First taste: Champagne Alfred Gratien’s 2022 releases

Alfred Gratien is a traditional Champagne négociant, founded in 1864 and based in Épernay. One of the singularities of the house is that for four generations, all the chefs de cave have been members of the same family.

The first was Gaston Jaeger, who began in 1905. Today’s chef de cave is Nicolas Jaeger, who started working with his father Jean-Pierre in 1990 and took over the cellar in 2007.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Champagne Alfred Gratien’s 2022 releases

To celebrate those 17 years of collaboration, father and son decided to create a special cuvée, Cuvée Passation, from the 2008 vintage. This is a very good, classic vintage, with a late ripening period that produced both quantity and quality across all grape varieties.

Cuvée Passation is a blend of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Pinot Noir, with a dosage of 8g/L.

Alfred Gratien only owns 1.56ha of vines, so purchases the vast majority of its fruit. The Chardonnay came from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and the Pinot Noir from Bouzy. Only 410 magnums were produced.

The Memory cuvée is very different; its name is the best explanation! It is produced from only the best vintages of the house. The bottles are aged in its underground cellars, remaining on the lees and disgorged when required, so as to obtain differing styles of the same wine throughout its life.

The 1999 vintage was not a great one in Champagne, which perhaps makes it a surprising choice. It was a year ‘of storms and tempests,’ according to the Comité Champagne. The harvest began in the rain but some areas were particularly well preserved.

Alfred Gratien bought in most of its grapes that year, so could choose the best fruit from the finest terroirs. Thanks to this, the Jaeger family was able to produce stunning Champagne in 1999.

Memory 1999 is a blend of 65% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Meunier and 15% Pinot Noir, with a dosage of 6g/L. It retails at €350.

The last cuvée released by Alfred Gratien in 2022 is a Blanc de Blancs made from grand cru vineyards in Avize and Cramant. 2015 was a hot, dry year that produced great, ripe, fruit-driven Champagnes, and Alfred Gratien’s offering encapsulates this characteristic.

Yohan Castaing rates Champagne Alfred Gratien’s 2022 releases:

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