tension — a kind of coiled energy that tames the wine’s natural ripeness and salinity. There’s real depth here – look for an additional layer of flavors below the obvious ones (Something savory? Some pastry notes?). Pay attention while you drink this wine, and you’ll be rewarded.