Jacques Lassaigne’s Champagnes hail from the village of Montgueux and a 4.7 hectare family vineyard which lies south of the Cotes des Blancs and north of the Aube.  This is a unique terroir for Champagne; the chalk that typifies the Cotes des Blancs mingles with clay and yields a broader style of Chardonnay-based Champagne than the more chiseled and laser-like versions from further north.  This wine is made 35 year-old, organically grown Chardonnay vines from is raised in stainless steel.  Fine cashmere bead.  Bright citrus fruit with leafy, herbal notes on the nose.  Ripe almost tropical undertone on the palate.  It’s a richer, less angular blanc de blancs (Lassaigne uses an extended “prise de mousse”) that still maintains plenty of acidity, minerality and cut.  Nice length and verve for a NV.  Very good.  Now – 2016.