NV Louis Regnier Grande Reserve Brut Champagne 750 ml

Champagne H. Blin, along with houses like Nicolas Feuillatte, Jacquart, and De Saint-Gall, is one of the finest co-operatives, or groups of growers, in all of Champagne. H. Blin is the house responsible for producing Louis Regnier Grande Réserve Brut Champagne.

The excellence of this house is thanks to the efforts of Simon Blin, its President since 2009. He’s the 12th-generation winegrower in the family, and the grandson of Henri Bin, who founded this co-op with 28 other growers in 1947. Today their numbers have risen to 115 growers, who together own 110 hectares of vines, planted primarily with Pinot Meunier (70%), also Chardonnay (16%), and Pinot Noir (14%).

That variety of terroir gives chef de cave Sébastien Barbier a wide assortment of base wines to blend together for this stellar cuvée. The wines ferment in stainless steel and generally they undergo malolactic fermentation to create a bit more creaminess and texture in the finished product. This non-vintage cuvée include about 30% older wines. Of the bottles they produce, about half of it is consumed in France—it’s always a good sign when the finely honed palates of the bubble-rich Français approve.

Our tasting panel certainly concurred, unanimously approving this bottle for our Champagne Club. This Pinot Meunier-dominated sparkler is so expressive and rich, so bristling with citrusy fruit and ginger in its aromas, we had a hard time putting down the glass. Thankfully you won’t have to do that—until the bottle’s dry.