Pierre Peters Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Cuvee de Reserve 375ml

The Wine... Pure green apple fruit, laser-like precision and definition, all the chalk you can shake a stick at. Francois Peters seems capable of capturing pure liquid chalk in a glass at this 19-hectare estate. If you love Riesling like we love Riesling, then I predict this will become your new favorite Chardonnay.

The Man... Pierre Peters has the power to turn Champagne on its head. There is orthodoxy of thought around the hierarchy of big Champagne houses: in most observer's estimation legendary brands like Krug, Salon, Bollinger rest on a cloud floating far above the fray of other commercially important names. But how does the pricing pyramid shake out when talented growers like Pierre Peters are factored into the equation? His vineyard parcels are arguably the equal in terms of potential of sites famed by Salon to make wines that are exaggeratedly more expensive. Sometimes the style at Pierre Peters suggests Krug-like intensity. Over a span of years I've tasted top wines from both ambitious growers and the pinnacle of prestige Grande Marque bottlings, and they can be pretty neck-and-neck: exceptional quality exists on both sides of the aisle. So why am I paying six times more for Salon, again?

The Class Structure... Farmers fueled the growth of Champagne as a brand across several centuries, a marketing success story that may have benefited everybody in the region to a degree, but certainly left most accumulated wealth in the hands of aristocratic and often foreign owners. But many of these grape growers are wising up and making their own character-filled and intensely local wines, keeping a little more cash for themselves in the process.