Our 2015 Cuvée Nude Champagne blind tasted. No dosage. No label. Here's what the critic wrote
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14.5 out of 181: what blind tasting actually proves
Every year, Antoine Gerbelle — one of France's most respected wine critics — runs a blind tasting. No labels. No reputations. Just what's in the glass.
Out of 181 champagnes submitted, only 50 made the first cut. Our Cuvée Nude 2015 Brut Nature was among them. It scored 14.5/20 — in a selection where the highest mark awarded that year was 17/20.
What Brut Nature means, if you're new to it
Most champagne contains what's called a dosage: a small addition of wine and sugar after disgorgement, used to balance acidity and round out the profile. Standard practice, nothing wrong with it.
Brut Nature — also called zéro dosage — contains none of that. No added sugar. No correction. The wine is what it is.
It's the most unforgiving format in champagne. There's nowhere to hide: not average fruit, not a difficult harvest, not shortcuts in the cellar. Everything in the glass comes from the grape, the soil, and time alone.
What the critic wrote
Gerbelle described the Cuvée Nude as having a creamy mousse, a tender attack, and then — as it opens up — its terroir grain appears, full-bodied, with smoky, peaty notes. A naked and shapely champagne. A strong result for a non-dosé.
Callipyge — the word he used in French — comes from Greek, meaning well-rounded, beautifully formed. Applied to a Brut Nature, it's a rare compliment. These wines tend to read as austere, tight, reserved for insiders. This one is generous without being propped up. That's exactly the point.
Why the 2015 vintage
2015 was an exceptional year in Champagne. A warm summer, outstanding ripeness, concentrated and balanced fruit. For a Brut Nature, it's the ideal harvest: enough natural maturity to need nothing added.
Cuvée Nude 2015 is a blend of Chardonnay (50%) and Pinot Noir (50%), aged for several years on lees in our cellar in Brasles, Vallée de la Marne. Disgorged without expedition liqueur. Bottled as is.
What you have in the glass is 2015. Nothing else.
What this says about how we work
Being selected from 50 out of 181 in a blind tasting isn't something you can buy your way into. No house reputation, no commercial relationship plays a role. The wine speaks alone.
For a ten-hectare estate in the Vallée de la Marne, that's exactly the kind of recognition that means something.
Want to try it? Get in touch to check availability.