Drappier Quattuor Blanc de Quatre Blancs Extra Brut Champagne NV 750ml

The Champagne appellation permits seven grape varieties. Three of them — Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier — account for virtually the entirety of global Champagne production. The other four exist at the margins of the appellation: Arbanne, Petit Meslier, Blanc Vrai (also known as Pinot Blanc), and Fromenteau (a form of Pinot Gris). Of these, only the Aube — the southernmost of Champagne's sub-regions, an hour's drive south of Épernay and closer to Chablis than to Reims — maintains any meaningful plantings. And of the few producers in the Aube who grow them, only Drappier has committed to them with sufficient passion and sufficient vineyard investment to make a cuvée that is nothing but these forgotten varieties.

Quattuor means "four" in Latin. The four white grapes of Champagne, blended in perfect equality: 25% Arbanne, 25% Petit Meslier, 25% Blanc Vrai, 25% Chardonnay. Only Drappier makes this wine. Only the Aube grows these grapes at commercial scale. And only Michel Drappier — the sixth generation of a family that has farmed in Urville since 1808, in cellars originally constructed by Cistercian monks from Clairvaux Abbey in the 12th century — has the generational rootedness and the specifically historical commitment to revival and conservation that keeping these varieties alive requires.

The Wine Advocate awarded 93 Points and described "honeycomb, crisp yellow orchard fruit, dried white flowers, marzipan and toasted walnuts" — a nose of unusual and specifically beautiful complexity. The Fine Finest Bubble called it "hazelnuts, almonds, orange peel and dried pears" with "an attractive, oxidative quality" and "a gracious, crystalline finish." Falstaff awarded 93 Points. Champmarket found "very fresh grapes, citrus fruit, honeyed apples and fig jam" with "lots of freshness, minerality and a very persistent finish." Organic certified. Extra Brut at 4.2 g/L dosage. A Champagne that exists nowhere else.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Champagne Drappier was founded in 1808 by the Drappier family in Urville, in the Côte des Bar sub-region of the Aube département — the southernmost part of the Champagne appellation, whose clay-limestone soils (Kimmeridgian, like Chablis), warmer climate, and centuries-old Pinot Noir tradition make it the most specifically terroir-distinct of all Champagne's sub-regions. The family's 12th-century cellar in Urville — originally constructed by Cistercian monks from the Clairvaux Abbey founded by Saint Bernard — remains the house's primary aging facility, complemented since 1991 by deep cellars dug from Reims limestone that the family purchased to house prestige cuvées.

Michel Drappier — the sixth generation — has led the house since the 1980s and established its most specifically distinctive modern reputation: fiercely low sulfur use (among the lowest doses in all of Champagne), Champagne's first carbon-neutral certification, an increasing number of organic-certified vineyards, and the revival of Champagne's forgotten white grape varieties as the most specifically historical and the most specifically conservation-driven production project in the appellation. The Quattuor cuvée — now certified organic — is the most direct expression of that revival commitment.

Arbanne: an ancient Champagne variety of extremely low yield and extreme disease susceptibility, almost eliminated from the appellation by the 20th century, preserved in small parcels in the Aube. Its contribution is tight, sappy, and mineral — adding structure and a specific citrus tartness. Petit Meslier: another ancient variety, high in acidity and intensely aromatic, producing apple and citrus fruit with a particularly herbal, slightly grassy secondary note. Blanc Vrai (Pinot Blanc): the lightest and the most delicate of the three forgotten varieties, contributing soft floral aromatics and gentle white fruit roundness. Chardonnay: the anchor of the blend — the one variety that requires no revival, whose "elegant and persistent note" grounds the three forgotten varieties in the most universally understood Champagne quality context.

Critics Reviews

Wine Advocate — 93 Points:
"The latest release of Drappier's NV Brut Blanc de Quatre Blancs Quattuor — an unusual blend of Arbanne, Petite Meslier, Blanc Vrai and Chardonnay — opens in the glass with an attractive bouquet of honeycomb, crisp yellow orchard fruit, dried white flowers, marzipan and toasted walnuts."

Falstaff — 93 Points:
"Light golden yellow with green reflections. Very lively bubbles. Fine leafy aromas of white flowers on the nose, with nuances of honey in the background, apple, pineapple and nectarine. Juicy, fresh acidity, salty minerality, elegant, pronounced in fruit finish with almond notes and subtle hints of savouriness, great length with a peppery touch."

The Finest Bubble (confirmed disgorged July 2012 note):
"Laced with hazlenuts, almonds, orange peel and dried pears. An attractive, oxidative quality makes the NV Quatre Blancs quite appealing. A gracious, crystalline finish adds considerable finesse and weightlessness in this expressive, layered Champagne. The wine keeps getting better and better with time in the glass, so some advance aeration is probably a good idea."

Wine Enthusiast:
"An intriguing Champagne. Arbane, Petit Meslier, Blanc Vrai and the familiar Chardonnay have come together in equal proportions. The result is a rich style, with a ripe spice aroma."

Champmarket (confirmed tasting notes):
"Aromas of very fresh grapes and citrus fruit evolve towards notes of honeyed apples and fig jam, carried by a bouquet of white flowers. A Champagne with lots of freshness, minerality and a very persistent finish."

Drappier official:
"Very fresh grapes, citrus fruit, white flowers or honeyed apples. The Quattuor cuvée, from the number four in Latin, is a fine Champagne, mineral and chiselled."

Hi Time Wine (confirmed):
"A limited production project of Michel Drappier — an exquisite example of the wonderful fragrances and flavors that some of the overlooked, arcane grapes of Champagne are able to produce."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Pale gold with green reflections and beautiful strings of very lively, fine bubbles — the three forgotten varieties' combined contribution in a color of unusual brightness and vivacity. The nose opens with the specific and immediately arresting quality that makes Quattuor the most specifically unusual Champagne in the Blackwell's section: honeycomb and dried white flowers arrive first with the specifically ancient-variety aromatic character that no modern Chardonnay-dominant Champagne approaches. Very fresh grapes follow with the Arbanne's most characteristic tight, sappy quality — a freshness that reads younger and more specifically grape-forward than standard Blanc de Blancs Chardonnay. Crisp yellow orchard fruit builds alongside apple, pineapple, and nectarine — the Petit Meslier's aromatic freshness most directly expressed. Marzipan and toasted walnuts add the most luxuriously dessert-adjacent and the most specifically almond-driven secondary qualities from the Wine Advocate note. Hazelnuts, almonds, orange peel, and dried pears add the more specifically oxidative and the more complex aged secondary dimension from the Finest Bubble observation. Honeyed apples and fig jam from the Champmarket tasting add the warmest and the most specifically evolved secondary fruit. White flowers carry throughout.

Palate
Fresh, mineral, rich, and layered — the Falstaff's most complete and the most multi-dimensional palate characterization. The entry is juicy and fresh — the Arbanne's sappy acidity and the Petit Meslier's high natural acidity together providing a palate tension that is more specifically vibrant and more specifically mineral than standard Blanc de Blancs Chardonnay typically delivers. Salty minerality from the Aube's Kimmeridgian clay-limestone soils adds the most specifically terroir-expressive and the most consistently memorable quality in the glass. Fresh acidity drives every flavor note forward with bright, precise energy. The Chardonnay's elegant and persistent character provides the structural anchor that prevents the three forgotten varieties' more unusual aromatic contributions from becoming simply eccentric. Fig jam, honeyed apples, and citrus carry through from nose to mid-palate. The wine improves with time in the glass — the Finest Bubble's specific observation confirmed as advance aeration opens the hazelnuts, almonds, and crystalline finish quality most fully.

Finish
Very persistent, mineral, and peppery-salty. The salty minerality and peppery touch that Falstaff specifically identified are the most specifically and the most enduringly memorable Quattuor finish qualities — a specifically savory, specifically mineral close that is unlike any conventional Blanc de Blancs finish available in the section. Almond notes and subtle savouriness carry through. Great length — the persistent finish confirmed across every review as the expression's most unanimously praised quality. A gracious, crystalline quality resolves the whole experience into something that is simultaneously ancient and entirely fresh.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

The salty mineral freshness, extra brut dryness, and the complex aromatic character of the three forgotten varieties make Quattuor one of the most specifically gastronomic Champagnes in the section:

• Oysters and shellfish — the salty minerality finding its most natural counterpart
• Veal carpaccio with white truffle — the official Champmarket recommendation
• Blanquette de la mer (creamy white seafood stew)
• Spring tarts with vegetables and herbs
• Soft-ripened cheeses — Brillat-Savarin, triple-crème
• White asparagus — the herbal Petit Meslier note aligning perfectly
• Sushi and sashimi — the mineral freshness and citrus precision cutting through raw fish