Champagne Cazals Power
I am not a myth — Marlene Dietrich
A champion of change, a high-spirited visionary and passionate about Champagne. Its in her blood and spirit, Delphine Cazals runs Champagne Cazals and is also a member of LA TRANSMISSION Femmes en Champagne. They are connected by their passion for the terroir, the history, and above all, love of champagne.
Delphine Cazals is the third generation member to lead Champagne Claude Cazals. Her house is attached to the winery and her mother lives in the château inside the Clos de Cazals. The estate was founded in 1897 by Ernest Cazals, a cooper from the south of France. He was Catalan, hence the name, same as the renowned cellist, Pablo Casals (pronounce the “s”). He moved to Champagne where he met his wife, and together they founded their maison in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Since then, three generations of wine-growers - including Delphine’s father Claude Cazals, who invented the gyropalette in 1969 - have followed each other at the head of the winery.
Their 10 hectares of Chardonnay vineyards are in Côte des Blancs villages - Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger, Oger, Vertus and Villeneuve. This particular Clos was purchased in 1940s from the Nobel Peace Prize winner and politician Léon Bourgeois. Delphine noticed that Clos Cazals, a 3.7 hectare clos as well as the largest in Oger, was consistently creating their best champagne. She discovered that the Clos terroir was one degree higher than the other parcels. On her own, no family support, she petitioned the Comtie de Champagne to have their vineyard designated as a clos. In 1995 she was granted the right to name it a Clos, a very proud moment in her career. To put it into perspective, there are only 39 in all of Champagne. The Clos Cazals is divided in two parts - the oldest vines are in Clos Cazals and the younger 25 year old vines are in the parcels that surround the old chapel, hence the name Chapelle du Clos, hence the names of the two cuvées that this parcel produces. This Blanc de Blancs is mostly fermented in in thermo-regulated stainless steel vats with 10% oak barrels. The Brut dosage is 6g/liter and aged for 8 years before release (60 months sur lie).
ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕘𝕟𝕖 ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕦𝕕𝕖 ℂ𝕒𝕫𝕒𝕝𝕤, “𝕃𝕒 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕖 𝕕𝕦 ℂ𝕝𝕠𝕤” 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℂ𝕣𝕦 𝕄𝕚𝕝𝕝é𝕤𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝟚𝟘𝟘𝟡
You are so golden in your beauty with DELICATE FINE Active bubbles twinkling like tiny stars in the glass.
At first the elegant aromas were bright lemon marmalade, tangerine peel, vanilla crème de pâte, dried peach and bruised apple, but with some time in the glass it evolved to an explosion of savory aromatics - smokey mushrooms, crushed anise seeds, salted caramel, buttery brioche and dried white flowers.
Lush is the best word I can think to describe this Blanc de Blancs. It has a central density yet is lively on its feet. The flavors evolve from yellow apple and yellow pear, saline minerality, crushed chalk, lemon curd, tangy marmalade, nougat to licorice, ginger and roasted hazelnuts. The palate is tight and compact, driven by these flavors and framed by a subtle salinity. The finish refreshing and tangy.
The power is evident in this beauty - Marlena Dietrich comes to mind - her strength, her gumption and elegance - this lady is a power player. If you haven’t discovered this beauty I would highly recommend you do.
