With Pur Avize 2019, the Franck Bonville Champagne House delivers a deeply distinctive interpretation of one of the most prestigious villages in the Côte des Blancs. This cuvée, a blend of three plots located around the historic heart of Avize, embodies a vision of the Avize terroir that is both pure and nuanced, where chalk shines through brilliantly beneath the grand Chardonnay vines. In this sunny, early-ripening vintage, the generous ripeness gave rise to wines that are both concentrated and remarkably taut, offering a particularly accomplished expression of the cru.
The color reveals pale gold highlights interspersed with a fine, persistent effervescence. The nose quickly captivates with its straightforward, luminous elegance: acacia flowers, ripe lemon, fresh apple, and crisp pear intertwine with delicacy and precision. With aeration, deeper nuances emerge, blending damp chalk, fresh almond, brioche, and a subtle hint of iodine. The palate impresses with its purity. The attack, lively and slender, evolves into a fuller texture, softened by malolactic fermentation carried out entirely in stainless steel tanks. This winemaking method precisely preserves the Chardonnay’s brilliance and the terroir’s natural verticality. The corkage and five years of aging on racks, meanwhile, add further complexity, endowing the wine with notes of fine pastries, white hazelnut, and fresh butter, without ever compromising its mineral energy. The long, vibrant finish unfolds with precise saline, citrus, and chalky notes.
With a dosage of just 3.3 g/L and scheduled for disgorgement in the fall of 2025, this cuvée reveals a remarkable balance between tension, depth, and finesse. A racy and luminous Blanc de Blancs, designed for fine dining, that will pair naturally with Gillardeau oysters, a langoustine carpaccio, or a delicately buttered sole meunière.
