Benoît Munier

Benoît Munier

I've tasted 4 champagnes from Benoît Munier -- and everything about this house is just right. If you love Blanc de Blancs, you can't ignore Munier. Located in the best sites of the Cote des Blancs, with access to Grand Cru parcels in Cramant and Avize, Munier makes exclusively Chardonnay champagnes. And at the highest level.

Terroir and Location

Cramant and Avize -- two of the most famous Grand Cru villages of the Cote des Blancs. The chalk soils here are legendary: millions of years old deposits that give the vines minerality and salinity that you can taste in every glass. Munier has the privilege of farming parcels in both villages, which gives him a range of expression that's impressive.

Philosophy and Style

At Munier, it's all about Chardonnay and terroir. No red grape varieties, no distractions. The champagnes are purist, mineral, and show an almost stoic precision. The dosage is consistently low to zero -- many cuvées come to market as Brut Nature. This requires perfect grape material and craftsmanship, because without dosage, a champagne forgives no mistakes.

The Range

Four cuvées from three different vintages -- all 100% Chardonnay. The range impressively shows how different Blanc de Blancs can taste when you vary the sites and vintages.

The Cuvées in Detail

Vieilles Vignes Cramant 2018

Old vines from Cramant -- this is champagne aristocracy. Delicate but deep with floral notes, citrus, chalk and clear salinity. This champagne shows its origin in an elegant, unobtrusive way. No muscle-flexing, but finesse. The old vines give the wine a concentration and density that younger plantings don't achieve.

With fine fish in butter sauce or a plate of langoustines, this is an outstanding companion.

Type: Blanc de Blancs | Vintage: 2018 | Grape varieties: Chardonnay

Millésime 2018 Cramant & Bouzy

Powerful, structured and razor-sharp -- the counterpart to the Vieilles Vignes. Zero dosage and unfiltered, plus completely aged in wood. Here Chardonnay shows its serious side. The depth and clarity are impressive. A champagne for people who seek challenge in the glass.

Compared to the Vieilles Vignes, this champagne is much more angular and uncompromising. Where the Vieilles Vignes convinces with elegance, the Millésime relies on power and precision.

Type: Blanc de Blancs | Vintage: 2018 | Grape varieties: Chardonnay

Les Avats du Levant – Avize Grand Cru 2017

Salty freshness with citrus notes and fine spice -- a precise Blanc de Blancs without dosage from the difficult 2017 vintage. That in a vintage that gave many growers problems, a champagne of this quality was created, speaks volumes about the careful handwork at Munier. The Avize origin shows itself in a somewhat broader, more opulent style than the Cramant cuvées.

My tip: Anyone who wants to taste the difference between Cramant and Avize should try this alongside the Vieilles Vignes. Two Grand Cru sites, only a few kilometers apart, and yet completely different in expression.

Type: Brut Nature | Vintage: 2017 | Grape varieties: Chardonnay

Millésime 2015

Taut structure with salty precision -- this champagne has spent six years on the lees and shows a maturity and depth that's impressive. Works with both fish and spicy wraps. Aromatic, deep and long on the finish. The warmer 2015 vintage gives the wine additional opulence that's kept in check by the lack of dosage.

Type: Brut Nature | Vintage: 2015 | Grape varieties: Chardonnay

What Makes Munier Special?

The uncompromising focus on Chardonnay from Grand Cru sites, combined with consistently low to zero dosage. This is Blanc de Blancs in pure form -- no marketing, no frills, just terroir and craftsmanship. For me, one of the best Blanc de Blancs houses in Champagne.

My Tastings

Conclusion