2018 Pascal Agrapart Venus Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Champagne Grand Cru

Champagne Pascal Agrapart is one of the great grower producers, based at the heart of the Cote des Blancs in the grand cru village of Avize. Pascal has the reputation for being a grape grower first and Champagne producer second; a philosophy shared with his son Ambroise who is now in charge of production. Ambroise and the team works an astonishing 70-plus micro-plots in the Cote des Blancs, mostly in Avize, but also in Cramant, Oiry, Oger, Avenay-Val-d’Or, Bergeres-les-Vertus and Mardeuil. All of these parcels are ploughed, and no chemical pesticides, fertilisers or herbicides are ever used. Production is very small, with no more than 6,000 cases produced in any given year.

Venus is a very special wine from a very special plot. It comes from one-third of a hectare of vines in the renowned Avize vineyard plot, La Fosse aux Pourceaux. This 0.3-hectare section of La Fosse lies on the chalkiest portion of the slope near the village (contrasting with the more clay-rich soils of the Avizoise cuvée). The vines were planted in 1959 and so are extremely old by Champagne standards. This single parcel cuvée is therefore made in only tiny quantities each year. The wine is named after the Boulonnais mare, Vénus, that first ploughed the vineyard. Venus has more depth, grip and phenolic power than Avizoise, yet it offers plenty of finesse and mineral intensity to match the wine’s power and complexity.

Other Reviews....
Disgorged in August 2024 without dosage, the 2018 Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Vénus, as always, derives from La Fosse aux Pourceaux, a 0.6-hectare plot of land in Avize planted in 1959, which is farmed solely by man and horse, without the use of heavy mechanical equipment. With texture defined by the maturation in old 600-liter oak barrels, Vénus is more discreet than the broad shouldered Avizoise but more demonstrative than the crystalline Minéral, despite the short distance between La Fosse aux Pourceaux and Le Champ Bouton that defines Minéral. Unfurling from the glass with aromas of honeysuckle, pear, fresh hazelnut and iodine, it is a harmonious wine with an intensely chalky profile, laden with bright acids. More elegant than its 2017 rendition, Agrapart’s desire to capture freshness and precision is very well realized in this edition. Drink 2024-2044.
96 points
Kristaps Karklins - Wine Advocate (Dec 20, 2024)