Eric Rodez Empreinte Noire (Pinot Noir) 2005

Disgorged in December 2016, the 2005 Brut Pinot Noir Empreinte de Terroir offers up an attractive bouquet of buttered yellow orchard fruit and mandarin, with a subtle framing of new oak. On the palate, it's full-bodied, broad and vinous, with a textural attack, chewy structuring extract and a fleshy core of fruit, concluding with a nicely defined finish. This is a definite success in a challenging Champagne vintage.