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Wine Description
The Story
This Champagne comes from a rare, ungrafted vineyard of Pinot Meunier. Phylloxera has never touched this sandy parcel, and we passionately continue to preserve these vines. The limestone content is lower in this vineyard than in the surrounding ones, with only the primary root of the vine descending deep into the calcareous bedrock. This wine provokes strong emotions. Once the proper tasting temperature is reached and the wine sufficiently aerated (varying according to the vintage), it offers a wide range of flavors and aromas that reflect the history and origin of our terroir.
- Blend : 100% Pinot Meunier from ungrafted vines
- Dosage : No added sugar
- Vinification : Oak barrels (3 to 9 years old), natural yeasts, no filtration
- Vine age : 60 years old/li>
- Vintages : 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
- Soils : Thanetian sands, with a deep root system extending over two meters (over 6.5 feet)
Vintage 2013
The Champagne harvest 2013– late, but potentially outstanding
It has been another strange year for Champagne, starting with a cold, wet winter, followed by a gloomy, chilly spring with a lot of rain. Vine development started two weeks behind the ten-year average, and never made up for that lost time.
Along the way came a hot dry summer, boosting fruit quality thanks to the most sunshine ever recorded in Champagne in July and August.
Rain came from 6 September onwards, which helped to fatten the berries - then fortunately stopped in time to allow good conditions for final ripening. Considering the lateness of the harvest, the weather this year was exceptionally good – almost summer-like with unusually warm temperatures and sunshine, and a wind from the east to help keep the grapes healthy.
It was a year of big differences in the timing of the harvest, with picking in the most precocious plots starting on 24 September and in the slower-ripening areas on 9 October. Most plots commenced harvesting in the first days of October – the latest start date seen in Champagne for two decades.
Bearing in mind the economic situation, Champagne's governing body has set the yield limit at 10,000 kilos per hectare. Most crus should achieve this yield, excepting only a few that were partially affected by millerandage (shot berries), hailstorms and botrytis.
An average potential alcohol of nearly 10% ABV and good acidity averaging around 8.5g H2SO4 per litre together suggest a promising balance for the eventual wine. The Champenois are already drawing favourable comparisons with the vintages of 1983, 1988 and 1998 – these too being the product of late harvests.