Laval/Georges Brut Nature Champagne Cumières NV

92 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2017 version of Cumières from Vincent Laval does not have the vintage date on the label, but rather a code on the back label that shows that it hails from this harvest. The wine is its more or less customary blend of fifty percent chardonnay and twenty-five percent each of pinot noir and pinot meunier and was disgorged in February of 2020. It offers up a very promising bouquet of white peach, apple, hazelnut, warm biscuits, a lovely base of soil tones, a touch of buttery oak and a gently smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and beautifully soil-driven in personality, with bright acids, a lovely core of fruit, pinpoint bubbles and superb balance and grip on the long, complex finish. I usually find Vincent Laval’s wines to always need some bottle age when first released, but the 2017 version of Cumières is actually drinking really well right out of the blocks! 2020-2050. (May/Jun 2020)"

92 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "A bottle of the NV (2009) Brut Nature Cumières shows surprising freshness for its vintage and age. Just starting to show the first signs of aromatic and flavor development, the 2009 clearly has the pedigree to drink well for at least another handful of years. The blend is 40% Chardonnay and 30% each Pinot Noir and Meunier, which is to say a little more Chardonnay than is the norm. Drink: 2018-2028. (Jul 2018)"

92 points Wine Spectator: "Rich with whole-grain toast and golden currant notes, vibrant with finely knit acidity, this elegant Champagne is soft and creamy in texture, with flavors of yellow plum, smoked almond and fleur de sel lingering on the finish. (12/31/14)"

92 points Wine & Spirits: "[$90 list] Georges and Nicole Laval gained organic certification for their vineyards in Cumières in 1971; their son, Vincent, came on board in the 1990s and makes the wines today, including this cuvée based on the 2014 vintage. It’s a blend of chardonnay (50 percent), pinot noir (30 percent) and meunier fermented in oak barrels. At first, it feels aggressively naked, with apple and sandalwood notes and nonstop minerality. There’s a cidery side to the flavors that had one taster suggest the wine was “courting hipsters,” but that melds into the mineral tones that emerge with air. It turns fresh and salty, a wine to decant for the Montauk fluke, pickled fennel, trout roe and Thai basil at Four Horsemen in Brooklyn. (Dec 2017)"

*(*) Peter Liem (ChampagneGuide.net): "This is 50 percent chardonnay, 25 percent pinot noir and 25 percent meunier, and 10 percent of the blend is reserve wine from 2009. It’s sleek and supple in texture, its ripe flavors of apple, cherry and citrus encased within a taut acidic structure. The fruit aromas persist with excellent length on the finish, anchored by chalky minerality, and the balance of components is impeccable, making this feel entirely harmonious and complete as a non-dosé. Last tasted: 11/13."