Pascal Henin Champagne Maza

Pascal Hénin Champagne Maza is the sort of bottle that quietly overdelivers. Pinot-led and finely judged, it opens with crisp orchard fruit, citrus peel and freshly baked brioche, then settles into something softer and more generous once it has been in the glass a while.

It is a grower Champagne, which is the part worth caring about. The big houses buy fruit from across the region and blend for consistency — a house style you can rely on year after year. A grower makes wine from their own vines, which means the bottle tastes of a place rather than of a brand, and it usually means better value, because you are not paying for the marketing budget. House of Decant leans hard towards growers for exactly that reason.

Pinot Noir leading the blend is what gives this its shape: more red-fruited weight and structure than a Chardonnay-dominant Champagne, with the brioche note coming from time spent on lees. There is genuine freshness here, but also enough depth to keep things interesting well after the first pour — the mark of a wine that was not built purely to be an aperitif. Equally at home poured on arrival or stretched across a long lunch with good company and something rich on the table. Elegant, quietly confident, and dangerously easy to return to.

How to Serve

9-11°C, and please use a white wine glass rather than a flute — a Pinot-led Champagne with this much on the nose deserves the room. Open it fifteen minutes before you pour. Drink over the next three to five years.

Where to Drink It

Noble Rot, whose list is built on exactly this kind of grower bottle. Bentley's for oysters at the bar. Dandy on Maltby Street for something more relaxed.

Food Pairings

Roast chicken and Champagne is one of the great underrated pairings and this Pinot-led style is built for it. Otherwise a plate of charcuterie, or a really good cheese straw with the first glass.