Professional reviews
Robert Parker (94)
Sourced from a warm, southeast-facing parcel situated above Les Carelles in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger—where only 40 centimeters of soil cover fractured chalk—Aurore Casanova’s NV Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Malo Chardonnay is based on the 2021 vintage and incorporates reserve wines from 2019 and 2017, drawn from bottles that had not completed the second fermentation. Opening with aromas evocative of orange oil, pine resin, dried flowers and sandalwood with a hint of Sichuan pepper, the wine is medium- to full-bodied, concentrated and expansive. It deftly marries the tension and energy of the 2021 vintage with the breadth and richness of older reserves. For a village known for producing tightly wound, sometimes austere wines, this bottling offers an uncommonly lavish fruit core, underpinned by a chalky structural backbone and concluding with a long, saline finish. As with the rest of the range, it was disgorged without dosage, though here it retains 4.3 grams per liter of residual sugar. This year, it stands out as the most accomplished and precise wine in the range.
BOW (8.50)
Terroir Mesnil sur Oger Grand cru, a lieu dit called "Malo“. Half-slopes, chalky colluvion soil, fine brown topsoil of 20-30cm, east/south-east exposure, plot in the heart of an amphitheater. Chardonnay planted in 1990.
Alternative viticulture practiced on this plot, in accordance with the biodynamic calendar and with respect for people and the environment. Harvested by hand at full maturity.
Plot vinification: Harvest 2017-2019-2020, Chardonnay, traditional pressing on stainless steel maie, spontaneous natural fermentation, ageing on lees in 228 and 400L barrels for 11 months.
Bottling August 2021 without fining or filtration. Disgorgement October 2023. Dosage 2 g/L , the liqueur is based on the plot's perpetual reserve.
Tasting Intense golden color, complex and rich palate. The tension of the chalk offers a freshness of citrus and candied citrus zest. The saline finish recalls the minerality of this wine.
