Adrien Dhondt operates a small negociant project entirely separate from Champagne Dhondt-Grellet, his family estate in Cramant. Launched in 2018, the project selects specific lieux-dits in the southern Cote des Blancs, working with different parcels each vintage and producing each cuvee in micro-quantities. The 2020 release from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is the second iteration of the Chetillons de Haut site and received 95 points from the Wine Advocate's Kristaps Karklins on release.

Chetillons de Haut occupies a mid-slope, east-facing position within Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru. The soils here are among the thinnest on the slope, and the parcel is affected by court-noue (fanleaf virus), which, as in parts of the Cote de Nuits in Burgundy, reduces yields while concentrating flavour and texture. Adrien Dhondt vinified this wine in barrels, approximately one-third new, and disgorged it in April 2024 with a dosage of just one gram per litre. Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru Chardonnay produces wines of exceptional tension, salinity and mineral depth, quite distinct from the richer character of Cramant.

Within the specialist world of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger lieu-dit Champagnes, Chetillons de Haut has a particular profile: richer and more immediately expressive than the wines produced at the base of the slope, yet with the mineral precision and driving acidity that defines Le Mesnil at its best. The Wine Advocate reviewer described this as the most immediately expressive of the three wines in Dhondt's 2020 Mesnil lineup. Production is extremely small, and the wine is available only through specialist allocation channels.

Pair with grilled sole, lobster with beurre blanc or a simple plate of fine oysters. The 2020 vintage character lends generosity and presence; the wine is compelling now and should develop further in the bottle over three to five years in a well-managed cellar.

Bright pale gold with a fine, energetic mousse. Dried white flowers, sweet citrus, smoke and a distinctive chalky mineral note open on the nose. The palate is layered and deep, with a perfumed core of ripe fruit, tangy acidity and a precise, mineral finish of considerable persistence. Both immediately expressive and structured for further development.

The most immediately expressive of the three wines this year. — Wine Advocate