Georges Laval
Lively, pure, energetic, mineral Champagnes like the Brut Nature ($90).
Transatlantic Bubbles, Woodbridge, Conn.
Larmandier-Bernier
Pinpoint biodynamic blanc de blancs from the Côtes des Blancs, always full of verve and energy, including the nonvintage Longitude ($60) and the vintage Terre de Vertus ($85).
Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, N.Y.
Pierre Péters
Exquisite blanc de blancs, always impeccably balanced and delicious from the nonvintage Cuvée de Réserve ($65) to the single-vineyard Les Chétillons ($160).
Skurnik Wines
Roses de Jeanne
These focused, precise, gorgeous wines from the Aube region used to be bottled under the name of the vigneron, Cédric Bouchard. He makes cuvées of chardonnay and of pinot blanc, but most are pinot noir, starting with the Val Vilaine blanc de noirs ($85).
Polaner Selections
Ulysse Collin
Rich, intense wines with razor-sharp focus, including Les Maillons, a single-vineyard blanc de noirs ($120) and Les Roises, a single-vineyard blanc de blancs ($170).
Louis/Dressner Selections, New York
If you are ready to shop, here are the phrases to know …
Blanc de Blancs
Champagne is ordinarily a blend of some combination of three grapes. Two, pinot noir and pinot meunier, are black grapes, ordinarily used to make red wines. One, chardonnay, is a white grape for white wine. A blanc de blancs, literally white from whites, is made solely from chardonnay and tends to have great elegance and finesse.
Blanc de Noirs
“White from blacks” is a Champagne made only of black grapes, often but not always just pinot noir. It’s more robust than blanc de blancs and much rarer.
