🍾 Cazals 2013 Clos Cazals Vieilles Vignes Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut – Oger Grand Cru, Champagne, France
94 Points – The Wine Independent
Grower Champagne • Grand Cru Terroir • Aged 10 Years on Lees
Overview & Heritage
The Cazals 2013 Clos Cazals Vieilles Vignes is a singular and powerful expression of Grand Cru Chardonnay from Oger, one of Champagne’s most esteemed villages in the Côte des Blancs. This Grower Champagne is made entirely from old vines planted in the 1950s by the grandfather of current winemaker Delphine Cazals, and comes from a single, walled vineyard—Clos Cazals, a rarity in Champagne.
This vintage Blanc de Blancs was aged a full decade on the lees in the family’s vaulted cellar in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and finished with a 2 g/L dosage, placing it firmly in the Brut Nature to Extra Brut category. Elegant, mineral-driven, and intensely terroir-reflective, this is Champagne at its most precise, pure, and age-worthy.
Tasting Notes
94 Points – The Wine Independent
"Pale golden in color, it opens with one of those Champagne noses that you need to search for, but when you find it, your heart starts racing… Notes of chalk dust, lime leaf, preserved mandarin, with a core of apple tart, baking bread, beeswax, and crushed stone. The palate is beautifully poised—dry and refreshing—with finely woven bubbles and great persistence.”
Additional tasting descriptors include:
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Aromas: White flowers, toasted almond, citrus peel, chalk, and brioche
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Palate: Lean and focused at first, evolving into a textured mouthfeel with green apple, Meyer lemon, pastry cream, and a refined salinity
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Finish: Long, mineral, and mouthwatering with laser-sharp clarity
This Champagne is dry yet round, balancing complexity, elegance, and aging grace.
Vineyard & Winemaking
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Vineyard: Clos Cazals – a monopole Grand Cru walled vineyard in Oger, Champagne
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Grape: 100% Chardonnay
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Vine Age: Over 60 years (planted in the 1950s)
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Soil: Pure chalk – contributes to minerality and tension
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Farming: Hand-harvested
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Vinification:
- Fermented in thermo-regulated stainless steel tanks
- Partial aging in oak barrels for finesse
- Malolactic fermentation completed
- Aged on lees for 10+ years in traditional cellars
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Dosage: 2 g/L – Brut Nature to Extra Brut
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Alcohol: 12.5%
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Disgorgement: November 2021
Why This Champagne Stands Out
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Clos bottling: From a single enclosed vineyard—extremely rare in Champagne
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Old vine Chardonnay: From vines over 60 years old, producing low yields and intense complexity
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Long aging: A decade on the lees develops breadth, depth, and texture
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Grower Champagne: Made entirely by the estate that grows the grapes—no large houses involved
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Grand Cru status: From the chalk-rich terroir of Oger, one of Champagne’s finest villages
This is a connoisseur’s Champagne, built for lovers of precision, age-worthy Blanc de Blancs, and terroir-driven sparkling wines.
Food Pairing Suggestions
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Oysters or caviar – to mirror the salinity and elegance
- Lobster with citrus beurre blanc
- Aged Comté or Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Chicken with truffle cream sauce
- Sushi and sashimi platters
In Summary
The Cazals 2013 Clos Cazals Vieilles Vignes Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut is a masterpiece of Grower Champagne—deeply terroir-driven, long-aged, and full of finesse. With over 10 years on the lees, a minimal dosage, and fruit from old Grand Cru vines, it delivers extraordinary depth, energy, and complexity. Refined, rare, and absolutely memorable, this is a Champagne to treasure, sip slowly, and revisit with joy.
