Sadi Malot Les Cepages

Sadi Malot Les Cepages tells two stories at once: the meeting of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the patience involved in building a Champagne from wines of different years. It comes from a family estate in Villers-Marmery, a village on the eastern Montagne de Reims whose vineyards are unusually dominated by Chardonnay. Against that backdrop, a two-grape blend has an identity of its own. The cuvée combines Chardonnay with Pinot Noir, introducing a black-grape dimension to a producer best known for the white grape of its home village. It is also notable for its use of reserve wine. The blend described for Les Cepages includes 50% reserve wines from a perpetual system begun in 1982. This is a substantial contribution, designed to give the finished Champagne another layer of continuity beyond the character of a single harvest. The perpetual reserve is an especially good reason to explore Sadi Malot. Each year adds to a longer cellar history, while the current harvest provides a fresh point of departure. That interaction is more revealing than a simple division between young and old wine: it explains how a small family producer can maintain a recognisable character without pretending that seasons are identical. Five generations of the Malot family have worked in Villers-Marmery, and the estate is now associated with Franck and Christine Malot alongside Florian and Cindy. Its range remains strongly centred on Chardonnay. Cuvée d’Origine is a natural comparison for the producer’s village style and reserve-wine approach; Zéro Liqueur offers a way of exploring the house’s philosophy without dosage. Les Cepages belongs alongside them as a deliberately mixed-grape choice. At dinner, the combination of grapes and a meaningful reserve component makes this a bottle worth considering beyond the opening toast. It could accompany roast chicken, a mushroom risotto or a firm, gently nutty cheese. Those are invitations to experiment rather than promises about a specific aroma or flavour. Give the Champagne a few minutes in the glass to see how it develops. For a repeat purchase, check the bottling details and any stated base harvest. A perpetual reserve does not make every release identical. Les Cepages is an appealing choice when you want the family’s cellar history and a broader grape blend in the same glass.