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B-21 Top Recommendation
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Talk about an unbelievable coup de grâce for our direct-import portfolio! We are thrilled to announce our new domaine-direct relationship with Ambonnay's most dynamic and forward-thinking visionary, Benoît Marguet. You will seldom meet a vigneron more passionate about his craft and more confident in his methods than Benoît, and while his stellar Champagnes might give him ample reason for arrogance, he's anything but. After our domaine visit last October, we went all in on this singular grower.
Combine his almost obsessively meticulous viticulture with some of the finest vine holdings in Bouzy and Ambonnay and you get a range of wines that are simply gorgeous through and through, starting with his flagship 94-point Shaman. Based on the outstanding 2022 vintage, this grand cru blend is "a wonderful combination of fruit, roundness, and freshness" while also maintaining "intensity, power, and a salty structure."
The village grand Cru Ambonnay is itself a 95-point gem of the highest caliber, a "fragrant and very pretty" blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that shows the multi-dimensional potential of both Marguet's vine holdings and his winemaking, but the true brilliance of the range lies in his single-vineyard showstoppers. Made and allocated in highly limited quantities, these are some of the most tranparent, terroir-expressive Champagnes on the market. The 96-point Les Bermonts comes from half-hectare of Chardonnay planted in 1952 on clay and limestone and is "a wine of marvelous harmony that knits everything together into a seamless fabric of the vineyard itself." Likewise, the double 95-point Les Crayeres displays "vivid, chalky aromatics of stunning purity" and a palate of "marvelous fruit intensity" where "the structure and textural vibrancy are just breathtaking."
Finally, the 96-point 2017 Sapience represents Marguet's appreciation for communal, like-minded growers who exhibit the same passion for their work. It's a blend of all three Champagne varietals, cultivated by growers with equally serious methods and repuations – Meunier from Vincent Laval in Cumières, Chardonnay from David Leclapart in Hautvilliers, and Pinot Noir from Marguet's own Ambonnay plots. A "wonderful, profound, lasting" wine of singular character, it's an expression in a category of its own.
This was indisputably the finest line-up top to bottom on our last trip to Champagne, and getting direct access to this cellar is one of the top three highlights of 2025 for our direct-import program, so any avid collector or fan of the most compelling grower Champagnes should dive deep into this selection without hesitation. |
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Benoît Marguet’s Les Crayeres is perhaps his most patently transparent single-vineyard expression, and that’s saying something because the entire single-vineyard line-up is a study in terroir, right down to the massive vases in his tasting room, which each contain a soil cross-section of one of the five plots. As the name suggests, Les Crayeres boasts the thickest white chalk layer and shallowest top soils of all Marguet’s parcels – it’s only 35cm or so before you reach the chalk, and boy does that come through in the wine. Vivid, chalky aromatics of stunning purity lead the way, followed by linear, crisp notes of lemon and green apple and a lovely tension between lifted white floral notes and faint toasty sourdough. The palate displays marvelous fruit intensity as tangerine, grapefruit, and red apple. Peppery spice accents and a firm, slightly smoky mineral spine form the foundation, while the structure and textural vibrance are just breathtaking. The 2020 Les Crayeres is a stellar achievement by an immensely talented winemaker, and it still has a ways to go before it even reaches its prime.
95 points, Andrew Kitz, B-21 Champagne Buyer (Oct 2025)
Bitter lemons, pear skin, pie crust and oyster shell undertones to this minerally Champagne. Very fresh, saline and tightly wound, with a medium body, fine bubbles and a very dry, focused, racy finish. 67% chardonnay and 33% pinot noir from Ambonnay. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Disgorged February 2025. Drinkable now, but better in a few years.
95 points, Claire Nesbitt, James Suckling (Jul 2025)
The 2020 Brut Nature Les Crayères Grand Cru is a blend of 67% Chardonnay and 33% Pinot Noir picked in the eponymous lieu-dit in Ambonnay from vines planted in 1958 and 1974. A crust of freshly baked sourdough rye mingles with pepper and red apple on the nose. The palate is concentrated and beautifully chalky, with a profound, intense core of ripe peach and juicy apricot flesh. This wine is unusually vivid and wonderfully deep, edged with a lovely hint of saltiness on its ample yet linear body.
94 points, Anne Krebiehl, Vinous (Dec 2025)
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