Clandestin : Les Passagers "Haut de Val Barmont"

Characteristics and Tasting Tips for Les Passagers "Haut de Val Barmont" by Clandestin

Tasting

Appearance

The colour is a pale yellow with subtle green highlights, a sign of the freshness typical of non-dosé blanc de blancs. The effervescence is fine and steady, with a delicate bead of bubbles that underscores the visual purity of the wine.

Nose

The nose opens with notes of fresh lemon and green apple, soon joined by floral touches of hawthorn and white blossom. A pronounced mineral dimension of flint and chalk completes the aromatic picture, while the ageing adds subtle background nuances of fresh hazelnut and almond.

Palate

The attack is lively, driven by a pronounced acidity that creates a vertical, taut structure. The slender texture gives way to a distinct, almost saline mineral backbone, followed by a long finish of chalk and citrus zest, characteristic of champagnes made without dosage.

Food and wine pairings

This champagne is a wonderful match for raw shellfish such as oysters or clams, whose salinity echoes the minerality of the wine. It also pairs beautifully with white fish prepared as carpaccio or tartare, as well as with white fish sushi and sashimi. On a more vegetal note, it can accompany green vegetables such as asparagus, or lightly aged pressed cheeses such as a young Comté.

Serving and cellaring

Les Passagers "Haut de Val Barmont" NV is ideally served between 9 and 11°C, in a tulip-shaped glass that concentrates the aromas and allows the texture of the wine to be fully appreciated.

Les Passagers "Haut de Val Barmont", a taut and mineral Chardonnay from the Côte des Bar

The estate

Champagne Clandestin is a négociant house located in the Aube, in the heart of the Côte des Bar. Its owner-manager, Benoît Doussot, selects grapes from the Barséquanais, with a parcel-based approach inspired by his Burgundian training. This philosophy, centred on the expression of origins, makes Clandestin a insider's address among terroir-driven champagnes.

The vineyard

The grapes for this cuvée come from the Côte des Bar, an essential terroir of Champagne.

Winemaking and ageing

The harvest is carried out by hand to preserve the integrity of the berries. Les Passagers "Haut de Val Barmont" is vinified using natural fermentations driven by the indigenous yeasts present on the grapes. It is aged in French oak barrels, followed by a period of rest on the lees before bottling for the secondary fermentation. The wine then spends several months ageing in bottle on racks, before being disgorged without filtration or dosage, in order to best preserve the expression of the terroir.

Grape varieties

100% Chardonnay