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Wine Description
The Story
The cellars are located in Ecueil, just south of Reims. Vineyards are all Premier or Grand Cru rated, planted on south-facing hillsides in the communes of Ecueil, Villars-Allerand and Bouzy, all on the Montagne de Reims.
The classic Champagne soil is chalk-based. The "Franc de Pied" parcel supports ungrafted vines because of its high sand content.
Located in Ecueil, on the Montagne de Reims, Nicolas Maillart is a family domaine with 8.5 hectares of excellent Premier and Grand Cru vineyards, spread through the villages of Bouzy, Ecueil and Villars Allerand. Nicolas himself studied in Bordeaux and worked in South Africa before taking over from his father in 2003. He is passionate about quality, with particular focus on viticulture : organic in approach if not in certification, old vines, sélection massale, he even maintains a rare ungrafted parcel of Pinot Noir. In the cellar, fermentation in tank or wood to suit the terroir, and partial barrel-ageing of the reserve wines to produce concentrated Champagnes with impressive power and length that nevertheless remain light on their feet. These are truly exciting Champagnes that command attention without ever sacrificing elegance and drinkability
Vintage 2012
2012 was deemed one of the best vintages the Champagne region has ever experienced. “The quality and the intensity are definitely there to make an outstanding vintage,” Dom Perignon chef de cave Richard Geoffroy told Decanter. The base wines show a lovely richness as well as the acidity needed to make outstanding and long-lived Champagnes. Yields are very low, in some places half of the allowed production.