Moncuit Brut Blanc de Blancs GC Cuvee Nicole Moncuit Vv 2004 (3 Fl.)

Parker: Rendered from 90-year-old vines in Les Chetillons, the Moncuits’ 2004 Brut Blanc de Blancs Nicole is fascinatingly scented with roasted pumpkin and hints of caramel that re-emerge as salted caramel and nougat on the polished palate. At the same time, intimations of fresh lime and pineapple in the nose manifest themselves in lusciously juicy, downright vivacious profusion on the palate. The tension between richness and cut mirrors that between subtly confectionary and vivaciously citric, yet somehow it’s 100% productive rather than at all discordant. The tang of candied lime rind and of pineapple close to the core; piquant yet soothing, sweetly suggestive nut creams; and saliva-liberating salinity joined to maritime alkalinity combine for a sensationally sustained finish. Follow this head-turner over the coming decade. Pierre and Odile Moncuit have long offered wines exemplifying the justly celebrated virtues of Le Mesnil, and the only other villages represented amid their 37 acres are in the Sezanne and utilized for a dedicated bottling (whose more recent instantiation is reviewed below). All of the Moncuit wines issue from a single vintage, which in the case of those “non-vintage” wines reviewed for this report, is 2010. The bottle of Moncuit non-vintage Brut Rose that I tasted was every bit as impressive as their (not so!) “basic” Blanc de Blancs, but no designation of lot number could be found on the bottle (normally, this estate embosses these to the lower right of the label), so I was constrained by the conventions I have established to refrain from reporting on it in further detail. 94/100