Terry Theise recently tasted the latest releases from Champagne Hébrart, a producer whose wines he has admired for years. This time, he tasted the first six without knowing their technical details, then revisited them with information about blends, vintages, and winemaking. The experiment highlighted how much expectations can shape a tasting.
Oak was a recurring theme. Jean-Paul Hébrart thinks Theise dislikes it, but his objection is not to oak itself: it is to wood that overwhelms a wine or seems out of place. He found Hébrart’s oak-aged wines excellent, while wondering whether some might be even more expressive if the wood played a quieter role. The Pinot Noir still wine, he felt, wore its oak beautifully; the Chardonnay’s oak was more conspicuous, though he enjoyed it nonetheless.
Still wines
2023 Coteaux Champenois Vin Rouge de Mareuil-sur-Aÿ
This Pinot Noir improved substantially over several days. At first it showed rosehip and warm tomato aromas, with fleeting reduction, elegant but countrified character, soft tannin, and a longer finish than expected. Its dusty vinosity gave the wine structure rather than a forceful expression of terroir.
Theise praised it as an unpretentious, satisfying food wine. It was especially good with lamb chops, cherry tomatoes, peppers, and green beans—and left him wishing he had a case in his cellar.
NV Coteaux Champenois Blanc
Made from hand-picked grapes and aged in wood for 18 months on fine lees, without malolactic fermentation, this wine reminded Theise of a fine Chablis. It combined creamy texture with a precise, restrained line and impressive length. He liked it, but felt that the wood spoke more loudly than the soil. He wondered whether the wine might be even more compelling if the oak took a supporting role.
Non-vintage Champagnes
Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Brut
Theise called this the finest non-vintage Blanc de Blancs he had tasted. Its interplay of chalk, cream, and floral notes seemed seamless, with a delicate honeyed character and what he considered ideal dosage. He described it as “perfect wine”—a Champagne whose balance and deliciousness left little to imagine improving.
The blend was 45% 2022, 25% 2021, and 30% 2020, with six months in cask. For Theise, this was an especially deft use of wood.
Cuvée de Réserve Premier Cru Brut
Usually a 90/10 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, this cuvée showed a firmer, more sinewy character than Theise remembered. Its fragrance offered a vivid portrait of Pinot Noir, and it developed impressively in the glass. Stainless steel, he suggested, can reveal an unexpected side of the grape, turning fruit into a more analytical and compelling expression.
Sélection Premier Cru Brut
This release had an unusual 70/30 Pinot Noir–Chardonnay blend. Rich and tactile, it brought to mind the stature of a prestige cuvée, while retaining freshness and poise. Theise found it superb: a full-bodied Champagne with a striking combination of melon-like freshness, tomato-water notes, and generosity.
Rosé Premier Cru Extra Brut
More serious and concentrated than the rosé’s usual delicate style, this bottling showed green, savory notes—tomato leaf, artichoke, and marigold—alongside white peach. It began as a stern, sumptuous wine, then grew leaner and more graceful over several days without losing its strength.
Mes Favorites Vieilles Vignes Brut
Made from old vines in nine favorite parcels in Mareuil, this wine prompted Theise to ask whether Champagne could be more beautiful. Its clear expression of Mareuil’s character also led him to question whether the commune deserved Grand Cru status.
Despite its richness and complexity, the wine remained light-footed and lucid. Theise likened its buttery brioche character to a version made with twice the butter.
Vintage and single-vineyard Champagnes
“Rive Gauche, Rive Droit” Extra Brut 2018
This Grand Cru Champagne combines Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Aÿ, Chouilly, Avize, and Oiry. Theise found it excellent, with length, poise, and ambition, but the oak was prominent. He wondered whether it might recede with time, allowing the wine’s savory, rural character and terroirs to emerge more clearly. In a smaller glass, the wood was less assertive and the Champagne showed as thoroughly lovely.
Special Club Premier Cru Brut 2021
A cool-vintage Champagne of chalk, petrichor, and precision, the 2021 impressed Theise through clarity rather than power. He found it especially beautiful in a smaller glass, where its terroir came into focus. Rather than relying on volume or impact, it made its case through an elegantly structured expression of Champagne’s essential qualities.
Special Club Premier Cru Brut 2019
The riper vintage brought brioche, hawthorn, caramel, and maize, balanced by vivid freshness. Theise saw the tension between richness and energy as an early sign of greatness. He praised it as a classic, vigorous Champagne that showed Pinot Noir in the lead, while emphasizing that the producer’s top cuvée excels through class and finesse rather than sheer intensity.
Noces de Craie Grand Cru Extra Brut 2019
Made entirely from Pinot Noir in Aÿ, this Blanc de Noirs led Theise to call Aÿ “the Musigny of Champagne.” He described the wine as magnetic, balanced, and a glorious expression of its origin. Though he wondered whether a little Chardonnay might have added another dimension, he considered it a wine of exceptional stature.
Clos le Léon Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2016
From a celebrated parcel in Dizy, this wine had been aged in wood. Theise liked it, but questioned whether the relatively slim 2016 vintage could fully support that approach at its current stage. The wine’s performance varied significantly by glass, and it improved as it warmed. He considered it ambitious and excellent, with the potential to become more harmonious over time.
Across the tasting, Theise returned to a central impression: Jean-Paul Hébrart’s Champagnes are benchmarks, combining beauty, precision, and a distinctive sense of place. Their ambition is not simply to impress, but to express Champagne in ways that invite both admiration and thought.