Bruno Dangin, Cremant de Bourgogne Rose

It’s a request we get almost every single day, and it’s one that’s almost impossible to fill: “I need a great bottle of Champagne under $40.” We still don’t have a magic solution, but we do have the next best thing – the impeccable Cremants de Bourgogne from Bruno Dangin.
His wines may not technically be from Champagne, but Molesme, the small town that the Dangin family call home, sits just a stone's throw south from Champagne proper. Up until 1919 the producers here actually had the right to make Champagne. The soils in Dangin's vineyards, which he farms organically, are identical to what you find across the Champagne border in the Aube. In the cellar these bottles are treated exactly as you'd expect from a top grower producer in Champagne. The wines ooze class and complexity, and every time we take one of these bottles home for ourselves (often), we almost have to laugh at how much satisfaction they deliver for such a modest price. His rosé is 100% Pinot Noir from 30+ year old vines in Molesme, aged for 20 months sur latte. Manages to be vinous, textured and lifted all at once. There’s a purity and delicacy to the wispy red fruits on display and a cleansing, chalky sensation to the lengthy finish that is on the level of rosé Champagne at twice the price.