La Fête du Champagne!

The Wines…

First: Dominique Moreau’s pick,

Poillot Pére et Fils Champs Reyes 2013

Varietal: Chardonnay

Region: Polisot, Champagne

The vineyards are located primarily in the town of Polisot. Roland's father was extremely passionate about vineyard work, and replanted all of his vineyards using the selection massale method, and even kept some of the old Pinot Blanc vineyards that most of his neighbors were replanting to Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. In 1986, Roland decided to bottle the wines himself, and since 2009, they have converted the vines to organic farming. The house style is based on crisp, refreshing champagnes that are elegant and easy to drink.

The Champs Rayés cuvee comes from an area known as Noé les Mallets where Roland has two plots of vines “Champs Rayés” and “Derrière le Bois” planted entirely to massale selection Chardonnay and both of which have clay, marl and limestone soils. The resulting Champagne is a fine, elegant and rich wine of incredible finesse.

A bit about Moreau-

Dominique Moreau named her estate after her grandmother, Marie Courtin, whom she describes as a “woman of the earth”. With the 2005 vintage, Dominique set out to produce a series of single-vineyard, single-variety, single-vintage, zero-dosage Champagnes from biodynamically-grown grapes that are farmed and elaborated with meticulous care.

Champagne Marie Courtin is located in the village of Polisot in the Côte des Bars (often referred to as the Aube), in the southern part of the Champagne region. With its slightly warmer temperatures, this area is particularly prized for its Pinot Noir grapes. Combined with the Kimmeridgian limestone sub soils, Aube champagnes retain a freshness similar to Chablis, which is more of a neighbor to Polisot than Epernay or Reims! In fact, many of the Grand Marques source their Pinot Noir from the Côte des Bars because of this unique combination of texture and delineation that the sub-zone provides.

Second: Guillome Selosse’s Pick,

Ruppert-Leroy, Les Cognaux

Varietal: Pinot Noir

Region: Essoyes, Champagne

The Ruppert-Leroy farm lies at the southeastern limit of the appellation, outside the small village of Essoyes, just five kilometers from the border with the Côte d’Or.

Literally in the middle of nowhere, it is about as far from Reims and its big houses as a Champagne producer can be. Much of the fruit produced here is sold to the local cooperative or very quietly to the Marne’s grandes marques.

Their story begins in the 1970s with Gerard Ruppert, a back-to-the-lander armed with a doctorate in philosophy. Ruppert began tending a half-hectare of vines near Essoyes organically, at a time when much of Champagne’s land under vine was heavily treated with chemicals and fruit quality had little importance.

Gerard sold his grapes to the local cooperative, but approaching retirement, he offered them to his daughter Benedict Leroy. Leroy jumped at the chance to shepherd the wine from vine to bottle and quit her job in order to devote herself full time to the domaine.

Although new to making Champagne, the fruit they worked with was impeccable, thanks to Gerard’s decades of organic viticulture. As Benedicte says, “The quality of our wine comes directly from the quality of the grapes we have,” a direct result of their focus on keeping their soil and vines naturally healthy.

The Cognaux is aged in tank and barrels sur lie for 6 months, then 2 years in bottle ‘sur lattes’. Bottled brut nature. Expressive and balanced with aromas of raspberry and strawberry, floral notes of rose, peony, and stone fruit. Fresh and gourmand in the mouth with a nice tension. Very long mineral finish.  

A bit about Selosse-

The name of Jacques Selosse, today, is the absolute excellence in Champagne. Jacques Selosse and his son Anselme started to vinify their grapes in 1974, when the world of Champagne was dominated by a few large Maison. After 1980, he and his wife Corinne succeeded his father at the helm of the winery. Anselme and Corinne’s son, Guillaume, has, since 2012, been preparing to follow in his father’s footsteps. During the time spent working side by side with his father, he has naturally been developing his own viticultural skills and inclinations which will most certainly lend a unique identity to the wines in the future. The transition and transmission in motion at the domain may be likened to a relay race where the athletes are handing off the baton; the baton of passion for wine, vines and fine food and drink. With great integrity, open-mindedness and vigor, Guillaume is readying himself to leave his own mark upon the family history of dreams, ambition and charisma that are his alone.

Third: Jerome Prevost’s Pick,

Chevreux Bournazel La Parcelle

Varietal: Pinot Meunier

Region: Connigis, Champagne

Stéphanie Chevreux and Julien Bournazel are a husband and wife team - they own and run a vineyard management company that farms over 370 acres of vineyards throughout the Champagne region for a multitude of producers small and large. They specialize in Organic and Biodynamic viticulture, and they're the go-to team for top quality hands-on vineyard work.

La Parcelle is an amazingly rare cuvee from a single parcel in a small village called Connigis which based on very steep slopes. Pinot meunier plays the leading role here and is doing an excellent job at that. This is farmed biodynamically, fermented in oak with minimal filtration and has no malolactic fermentation.

Expect rich layers of nougat, toasted spice, yellow plum fruit and a warmth. Bold mouthfeel, textured and layered with some of that warm spice coming through all the way to the finish. There is a creamy quality which is unusual for non-malo or no dosage.

Meunier strikes again. There is a tiny 4 barrels of this full bodied biodynamic gem produced each year with the number of every bottle out of 350 hand written on the back. 

A bit about Prevost-

Today there are a handful of wines from elite, artisanal grower-estates in Champagne that have attracted a nearly cult-like following. One of the most sought-after of these is the meunier of Jérôme Prévost. Prévost established his La Closerie estate in 1987, when he inherited a parcel of vines from his grandmother, who had previously been renting out her vineyard rather than cultivating it herself. Prévost began to work these vines, selling his grapes to the négoce, but in the 1998 vintage, his friend Anselme Selosse convinced him to start producing his own wine. As Prévost had no cellars of his own, Selosse offered to share a corner of his cellars in Avize: Prévost made all of his wines there until the 2002 vintage, which was vinified in his new cellars in Gueux but later bottled in Avize. Since 2003, all of the production has taken place in Gueux.  Prévost’s two hectares of 40-year old meunier vines are all located within a single vineyard, Les Béguines, located in the village of Gueux. He does have an additional 20 ares in a parcel directly adjacent to Les Béguines, co-planted with meunier, chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot blanc, but as these vines are still young, they are currently blended with the meunier. It’s possible, however, that they may be used to produce a different cuvée in the future. 

Fourth: Melanie Tarlant’s Pick,

R. Pouillon & fils Rosé de Maceration

Varietal: Pinot Noir

Region: Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Champagne

The Pouillon family has been growing grapes in the region for over a century, but it wasn’t until 1947 when Fabrice’s grandfather, Roger Pouillon, decided to produce wine from his holdings along with the help of his wife, Bernedette, and his uncle, Louis Baulant, a well-known winemaker and consultant in the region.  The estate continued to grow over succeeding decades as grape contracts expired allowing the family terroirs to be reincorporated into the Pouillon estate.  James Pouillon, Fabrice’s father, joined the firm in 1964 and modernized the cellar by adding enamel-lined tanks and gyropalletes.  Fabrice joined his father in 1998 after finishing degrees in both business and oenology school, and he has taken the winery in an exciting new direction. Working in the grand cru of Aÿ and throughout the Vallée de la Marne and the Montagne de Reims, Fabrice is crafting articulate, expressive, terroir-driven wines that are vibrantly aromatic and intricate on the palate.

This wine is 100% pinot noir from the premier cru Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Fabrice macerates the juice on the skins for up to 12 hours before it is pressed and fermented in enamel. Then 20% of the juice is raised in neutral barrel and the rest is blended with the previous year's wine which was in barrel for 12 months. Doing so allows Fabrice to balance the tannins which naturally come from saignée rosé with the mellowness which comes from a year in neutral barrel. "You must smell the color," says Fabrice.