2018 Champagne Suenen, Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut, La Cocluette

Pouring a bright medium yellow color, the 2018 Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs La Cocluette Extra Brut is gorgeous on opening, with aromas of pure wet stones and chalky earth, lemon candies, and pear, as well as savory minerals that underpin the wine. The mousse here does not quite have the refinement of the mousse of the 2021-based wines, but this is an excellent bottling and has a more angular and ageable structure. Drink 2026-2056. ~ (97) Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com 12-15-2025

The most tightly wound of the four lieux-dits is the 2018 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Oiry La Cocluette. Sourced from a parcel planted in 1925 and exposed 70% north (with the remaining 30% facing south), it’s a site where Suenen has recently raised the trellising to 1.7 meters, rolling up the canopies without trimming the apex to provide shade for grapes and soil and benefit from higher maturity of fruit. Vinified in seven-hectoliter concrete egg and used six-hectoliter barrel from Stockinger, it was disgorged in July 2024 with four grams per liter dosage. This year, it’s a great success, combining the tension informed by the the site with expressiveness of the vintage. Offering aromas of lemon zest, oyster shell and dried white flowers, it’s medium-bodied, structured around mouthwatering acidity and vivid chalkiness, concluding with a pure, intensely mineral finish. A harmonious, elegant wine, demonstrating understated complexity, it does not possess any of the 2018 extremes. I can’t wait to see what Suenen can do with the 2019. ~ (96) Kristaps Karklins, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 12-19-2024