Claire Martin Classique Réserve

Wijndomein Sassenbroek

He is a garden architect, she is an architect. In 2011, Johan Bellens and his wife Karen Smets inherited some farmland in Borgloon (Limburg) and decided to plant Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir on a one hectare plot of clay and limestone land facing north-south. An additional hectare has since been added. From these three grape varieties, they produce, under the name "Claire Martin" (the first and last names of Johan's mother), a range of non-dosed sparkling wines, i.e. without the addition of sugar-containing liqueur. The name of their estate, however, is Sassenbroek, a reference to a place in the Borgloon municipality where the remains of a Roman villa were found and, with them, traces of the cultivation of vines in these parts in Roman times (this is disputed by historians interested in the winegrowing past of our region).

Claire Martin Classique

The grapes are harvested by hand and gently pressed in whole bunches. After a fermentation of one to two months, the wines are matured on the lees for a few months, then spend between one and two years in the cellar.

This "Blanc de Noirs" was a favourite in the whole range we tasted. Only 600 bottles were produced for this first vintage, and it was disgorged as and when requested.  

   Clear colour with pink tints.

   Winey nose with fruity and floral aromas.

   Ample and complex on the palate, with a fairly long finish.

   A wine for celebrations, pure pleasure, greed.

   8 °C