de sousa caudalies 2005

"the first world war was curiously the reason for the creation of de sousa champagnes. indeed, manuel de sousa, a native of the porto region, was part of the portuguese expeditionary corps called up to reinforce the allies. when he returned to his country, faced with a difficult economic situation, manuel de sousa decided to leave with his wife for the champagne region, where he had made contacts during the war. he settled down and worked hard for the winegrowers in the region. later, the eldest son, antoine, met zoémie bondeville, the daughter of a prosperous champagne winemaking family, and soon married her. this was the beginning of success for the de sousa family. today, it is erik, the third generation established in france, who is at the head of the estate with his wife michelle. the estate now covers 11 hectares on the most beautiful terroirs of the côte des blancs, the vast majority of which are grand cru, with 75% of the vines over 45 years old, which is quite rare in champagne. in addition, erik de sousa has progressively converted the entire estate to organic and then biodynamic farming since 1999. his wines have gained in finesse, elegance and expression of their different exceptional terroirs. an absolute reference for lovers of biodynamic champagnes, powerful, tense and offering an assertive minerality. the ""cuvée des caudalies"" is one of the flagships of the de sousa house. made exclusively from grapes from old vines over 50 years old, it is entirely vinified in oak barrels and is the result of blending wines from all harvests since 1995. a great champagne for meals. the result is a complex and intense champagne with a firm structure and a strong yeasty taste. agave, fresh grey bread, gugelhupf (bundt cake), dried peaches, quince jam, mango, persimmon, turkish honey, nougat and limes on the nose lead to a rich and elegant, but also very pure and dry palate, that still does not seem fully developed but indicates energy and length. lemon notes give the finish a nice freshness, though the coda of this cuvée is still a little bit astringent."