Amour de Deutz Vertical

Champagne Deutz is based in Aÿ.

The Grand Cru village is particularly renowned for the outstanding quality of its Pinot Noir.

It is, therefore, something of a very pleasant surprise for wine lovers that Champagne Deutz makes one of the finest, most elegant, long-lived pure Chardonnay or Blanc de Blancs. That reputation was reinforced for me when I visited last month on 20 January 2022. I had requested to taste a vertical of Amour de Deutz.

“There has been no change since I joined in 2003. The fundamentals are the same. We continue to look for precision and purity at Champagne Deutz. The idea of Amour de Deutz came from our CEO Fabrice Rosset,” informed Davesne as we sat across each other in the tasting room.

“Amour de Deutz is very different from Cuvée William Deutz. We want to give a different expression of Champagne. We are a house, not a winegrower, and we have very good sources of Chardonnay from the Cote des Blancs. The idea of Amour was to propose another style at Deutz. We want to show the consumer, we can also provide a very good Chardonnay,” expounded Michel Davesne.

The first vintage of Amour de Deutz was 1993. The current release is 2011. No Amour de Deutz was produced in 1994, 1996, 2001, and 2004.

The concept of Amour was to propose another style at Deutz. We want to show the consumer, we can also provide a very good Chardonnay,” Cellarmaster Michel Davesne

Champagne Deutz CEO Fabrice Rosset (right) came up with the idea of Amour de Deutz. The first vintage was 1993. Together with Cuvée William Deutz, these are their two prestige cuvées

Amour de Deutz is inspired by the cherub that stands in the courtyard of Aÿ-based Champagne Deutz

Amour de Deutz is without doubt one of the Champagne’s finest Blanc de Blancs

TASTING NOTES

Amour de Deutz 2010

Bright light gold but still with a green tinge. A pure, long line of very refined, delicate but also ripe fruit. Silky. A remarkable achievement in spite of the challenging conditions of the vintage including a lot of rot during summer and a big amount of rain in a short time after the rot. This resulted in skin break on many grapes which caused oxidation. Deutz was able to save the day only through a very strict selection.

Amour de Deutz 2009

The same colour and, again, with a green tinge. This was a hot vintage. The wine is ripe, sunny, richer and broader. Less subtle and less elegant than 2010.

Amour de Deutz 2008

Ripe fruit but much more along the same line as 2010. Citrus and white flowers. Minerality. Lots of  energy. Great ageing potential.

Amour de Deutz 2002 

In spite of its 20 years, the colour still has a green tinge. Nutty, brioche, dried orange peel, and a hint of vanilla (even though there is zero oak in the winemaking or ageing). Ripe, intense, and very elegant. Loads of acidity. Still in its secondary evolution and just now knocking on the door of the tertiary plane. Great poise and wonderful harmony of fruit and freshness. Deserves an extra star to make a total score of 6 stars.

Amour de Deutz 1999 

The only wine without a green tinge. Appley/pear/Mirabelle fruit. Creamy texture with a dry, long finish. Incredibly fresh. A wine of great persistence, panache and balance. As with 2002, deserves 6 stars. This vertical shows very evidently that Amour de Deutz is one of Champagne’s very finest blanc de blancs.

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