Champagne Frerejean Frères Brut Grande Reserve

Champagne Frerejean Frères Brut Grande Réserve is a refined non-vintage cuvée that captures the elegance and energy of the Côte des Blancs. Crafted from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier, it balances generosity and precision, making it as suitable for celebration as it is for a quiet, contemplative glass. This grande réserve style reflects longer aging and careful blending, giving it more depth and character than many standard NV Champagnes.

Tasting Notes
In the glass, this Champagne shows a bright, pale golden hue with a fine, persistent mousse that hints at careful aging on lees. The nose is expressive and layered, with aromas of ripe orchard fruits—pear, apple, and mirabelle plum—alongside lemon zest, toasted brioche, hazelnut, and a gentle chalky minerality that speaks clearly of Champagne’s limestone soils. On the palate, it is poised and complete: fresh, lifted acidity supports flavors of baked apple, citrus cream, white flowers, and subtle spice, wrapped in a creamy, rounded texture from extended lees contact. The finish is long, dry, and mouthwatering, with lingering notes of toasted nuts and saline minerality. As a non-vintage Grande Réserve, it is drinking beautifully on release but can comfortably age for another 3–5 years, gaining further complexity, nuttiness, and depth.

Production
Frerejean Frères sources fruit from carefully selected vineyards in Champagne, with a strong focus on the chalk and limestone-rich terroirs around the Côte des Blancs, which impart tension, precision, and a signature mineral backbone. Grapes—Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier—are typically harvested by hand to ensure optimal selection of bunches and to preserve the delicacy of the fruit. Fermentation occurs in temperature-controlled vessels, often with a portion vinified or aged in oak to add complexity and texture before blending. After the secondary fermentation in bottle, the wine is aged sur lattes for an extended period compared to many standard NV Champagnes, allowing the development of fine bubbles, creamy mouthfeel, and layered autolytic notes before disgorgement and a carefully judged dosage.

Food & Serving
This Brut Grande Réserve is highly versatile at the table. It pairs beautifully with classic canapés, oysters, shellfish, sushi, and sashimi, as well as richer dishes like roasted chicken, creamy risottos, and soft cheeses such as Brie or Chaource. It also shines as an aperitif, where its balance of fruit and freshness can really stand alone. Serve well-chilled at around 8–10°C (46–50°F) to highlight its finesse; a brief 10–15 minutes in the glass or in a decanter-style carafe can help it open up aromatically, especially if served with food.

Producer
Frerejean Frères is a relatively young but highly regarded Champagne house, founded by the Frerejean-Taittinger brothers and rooted in the prestigious terroirs of the Côte des Blancs in France’s Champagne region. While drawing on deep family connections to the historic Champagne trade, the house positions itself as a modern ‘artisanal’ producer, focusing on low-intervention, quality-driven practices and longer aging than many large maisons. This approach has earned Frerejean Frères growing recognition among sommeliers and Champagne enthusiasts, with the Brut Grande Réserve often seen as a benchmark of the house style: generous yet precise, gastronomic, and distinctly terroir-driven.