One of Champagne’s best-kept tête de cuvée secrets, the 2004 Ployez-Jacquemart Liesse d’Harbonville is a remarkable late release from a producer that has always quietly made some of the most serious wines in the region. It has been a long time since we have offered anything from Ployez-Jacquemart, and this is an exceptional way to revisit the house. The 2004 vintage was especially strong for Chardonnay, and this wine shows that beautifully, with tremendous freshness, mineral energy and finesse even after more than two decades. Liesse d’Harbonville is fermented and raised in oak without malolactic fermentation, then given extended lees aging, building real depth and complexity while preserving the tension and precision that define the best prestige Champagnes. The 2004 is elegant, finely etched and beautifully mature, with citrus, chalk, brioche, hazelnut and subtle oxidative complexity carried by a long, saline finish. This is a serious, fully developed Champagne from an under-the-radar producer, and a rare opportunity to buy a mature tête de cuvée with both pedigree and age already built in.
John Gilman 96+ points! "The 2004 is the new release of Laurence Ployez’s Liesse d’Harbonville bottling. The wine is crafted this year from roughly seventy percent chardonnay and thirty percent red grapes, with the red grapes being equally split between pinot noir and pinot meunier in this vintage. All of the vins clairs were barrel-fermented and did not go through malolactic fermentation, as is customary for this bottling. It was disgorged in March of 2021 after nearly sixteen years aging on its fine lees. The bouquet is deep, refined and complex, wafting from the glass in a blend of apple, pear, brioche, just a hint of hazelnut, a complex base of chalky soil tones, a discreet touch of smokiness and a very understated framing of oak. On the palate the wine is vibrant, focused and full-bodied, with beautiful depth at the core, superb soil signature and cut, a lovely girdle of acidity, elegant mousse and a very long, complex and impeccably balanced finish. This is a great bottle of Champagne that is just starting to drink nicely and has decades of life ahead of it, with its apogee still at least ten years in the future. It is not quite as powerful in personality as the 2002 Liesse d’Harbonville, but perhaps even a tad more elegant in profile. In fact, it strikes me as the most refined young release of Liesse d’Harbonville that I have had the pleasure to taste and may well be my favorite vintage yet of this superb Tête de Cuvée. Like all releases of this wine, it is built to age long and gracefully and it is still very early days for the 2004 Liesse, but it is so beautifully balanced that it is already a great joy to drink. (Drink between 2023-2075)"
2004 Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne Liesse d'Harbonville
2004 Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne Liesse d'Harbonville
One of Champagne’s best-kept tête de cuvée secrets, the 2004 Ployez-Jacquemart Liesse d’Harbonville is a remarkable late release from a producer that has always quietly made some of the most serious wines in the region. It has been a long time since we have offered anything from Ployez-Jacquemart, and this is an exceptional way to revisit the house. The 2004 vintage was especially strong for Chardonnay, and this wine shows that beautifully, with tremendous freshness, mineral energy and finesse even after more than two decades. Liesse d’Harbonville is fermented and raised in oak without malolactic fermentation, then given extended lees aging, building real depth and complexity while preserving the tension and precision that define the best prestige Champagnes. The 2004 is elegant, finely etched and beautifully mature, with citrus, chalk, brioche, hazelnut and subtle oxidative complexity carried by a long, saline finish. This is a serious, fully developed Champagne from an under-the-radar producer, and a rare opportunity to buy a mature tête de cuvée with both pedigree and age already built in.
John Gilman 96+ points! "The 2004 is the new release of Laurence Ployez’s Liesse d’Harbonville bottling. The wine is crafted this year from roughly seventy percent chardonnay and thirty percent red grapes, with the red grapes being equally split between pinot noir and pinot meunier in this vintage. All of the vins clairs were barrel-fermented and did not go through malolactic fermentation, as is customary for this bottling. It was disgorged in March of 2021 after nearly sixteen years aging on its fine lees. The bouquet is deep, refined and complex, wafting from the glass in a blend of apple, pear, brioche, just a hint of hazelnut, a complex base of chalky soil tones, a discreet touch of smokiness and a very understated framing of oak. On the palate the wine is vibrant, focused and full-bodied, with beautiful depth at the core, superb soil signature and cut, a lovely girdle of acidity, elegant mousse and a very long, complex and impeccably balanced finish. This is a great bottle of Champagne that is just starting to drink nicely and has decades of life ahead of it, with its apogee still at least ten years in the future. It is not quite as powerful in personality as the 2002 Liesse d’Harbonville, but perhaps even a tad more elegant in profile. In fact, it strikes me as the most refined young release of Liesse d’Harbonville that I have had the pleasure to taste and may well be my favorite vintage yet of this superb Tête de Cuvée. Like all releases of this wine, it is built to age long and gracefully and it is still very early days for the 2004 Liesse, but it is so beautifully balanced that it is already a great joy to drink. (Drink between 2023-2075)"
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