“Terrers”, Corpinnat, Brut Nature

With its five-plus years of lees aging and its hand-riddling and manual disgorgement, “Terrers” is a “basic” cuvée that sees more back-of-house time and labor than the overwhelming majority of Champagnes of any echelon. Built on the back of the minerality-enhancing Xarel·lo, fortified with Macabeu and a hint of Parellada, it offers penetrating minerality, with snappy orchard fruits, and citrus blossom all given definition by sizzling acidity. Its extended lees contact is felt in the wine’s palate-commanding breadth and it possesses a precision that shames its peers, all the while remaining irresistibly delicious.