Les Closeaux
Professional reviews and tasting notes from prior vintages added as published. Scores within parentheses indicate barrel samples:
2019 Les Closeaux
96 Points
...A wine with serious personality, the aromas of quince and ripe nectarine come to mind alongside salted cashew nut and shades of marzipan. The palate is plush and soft with a refined mousse and glorious length with sous bois and flinty accents. As with the other new Champagne Christophe Baron bottlings from the 2019 vintage, this really needs another year in the bottle. –Owen Bargreen, owenbargreen.com
95 Points
My favorite of the Christophe Baron offerings, the 2019 Champagne Les Closeaux Brut Nature ("The Little Clos") is sourced from a single parcel in the village of Croutte-sur-Marnes from vines planted in 1925. It’s compelling on opening, with more depth and a layered profile, offering lots of pure Meunier fruit of framboise, shortbread, orange blossoms, and chalky earth. Moving to the palate with ease, this medium to full-bodied Champagne rounds out the palate with a pillowy mousse and a long, even, and balanced finish. Although it’s open now, I expect this to have a good deal of longevity over the coming 12-15 years. Disgorged May 2023. 1499 magnums produced. –Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com
2018 Les Closeaux
96 Points
Lovely aromas of dried apples and yellow cherries with bread dough, spiced orange peel, dried rosemary, chamomile and pie crust. Its medium-bodied and structured with clean and pointy acidity throughout, with a creamy mousse. It’s tense and will need some time. Beautiful chalky minerality to close. 1,599 magnums produced. 100% pinot meunier. From organically grown grapes. Disgorged April 2022. Zero dosage. Try after 2024. –James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
96 Points
This is a new wine to this portfolio, as the Les Closeaux comes from a 1.49 acre parcel located in the town of Crouttes-sur-Marne. Vines from this site were first planted all the way back in 1925. Very dense like the other wines of this lineup, this offers concentrated gooseberry, pear, flint, lemon rind and starfruit flavors alongside pastry crust and cardamom notes on the palate. Full of tension, with serious weight, this beauty is just starting to hit its stride. Initially a bit reticent, give it 20-30 minutes in the decanter if consuming now to indulge in the full range of flavors. –Owen Bargreen, owenbargreen.com
95 Points
Ripe and inviting, this is another fantastic wine from Christophe Baron. Pouring a shimmering straw with a subtle copper hue, the 2018 Champagne Les Closeaux Brut Nature is also generous with fruit-forward appeal out of the gates, revealing notes of fresh apricot, tangerine, hay, and honeycomb. Elegant and even on the palate, it has a pillowy mousse similar to the 2019, with lovely concentration for the vintage and notes of ripe citrus through the finish. It is a lovely wine to enjoy over the coming 15 years. Disgorged April 2022. 1599 magnums were produced. –Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com
94 Points
The 2018 Brut Nature Les Closeaux (Magnum) is the most open and accessible of Christophe Baron's 2018s. It has plenty of Meunier character, but also softer edges that make it very easy to enjoy today. Dried pear, spice, mint, red cherry, and crushed rocks abound. The Closeaux could easily be mistaken for Pinot Noir given its flavor profile and overall feel. At the same time, sandy soils confer notable sensuality. It's a gorgeous wine by any measure. –Antonio Galloni, Vinous