Chablis

Fête de St Vincent 2012, Courgis by Carol Brown

Our day began with a short drive to the village of Courgis, this year’s host of the 45th Saint Vincent Festival (St Vincent is the patron saint of winemakers). The honour next year goes to Prehy, it will be 2031 before Courgis hosts it again.

You would expect me to be accustomed to the cold after 20 years of living in Aberdeen but none of us were quite prepared for the minus 10 degrees that would follow us around for 3 days. A 2km walk down hill from the drop-off point gave an opportunity to take in the rolling vineyards below.

The villagers had been busy for a long time in preparation for the celebrations, with each house and winding road decorated with hundreds of paper flowers. The theme was games – cue giant Rubik’s cube and Monopoly board.

The service from Notre Dame de Courgis was broadcast across the village by tannoy as were the speeches during the day, occasionally punctuated by bursts of the traditional Burgundian wine song and much waving and clapping of hands and wherever people were, they joined in. A parade of statues from each village set off from the church accompanied by members of La Confrérie Des Piliers Chablisiens in their green and gold gowns.

A wine, with grapes from around Chablis, is produced especially for the occasion and was available from a number of ‘Caveaux’ set up around the village- it was well-chilled, in fact so cold that remnants in the glass froze!

It was also my first introduction to fragrant, citrusy Vin Blanc Chaud. It was very welcome not just as a warming drink but as a hand warmer too. 

Lunch was simple and alfresco – frites, escargots and andouillettes.

The air might have been cold but the Courgis atmosphere was certainly warm and a great start to our trip.

Back in Chablis, warmed by thermals and hot chocolate, we took a stroll through the vineyards of the Grand Cru. Starting at the foot of Les Clos and working our way up the steep slope this gave a real feel of the aspect of the vineyards and also justified another excellent meal at the Hostellerie des Clos in the evening!

Photos by Hugo Read
J Moreau et Fils by Angela Reddin

Now owned by Boisset Family Estates, the estate is one of the oldest in Chablis. A heavily pregnant Lucie Depuydt, winemaker at J Moreau et Fils, was our host for the tasting at the winery just outside Chablis itself. Described as much a viticultural warrior as a winemaker, Lucie is very firm about what style she wants to make and spends as much time in the vineyards as in the winery. Fruit comes from 15 different growers: Lucie is very hands on, advising as how best to achieve the fruit balance for each style of Moreau wine. They are not organic as “that is not a good thing here”, because of Chablis’ northerly climate but they are using less sulphur.

 

Photo by Hugo Read

The grapes are hand-harvested by local pickers as they cannot offer accommodation which means the fruit comes in in just 7 days, picking 24 hectares at 3 or 4 hectares per day. And they are one of the latest in the area to pick. Vintage starts mid to late September. “We want the wines to be age-worthy, only achievable with hand-harvesting”. Lucie believes oak flavours obscure terroir and they want the wines vibrant, mineral and fresh however they do use between 15and 20% for the Grands Crus wines but never new oak.

Vinification - Depending on what level they are producing can be either stainless steel, as for the Petit Chablis. They are very careful re oxidation, vinification is “simple”. Denis Dubourdieu spent some time with them as consultant and advised changing the harvest date.

They also took his advice with regards to understanding the “good maturity of the grapes” and now pick earlier. Juice pressing became gentler and slower to avoid phenolics, juice settling became less, and fermentation quicker to avoid oxidation. Neutral yeasts are used to cut out yeast aromas.

The malolactic fermatation is induced straight after the alcoholic fermentation, if they decide to do it, to avoid oxidation. Lucie belives that if a malolactic fermentation is not needed it indicates the grapes were picked too late. The wine is kept on gross less without stirring and is cold stabilised without tartrate addition meaning less chilling but more wine movement which can lead to oxidation so it is all very carefully monitored. Kieselguhr filtration after stabilisation. The wine is racked after fermentation and following cold stabilisation and again finally after filtering.

Domaine de la Meuliere by David Copp

Domaine de la Meuliere is owned by the Laroche brothers (unrelated to the Laroche company and other Laroche vignerons /co-operative members) and comprises 24 hectares, mainly around the village of Fleys a couple of miles to the east of Chablis, but also in 4 of the premiers crus vineyards at the heart of the town.

Vincent Laroche cares for the vines and is responsible for sales: Nicolas makes the wines and runs the cellar. Both brothers share a belief in natural processes, controlled yields and manual harvesting (and handwork in general) because they feel it is the best way to express the true nature of their individual terroirs. They pick to ensure maximum freshness of flavour, press lightly and ferment at around 18˚C.

We tasted their complete range noting the consistently fresh, clean house style; they make precise wines with character and individuality such as their Vieilles Vignes 2010 which had only just been bottled. It is a distinctive wine, widely favoured by restrainers and wine specialist shops.

Of the Premiers Crus, the stand out wine was the 2010 Vaucoupin which had elegance and finesse with pretty floral notes. It won a gold medal in the 2010 Chablis awards.

I also admired the well-rounded Fourchaume 2010. This vineyards adjoins the Grands Crus and there is a streak of blue clay which adds fatness and suppleness to the firm mineral edge. The other wines tasted included a lively Mont de Milieu 2010, and the rich and generously flavoured 2008 Mont de Milieu Vieilles Vignes, Cuvée les Gougueys, made from low yields of 62 year old vines with a small part of the cuvée being matured in oak.

In Chablis it is sometimes difficult for a visitor to appreciate some of the finer wines during their ‘shut-down’ period which can last for 2-3 years after the first year. Patience and understanding are required. But Vincent assured me that both the 2009 and 2010 vintages have plenty to offer and that the very best expression of these vineyards would become even more evident in two years time.

Pascal Bouchard by Gilbert Winfield

Just outside the centre of Chablis village is Pascal Bouchard, long-established Chablis estate and negotiant of the same name.

This looks deceptively simple, but, just as in most other facets of Chablis, the reality is more complicated, for within this company reside two others: DRB, described as a new concept, created by Pascal Bouchard’s two sons Damien and Romain, and Romain Bouchard, Domaine de la Grande Chaume, wines from Romain’s ‘estate’.

It was Romain who guided us with great charm and humility through a tasting of wines from all three estates.

The building at Pascal Bouchard is slick and modern, a pristinely clean efficiency of design; perhaps to allude to the clean minerality of the wines. Under the guidance of Romain, who is the organic enthusiast in the family, the viticulture here is heading towards sustainable, with chemical fertilisers and treatments eliminated, and grass grown between the rows.

The outside temperature was -10°, so we all have our coats on, as you see. Romain is in the centre.

Pascal Bouchard is a traditional sort of house, with oak, almost all old, used to some extent for all the wines. He doesn’t want it to show, though, only to broaden the flavours, and this is borne out by the tasting. Highlights include a classic 1er Cru Fourchaume ‘Vieilles Vignes’ 2010, from 30-60 year-old vines, showing peach and melon fruit charm, typical of Fourchaume, with that fresh, mineral (an overused word but it is everywhere here) stone fruit acidity, and a superb Grand Cru Les Clos 2007. 100% oak aging is used, but it doesn’t taste oaky, instead showing open, buttery richness, ripe white stone fruit, apricots, and clean, steely, Grand Cru linearity (d’you see how I managed to avoid the ‘m’ word!)

Romain refers to DRB as a ‘boutique negotiant’. They buy must from single vineyard parcels of selected growers, and vinify at their father’s estate. There is no blending; in their words ‘...each wine offers the expression of its own terroir’. Both brothers are involved equally, although Damien tends to be more in charge of vinification. They try to avoid oak. However, the star of the range which they showed us was their 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 2010, which won Gold Medal in the Concours des Vins de Chablis. This was vinified 100% in oak, simply because only 1709 bottles are produced, and they don’t have a tank small enough. Although not new, I thought the oak did show a little, with a hint of creamy vanilla on top of ripe melon and lime flavours, and a long, austere, very dry steely finish.

Romain also cultivates organic vines of his own with ‘Romain Bouchard, Domaine de la Grande Chaume’. The land is leased in ‘fermage’ - a very old French system whereby the rent is paid according to the wine made on the land: the rent is calculated according to a proportion of the going rate for the wine made on the land. In Romain’s case, he has two plots, one in 1er Cru Vau de Vey (here spelt this way, at other estates spelt in one word) and one in Chablis ‘tout court’.

The proportion used to calculate the rent is 11 Hl/Ha for the 1er Cru (out of a maximum of 50Hl/Ha), and 7Hl/Ha for the Chablis, multiplied by the area of the land. The result is that if Romain gets a yield of 40 Hl/Ha or more for his 1er Cru, the vineyard is profitable. If, as in 2010, he gets 29, it isn’t. The wine was terrific. AB Organic Certified, it showed broad, diffuse white fruit, a stony, clean, yes, mineral palate, a youthful freshness, and great balance. He is working toward Biodynamic certification, in his words ‘bit by bit’.

Romain Bouchard’s comment on his methods told a lot: “I need to learn. I like everything, I am very open”. This open-minded attitude seems to be bearing fruit at this exciting Chablis estate.



Domaine Pinson by Anthony Stockbridge

In thirty years of visiting Chablis, I have passed the gates of Domaine Pinson in the ancient quarter dozens of times. At picking time, I have watched as tractor-loads of freshly-picked chardonnay are quickly driven through the stone arch to be weighed and recorded before moving on to the presses.

Now, for the first time, I was allowed to pass through the same gate to meet Laurent Pinson and his daughter, Charlene.

A family estate for 350 yeards, Domaine Pinson was passed on to Laurent, the winemaker and Christophe, who is responsible for the vineyards in 1988. Together they have continued to grow both the reputation of the wines and the size of the holding; they now own 14 hectares including land in Grand Cru Les Clos and in the Premiers Crus of Montee de Tonnerre, Montmains and Forets, Mont de Milieu and Fourchaume.

All of Christophe’s grapes are hand-picked by an army of local pickers to avoid the oxidation that can be associated with machine picking. Once the bunches are pressed Laurents applies the techniques he feels appropriate to each parcel to extract the essence of both the soil and the year: 100% stainless steel for the Chablis then tank or cask fermentation for the Crus followed by ageing for between 8 and twelve months in new and old oak casks after malolactic fermentation.

We mainly tasted the 2010 vintage but tried the 2009 Les Clos to see the effect of a year’s ageing. During the elevage, it is usual for the cru wine to close down for a couple of years before showing its true worth five years after bottling. We were lucky then, in most cases, the wines had stayed awake for us.

1. Chablis

2. La Foret 1er Cru (8-9 Months in 3 to 5 year-old oak)

3. Montmain 1er Cru (10% oak-fermented, blended after malo then 8 months in old oak.

4. Fourchaume 1er Cru

5. Mont de Milieu 1er Cru

6. Les Clos Grand Cru

7. Les Clos Grand Cru 2009


The Les Clos are fermented 20% in new oak, 80% in tank then aged for 12 months in old oak after malolactic fermenation.

Each of these wines showed the spirit of the terroir but with a distinct Pinson fruity style. We had a lot to thank Christophe, Laurent and Charlene for.

Award Winners from the 26th Concours des Vins de Chablis by Hugo Read

Whilst touring Chablis with the AWE, we were given a tasting of all the medal winning wines from this year’s Concours des Vins de Chablis, which was held in January.

We were lucky enough to have Eric Szablowski with us for the tasting, who was winemaker at leading producer William Fèvre for 15 years before setting up his own Chablis tastings and tours business, Au Coeur du Vin. Now he’s also been accredited by the Ecole des Vins de Bourgogne as an Ambassador of Burgundy Wines, which was why he was on hand to take us through the Chablis medal winners. I feel it’s safe to say it would be hard to find anyone who understands more about Chablis’ vineyards and wines! It was fascinating listening to Eric talk about the region. For him, Petit Chablis is an expression of Chardonnay from the greater Chablis area, whereas he sees Chablis as having a very specific terroir characteristic – expressing the Kimmeridgian soil of the region.



Eric Szablowski

Any producers who wanted to could enter their wines, with separate categories for Petit Chablis through to Grand Cru Chablis. The jury of 65 was a mix of journalists, restaurant owners, sommeliers, oenologists and keen amateurs. Out of the 335 wines entered there were just 26 medal winners, so as you would expect with just 8% getting a gong, the standard was very high.
One thing we learned through the trip was the difference between left and right bank 1er Cru wines. The former, very generally speaking, are slightly lighter, racier and more floral, whereas the latter are usually richer, rounder and fuller. So on that theme, here are a couple of highlights from the concours, two 1er cru wines, one from each bank:

In the Chablis 1er Cru 2010 Right Bank category, Domaine Christophe et Fils won a silver medal for their Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume. The wine was fairly full and round and slightly spicy, with a lemon crispness running right through it. A very long finish and a terrific wine.

In the Chablis 1er Cru 2010 Left Bank category, Domaine Servin also won silver for their Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons. This one by contrast was lighter in style, with a crisp green apple and lemon character and a slightly floral nose. A very well balanced wine, it was elegant and long. Also first rate.
Coming after a full day of domaine visits, this tasting of Chablis medal winners underlined something that had become ever more apparent as the trip progressed; the excellent value represented by 1er cru Chablis. For a relatively modest premium, say €15 for 1er cru bought directly from a domaine instead of €10 for regular Chablis, you get a serious step up in quality. The Grand Cru wines were of course fantastic, but as they typically cost at least twice the price of the 1er cru wines I think the former generally offer the best value. What also became increasingly clear was the open, attractive and well balanced nature of the 2010 vintage – it’s a classic.


Domaine Laroche by Barley Blyton

Pyramid stacks of old vintages in concrete-cubes. We cellar-wander. Angela dips a finger into a barrel... I smell it (smells of Chablis). Brown arms gesticulating, Matthieu (Laroche’s viticulturist) explains their 13th century press.

We sit around a fireplace of candles. Discussions are rapid, heated, specific, not for the timid – as we’re three days in, no-one is timid.

We drink Domaine Laroche Saint Martin 2010. It forms a clean, white base to the debate. 27 and twice my height our host Matthieu never hesitates throughout a current of questions.

Laroche is both grower (Domaine Laroche) and negociant. We talk in length about soil as the 90 hectares of Domaine Laroche are in organic conversion.

To paraphrase Matthieu’s views: organic fertiliser equals livelier soils equals greater expression. Organic matter must first be broken down by microbes in the soil before the vines can sup on nutrients therefore ensuring no direct influence on flavour.

Artifical fertilisers plus herbicides destroys life in the soils and the more direct transfer of nutrients means that it is more the nature of the fertilisers expressed in the grape rather than the identity of the soil.

Behind Hugo, Anthony and Gilbert white butterflies are stuck to white walls and flower lamps throw petal shadows over their faces. Laura, Angela and Carol are framed by a wall of sea, the globe scribbled on in white lines.

The Domaine Laroche wines are like a finely mannered family of genteel descent. Ivory skin, good bone structure, fine features, lace handkerchiefs. Les Vaudevay with its high cheekbones and blue eyes is the coldest premier cru crammed with big rocks. Fourchaume is a better-fed cousin, south facing and protected in the valley from the northerly winds, there are moments in which you can see his steely bone structure but he has more flesh on his bones and pinker cheeks that speak of a warmth in the soil, there is a richness in a round belly. Blanchot, shy upon arrival, overpowered by the cheese, she appears gentle and there is a softness and feminity to her easy grace but one can tell that beneath this she is poised, her gestures precise and her will as hard as limestone.

“A great wine should be made by a crazy viticulturist and a lazy wine-maker” Matthie Apffel. February 2012

  

LA CHABLISIENNE by KEITH GRAINGER

By Tuesday morning we were all well seasoned to the crisp delights of early February in the Serein Valley, and were coming to terms with which bank was which, so it was time to visit the district’s largest producer: La Chablisienne. Although the thought of a visit to a cooperative can sometimes instil a sense of dread in the minds of wine educators and writers, such is the reputation of this producer that we were all enthusiastic and actually arrived rather early.

We were greeted by Hervé Tucki, who in many ways is M. La Chablisienne. He has been employed here since 1985, but his relationship with the cooperative started long before that – his father Jean-Michel Tucki was the previous director: “I learnt how to smell in the cellar, and to ride my bike and play football in the cellar too.” We were charmed with anecdotes, and imbibed a detailed yet personal treatise on the district and the essence of Chablis wines, together with a brief history of the cooperative, which was founded in 1923, at a time when life was very hard for Chablis growers.

La Chablisienne takes must from its 300 producer members (there were some interesting discussions on use of the term ‘producer’ – to Hervé a producer is a grower) and the co-op now makes some 25% of the total Chablis production. The concept of minerality is to the fore, a topic which had raised some interesting discussions in other visits, with some critics believing that minerality has more to do with free sulphur dioxide than Kimmeridge or Portlandian! Hervé also sees the greater picture – “I am a Burgundy man – I am also a Pinot Noir man”, but Chardonnay and Pinot are expressions of a sense of place in Burgundy. And to Hervé, terroir rules supreme, although he recognises the role of individual winemakers:“We don’t make good wine with democracy”, but there is a line that runs through all the wines. “We love to keep energy and freshness” notes Hervé, “we don’t like bâtonnage”. And styles develop within the framework: “We have memory, but there is a new page every year.”

The tasting line-up comprised eleven wines including all four Chablis appellations. All were finely tuned. It was exciting to taste both the 2009 and 2008 Chablis Les Vénerables Vieilles Vignes. ‘Vieilles’ here means between 35 and 100 years old; 20% or so of the cuvée is barrel-aged on the fine lees but, as we have seen, without bâtonnage. Bottling takes place some 18 months after the harvest, and the development shown by the 2008,with a palette of tertiary flavours beginning to interweave clearly demonstrated that this a wine that really deserves bottle age. Throughout our visit to Chablis the group had been most impressed by the price/quality ratio of the Premier Cru wines, and La Chablisienne was no exception. The 2009 Mont de Milieu was totally stunning - if anybody struggles with the concept of minerality this is a wine that sends a shiver down the spine as though a sharp blade has been lightly run down the length of your back. The 2008 Vaulorent was rich and quite chunky yet still quintessential Chablis with layer upon layer of flinty, stony, flavours.

However, there can be no doubt that the jewel in the crown of la Chablisienne is Château Grenouilles. Grenouilles, probably named after the frogs on the banks of the nearby Serein, is the smallest of the Grands Crus climats with just 9.4 hectares. Château Grenouilles comprises 80% of the plot with 7.2 hectares. It became part of Chablisienne in 2003, and Hervé speaks with immense pride about this small plot. The care in the vineyard, the hand harvesting of grapes, low-pressure pressing, and maturation half in vat and half in barrel – these are facts but the wine in the glass is pure art. The 2008, still a baby but already showing the future – simply stunning!


Jean-Marc Brocard by Vivienne Franks

For our last visit on this trip we drove down into Préhy, just to the Southwest of Chablis to meet with the Brocard family and taste their three Geological Bourgogne Blancs made from grapes grown on Jurassic, Portlandian and Kimmeridgian soils and their impressive range of Premier Cru and Grand Cru Chablis wines.
Founded by Jean-Marc Brocard in 1974, this is one of the youngest and most innovative domaines we encountered, certainly with the most biodynamic vineyard area. Jean-Marc’s son, Julien, is responsible for the move to biodynamic production, with 5 wines already on the international market.

From planting 1.5 hectares in 1973 to harvesting 200 hectares currently, of which 35 hectares are fully biodynamic, a further 35 hectares are well on the way to full conversion from the 2011 harvest. In addition to wines from the Chablis region, Petit Chablis through to Grand Cru, there is also a Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Noirs, three red wines, including an Irancy ‘Les Mazelots’, a Bourgogne Aligoté and a Sauvignon de Saint-Bris.

Pierre, the fluent English speaking ex-chef and sommelier, guided us through the cellar to see tanks, barriques, foudres and ‘cement eggs’ in which the Grand Cru Chablis ‘Les Preuses’ is fermented and matured. Photos of the magnificent view over the vineyards were speedily achieved, due to the less than clement wind and chilling temperatures!

Jean-Marc and Julien dropped in to the tasting room to meet us. Jean-Marc told us that he believed ‘The truth of wine lies in the soil where it has grown. The technique is an important factor in the wine growing, but it is only an aid. The wine is essentially the product of the soil. The soil of Chablis is exceptional and cannot be found anywhere else in the world.’

By comparing the 2010 Petit Chablis, Chablis and Chablis ‘Vieilles Vignes’ from the 86 hectare Domaine Sainte Claire vineyard, situated around the winery, the different levels of intensity of these wines was clearly demonstrated.

Tasting different Premiers Crus and Grands Crus from stainless steel tanks, oak barrels and cement eggs also showed the influence of soil, aspect and microclimate within the character of the wines. The influence of Terroir is evident in Chablis.

The tasting consisted of 16 different wines, including three with our typical Chablis lunch of local paté de porc, followed by Jambon avec sauce Chablis et riz, fromage then mousse au chocolat. A perfect end to an interesting trip.

Champagne Trip

CIVC by Marisa d’Vari

A gorgeous crisp fall day unfolded as AWE members gathered in the lobby of the hotel, introduced one another or embraced old friends, and prepared for a two and a half day intensive of learning about Champagne.

Half an hour in a minibus later, CIVC official Philippe Wibrotte very generously welcomed the AWE to a lunch at Le Théâtre in the town of Epernay that would follow with an overview of Champagne and its four key initiatives, tour of the Epernay champagne store and tasting room, followed by an orientation lecture, and tasting

Philippe gave a PowerPoint presentation of the four key initiatives.  For the sake of brevity, one of the concerns under the 'economics' platform was to build more luxury hotels and incite Parisian visitors to spend the weekend (and of course their cash) in the businesses in the community. During this time there was also discussion of the 'no new planting rule’ as there is concern that without it Champagne could end up like Bordeaux with so many hectares under vine that the wine sells for a Euro a bottle.

Technical information revolved around the increasing organic activity of producers and research into lighter bottle weight to reduce the carbon footprint.

Communications goals revolve around bringing more sommeliers and educators to Champagne and intensifying social media as well as mainstream press. The AWE trip falls under this umbrella.

Protection, the fourth initiative, is a key component. Still today too many people use the Champagne name in a generic way and a lot of CIVC activity is devoted to stopping imposters.

This introduction really set the tone for our visit, for we had a very good foundation of the economics of the community and the concerns of the growers, the large houses, and the community in general. As we visited the various producers, we knew to ask them questions about planting, which was the key issue. The basic rule in Champagne is that one has to own a house or be a grower to purchase more land. True, some millionaires (billionaires?) can buy a house, and through this method be in a position to buy up more land to plant new land.

On the technical side we also knew to ask questions about what each house or producer was doing to become more organic or in the example of one producer, Francis Boulard, biodynamic. Boulard was an amazing visit, as he was constantly bringing us physical examples of the methods he was using to get to most from his soil (earthworms in freshly bought earth taken from a cow’s horn, anyone?).

The presentation ended with a tasting with Mme Violaine de Caffarelli, Œnologue Chargée de Communication and discussion of malolactic fermentation in champagne.
 

 

Food and wine matching lunch at Le Theatre, Epernay   by Heather Dougherty

This was the first official engagement of the trip and I came to the idea of matching Champagne with an entire meal, or at least one that didn't involve three courses of fish and seafood, somewhat sceptically.

The two course menu laid down the gauntlet in the form of “souris d'agneau braisée á l'ail”, or lamb shank braised in garlic.  This not immediately obvious Champagne-friendly dish was paired with Jacquesson Cuvée 734.

Jacquesson claims to be the oldest established independent Champagne house (founded in 1798) and has a somewhat eccentric approach amongst the houses, in that they do not make a Non-Vintage cuvée representative of a consistent house style, but instead produce numbered cuvées which reflect the vintage conditions of the year which predominates in the blend.  Cuvée 734 is based on the 2006 vintage, plus reserve wines from 2005 (22%) and 2004 (5%).  Vinification is carried out in oak foudres, with weekly bâtonnage.  The final blend is 54% Chardonnay, 26% Pinot Meunier and 20% Pinot Noir and the dosage is characteristically low at 3g/l.  Jacquesson source their grapes from vineyards in the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs, which are all either Grand or Premier Cru. 

The Cuvée 734 had a pronounced gold colour with autolytic and savoury characters to the fore on the nose and palate.  Tasting it on its own is enough to convince you that this is a food Champagne, as it is rather linear, mineral and austere.

With the lamb, the fruit in the Champagne emerged, though the savoury notes still dominated, making it a good match with caramelised and meaty flavours in the braised lamb.  The lamb was served with a puree of sweet potatoes, whose sweet mealiness was fine with the lamb, but did not contribute to the match with the Champagne.

For dessert we were served “nougat glacé” (iced nougat) with a red fruit compote, which was accompanied by Brochet-Hervieux's Cuvée Rose.  Brochet-Hervieux is a small house based in the village of Ecueil in the Montagne de Reims, with 16 ha of Premier Cru vineyards.

The base vintage of their rosé d'assemblage Cuvée Rose is 2007, with 25% of reserve wines from 2006 and the blend is 75% Pinot Noir (including 12% still Pinot Noir from 2007), 20% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Meunier.  The dosage is on the high side at 12 g/l and the wine undergoes malolactic, with no oak ageing.  It spends 26 months on the lees and this cuvée was disgorged in July 2010.

It had pretty, slightly floral notes with red fruit flavours and a slight creaminess on the nose, with more savoury, Pinot Noir characters emerging on the palate.  A very pleasant Champagne to sip on its own, or to drink with seafood, but it was not sweet enough to match happily with any kind of dessert, especially one as sweet as nougat glacé.

I had arrived a sceptic on the wisdom of Champagne with every course and left....half convinced.

Frances Boulard ‘Man of the soil’ UK Agent Caves des Pyrène

 

Frances Boulard looks like a typical jolly old French vigneron, but his thinking is anything but old style. His website declares his mission to ‘go ever and further forward.’ So what led him to be more forward thinking, and turn resolutely towards more natural, bio-dynamic and organic methods? For Francis it is a lifestyle choice rather than an obsession, the decision was generated by respect for his family, his customers and the plants and animals on his 4ha estate. In doing this he realised he had gone back to vineyard practises carried out by his grandparents.

As with most things, he has found both disadvantages and advantages but the pluses outweigh the minuses in his opinion.

 The major pluses for him are human health and wine complexity, due mainly to the reduction/removal of chemicals in the vineyard. This has stopped allergic skin reactions amongst workers tending his vines, and Frances believes that by the move to more ‘natural’ methods he is not ‘potentially poisoning his customers’. The use of certain chemicals also destroys the indigenous yeast, which he prefers for the first and, in some cases, the second fermentation, as indigenous yeasts increase complexity, and although his vines are now feebler and lower yielding, the resultant wines are more concentrated and complex. This increased complexity occurred within a year of conversion, and was proven by one of his wines gaining 2 stars in the Hachette guide. He says, ‘Now when I smell the soil, it smells as I remember it as a child’.

The disadvantages are increased costs and time. This is due mainly to more labour being required to tend organic/bio-dynamic vineyards. For example, organic sprays against botrytis, such as ‘serenade’, are less effective and diseased grapes often need to be cut off by hand. So it is easy to see why his work load has increased by 30%; he estimates that it takes 5 people per hectare to tend organic vineyards compared to 1 per hectare for conventional vineyards. As his vineyards are spread out it has been difficult to convert them all at once, and currently only one is bio-dynamic, although not yet certified. Without the backing of a large company, purchasing the required new equipment, such as smaller tractors to avoid soil compaction, can only happen when funds allow.

So does all this theory stand up in the tasting?

The first pair of wines was Les Murgiers 2009, which are made with 2 different dosage levels, 5gms and no dosage. There is an excepted view that sugar makes a wine more accessible and attractive on the palate and this was borne out on the tasting. Both wines were delicious; the 5gms was full of bruised apple, honey with bright acidity and had more rounded structure in the mouth.The zero dosage was shyer on the nose, but with a haunting perfume, and much more precise on the palate with a tight, linear structure, layers of mineral complexity, and rapier acidity - this one got my vote. Frances believes that sugar hides the terroir of a wine. The tasting continued with the Rosé made by the saignée method which had been aged in oak barrels, giving the wine presence and structure and layers of fruit.  The wine of the day for me was the Les Rachais Brut Nature. This is 100% Chardonnay from a single vineyard of 43 year old vines. The soil is flint bearing silty limestone on the Massif de Saint Thierry. It is worked bio-dynamically according to the lunar calendar, and vinified in old oak barrels. It had the texture and presence and complexity of a fine white Burgundy, and proved to me beyond doubt that the theory lived up to the tasting.

Sometimes to take a step forward we have to take a step back.

By Lindsay Oram

Lunch at Hotel du Marc

Hosted by Pierre Casenave, Winemaker at Veuve Clicquot

By Michelle Cherutti-Kowal

After our informative vins clair tasting, the group headed off into the town of Reims to our lunch destination, Hotel du Marc. Not an easy task as the building is hidden away behind restored walls. This is no ordinary hotel as we discovered, but a private villa for the exclusive use of Veuve Clicquot’s guests. The building is the former home of Madame Clicquot and has gone through an extensive four years of renovation and conservation with the architect and designer Bruno Moinard, famous for his work with Cartier and Château Latour.  The villa contains five private suites, each designed after the seasons and dedicated to a major country to which the House exports. The main rooms (where we were entertained) left us all breathless. From the moment you enter the premises; you cannot help but be overwhelmed by the highly stylised interior. Each room is filled with one off designer pieces combining the traditional and contemporary. The entrance hall itself contained a mirrored pleated coat closet, inspired by fashion designer Issey Miyake and a grand staircase with a vine-like balustrade and covered in a carpet which faded from white to burgundy symbolising the two Pinot grapes. The rest of the main floor consisted of a library, lounge, formal dining room, and chef’s kitchen and at the back, a large room with a Veuve Clicquot bar, reminiscent of a French nightclub.

We started our lunch with a glass of Veuve Clicquot’s yellow label, as we explored our new surroundings. The mainstay of the House, Yellow Label is aged for 3 years and is a blend of 55% Pinot Noir, 30% of Chardonnay and 15% of Pinot Meunier with 10gms of residual sugar. Veuve claims to be a Pinot Noir house and the dominance in the blend gave the wine plenty of freshness combined with smoky notes from autolysis. 

We were then ushered in the formal dining room which is dominated by dark grey woodwork (reclaimed from the mansion of Edouard Werlé, the business partner of Madame Clicquot) and a massive crystal chandelier. White gloved staff served us our first course of Marbre Foie Gras de Canard with orange, accompanied by a glass of Vintage 2004. Again, Pinot Noir dominates the blend with 60%, 30% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Meunier all sourced from both Grand and Premier Cru vineyards.  With 5 years on lees and 7gms of residual sugar, the bracing acidity cut through the Foie Gras yet matching the orange tang and the savoury and nutty notes giving depth and length to the palate. The main course was Pavé de Sandre Rôti with lentilles from Puy and a glass of Vintage 2004 Rosé. Assembled with 15% red wine from Bouzy vineyards and 9gms residual sugar, the 62% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 8% Pinot Meunier is my favourite wine of the House. The red apple and berries notes, along with the hints of mushroom worked wonders with the delicate moist fish and earthy notes of the lentils and was poured again for the cheese course. Our meal was finished with Praliné biscuits, Crème au Citron and a glass of Demi-Sec (served out of the most gorgeous carafe).  Sweet Champagne is a rarity amongst the Houses with few specialising in the style but Veuve Clicquot feels that their Demi Sec is homage to the classical Champagne style of the early 1900’s. In order to make a fruitier style, they double the amount of Pinot Meunier at 30% with 45% of Pinot Noir and 25% of Chardonnay and 45gms of residual sugar.  The freshness and touch of sugar matched perfectly with the Citron crème and the light nutty notes with the Praline. After coffee we removed ourselves to the suave bar, where we admired the neon chandeliers and custom-made fridge to store large format bottles.  Our final treat of the afternoon was a glass of La Grande Dame 2004, a blend of 64% Pinot Noir and 36% Chardonnay sourced from 8 Grand Cru vineyards and aged for 6 years- what a fabulous way to finish our afternoon. 

 

Fizz Fameux, A visit to Bollinger by Patricia Stefanowicz MW

‘I drink it when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and I drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it, unless I’m thirsty.’  Madame Jacques Bollinger (d. 1977), quoted in the London Daily Mail, 17^th October 1961.

 All we British adore Champagne, and who loves it more than members of the Association of Wine Educators and the Institute of Masters of Wine? So, the opportunity to have a private visit to the spiritual ‘Grande Dame’ of Champagne, Bollinger, est. 1829, was impossible not to anticipate with a certain amount of girlish giddiness.

We were met by M. Christian Dennis at the Maison in Aÿ, just after dusk, a cold but not dreary evening. Despite the darkness, Christian insisted that we visit the legendary Vieilles Vignes situated on a modest slope behind the maison and then the walled vineyard, Clos de St. Jacques, just across the road. His explanation of marcottage (provinage) or ‘layering’ in English was lucid. Simplistically, in winter the specialist vignerons turn one of the still flexible canes down into the ground near the main trunk and the cane takes root. In the Vieilles Vineyard these ‘Vignes en foule’ (crowded vines) have three times the density of rootstocks compared to a standard vineyard, yet only 24 kg/hectare (equivalent) yield. With only about 1/3 of the yield typical in Champagne, the results are dense and intense. The vineyard area of the plots is a mere ½ ha, so only about 2000-3000 bottles per year are produced.

Adjacent to the Vieilles Vignes is a rather intriguing ‘museum vineyard’ comprising all the (known) varieties ever permitted in Champagne. Besides the expected clones of Pinot Noir (743, 386), Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier were Arbane, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier, Savagnin (all still permitted) and two now un-permitted, Pinot Teinturier (red-fleshed and sometimes referred to as Gamay de Bouze-no prizes for guessing where that name derived from!) and Gamay Noir, introduced after phylloxera because of its better resistance to the pest, but banned in 1927.

From Clos de St. Jacques, again on a chalky-clay southward facing slope, you can just about see the beginning slope of the Côte des Blancs.

Bollinger is still very much family-owned and four of the family members are still involved. The company owns about 163 hectares of vineyards, which provides nearly 2/3 of its requirements. Of these, 85% are Grands Crus and Premiers Crus, on mainly chalky soils. The vineyards are in Verzy and Bouzy and, of course, Aÿ. Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Avize, Cuis (where the House was started), and Vertus also feature.

Bollinger has a specific, and perhaps unlikely, barrel philosophy. The main aim is to avoid tannins but give depth and weight to the base wines, controlled oxidation, if you like. So, the House purchases older barrels from Burgundy, especially Puligny, Chassagne and Meursault. The barrels are used from the 5^th fill and Bollinger will keep them for decades, if they remain clean and free of taints. There is a resident cooper (former French Cooper of the Year), who mends about 400 of the barrels per annum. Barrel sizes are generally 228l and 400l with a few 350l. One of the reasons M. Mathieu Kauffmann, the Chef des Caves, originally from Alsace, likes the larger sizes is because these lose less wine ‘to the angels’, much reduced from the previous 4%. Mathieu has also introduced humidifiers to alleviate evaporation.

As Mathieu explained, only the cuvée is used; the tailles are sold on. Pressing takes about 3-1/2-to-4 hours which means a maximum number of 6 pressings per 24 hours (legal maximum, anyway). He uses a yeast strain from the CIVC, as it is more secure, but believes that lactic bacteria is more important so makes up a culture from freeze-dried, formerly indigenous to Epernay.

Then, after alcoholic fermantation and, almost all malo, there are normally two rackings. Barrels are checked every week and racked off if taints are detected. Much of the Special Cuvée (around 2/3) goes into tank rather than barrel to retain freshness and fruit.

He uses some fining and filtration during the wine-making processes. For the vins clairs there may be one filtration with kieselguhr and one fining with gelatine. He also uses around 6g/cl of bentonite in the liqueur de triage to help settle the sediments after second fermentation and ageing. This is apparently most important with rosé wines because they are harder to riddle; hence Bollinger mostly riddle the rosés by hand, which requires about 6-8 weeks and a frightening amount of financial outlay in payments. But quality, as always, comes first for this House.

Vintage wines, which receive a minimum of 5 years ageing on lees, and more likely 8-10 or even more, are bottled under cork, because Bollinger’s experience suggests that crown corks fail after much over 5 years and oxidation or taints set in.

Reserve wines, all barrel-aged, are ultimately bottled in magnums under cork, too, having a light sparkle induced by a little yeast and sugar, for ageing before use.  There are around 600K in total. At any time there might be up to 240 different wines in the cellar. Sixty different reserves might be available; even 3-6 different ones are regularly used for the Special Cuvée.

Mathieu is testing jetting with c. 14 microlitres per bottle. His laboratory work suggests that it leaves only 1 mg of O2 compared to 10 mg O2 without jetting. This, together with around 3 mg from the cork and 2-3 mg from disgorging, is a significant difference: 5 mg compared to 15 mg. The machine is relatively inexpensive, around €5000, but the results are encouraging.

The majority of the wines are Pinot Noir, clone 386, around 60%, with most of the remainder Chardonnay.  The only cuvée produced using Pinot Meunier is the Special Cuvée.  Based on equal parts of two harvests, the base wines are fermented in small stainless steel tanks or older oak barrels. Usually about 25% of the wines will see oak. Reserve wines add depth and richness. Long ageing on the lees (around 3-4 years) and only a modest dosage of c. 6g/l permit a structured Champagne with refreshing acidity, nuttiness, creamy mousse, and plenty of concentration and depth. Excellent with the delicious canapés provided by Bollinger after the barrel tour.

Inevitably, there was a diversion into finance and marketing. The House produces about 2,5M bottles per year. About 82% of Bollinger’s production is sold abroad, with UK (40%) the most important, possibly because members of the Institute of Masters of Wine consume it, since Bollinger is one of IMW’s principal supporters. Bollinger bought a portion of Mentzendorf, its long-standing (153 years!) UK importer, ten or fifteen years ago to monitor and support the UK market and distribution.  Other markets have exclusive importers/distributors to help manage the ‘grey-market’ in Champagne. Markets, such as Italy, Germany, and the USA are improving, as are Sweden and Australia. Japan, Russia and China are not yet big. The year 2010-2011 was an excellent year financially and 2011-2012 looks as though it may also be positive.

Bollinger is actively looking for more vineyards, but isn’t looking at buying land that is under review for the extension. Purchase cost for vineyards averages about €1M/ha, but some in the area of Aÿ are €1.5-2M/ha. Meunier, on the other hand, could be as low as €0.5M/ha. In any case, the vineyards must be viewed as a long-term investment.

The House also owns the Ayala brand. The brand interested Bollinger. Ayala was a grower like Bollinger and, of course, was located in the same commune of Aÿ and has had a very good reputation. So, the purchase was seen as a good fit.

And so to dinner;

With the first course, Lobster salad with marinated vegetables and a citrus fruit vinaigrette, we continued with the Bollinger Special Cuvée (Refer to note above.)

The fish course was a delightful sautéed Sandre (similar to sea bass, but fresh water) served with tomato conserve and basil sauce. The wine was Bollinger La Grande Année Rosé 2004. Pale salmon colour, tight bubbles, slight cordon; on the nose gentle vanilla and spice, a little fresh yeast, cinnamon, griotte and red currant fruit; on the palate good freshness of acidity, a wee bit of tannin, baked apples and Indian spice, nutty, creamy-textured mousse, fair richness, but elegant and long. Lovely wine. The wine has about 5-10% of Pinot Noir from the Côte aux Enfants, which is 100% barrel-aged, 6 months in wood then into stainless steel. Approximately 2000 barrels are produced of the Rosé: 68% Pinot, 32% Chardonnay. 2004 was very recently disgorged. A good year with 6-7 years on the lees. 8 g/l dosage. A little oxidation from the barrels. Worked very well with the dish.

Comté and parmigiano cheeses were served with mesclun salad and walnuts and…Bollinger Grande Année 2002. Pale gold hue, small persistent bubbles and noticeable cordon; very rich and nutty, digestives and plenty of spices on nose; palate shows plenty of savouriness with nuts and baked apple foremost, brittle mousse (still youthful!), vanilla and buttercream notes, very bright acidity, lingering. Potential is clear; will be great.

For our almost night-cap we had a selection of sliced fresh fruits and a hand-made vanilla-bean ice cream, served with Bollinger Rosé Special Cuvée in magnum. The wine is produced with about 5% of red still wine from Grands Crus Aÿ and Verzenay, which produce deep(ish)-coloured red wines after destemming and a week or so of maceration pre-fermentation. About 3 weeks total with the skins. Remontage once a day and pigéage once a day, more or less, with some aeration to achieve colour stability. C. 8.5 g/l dosage. Pale wild-salmon colour, tight and persistent bubbles;  aromas of red delicious apples, wild strawberries, gentle yeast and light cream, hints of cardamom and cinnamon on nose and palate; lovely creamy mousse texture on the palate, excellent acidity and fair length. Delectable on its own, it didn’t quite work with the fruit and ice cream, but that can often be difficult.

Over a very late-night café express, we discussed ‘threats to Champagne’, if any. None of the group could come up with anything apart from, inevitably, Crémant d’Alsace (Mathieu) or maybe the best of California (me) or the best of England/Wales/Cornwall (me, again with support from everyone else), but Mathieu hasn’t yet had much experience of those, so couldn’t comment knowledgeably.

What is happening with RD, we asked? It is a niche-market product. Possibly 1999 will be released next year. There will almost certainly be an RD 2002. When remains a mystery to me having tasted the 2002 Grande Année which I think has years in hand.

A final comment from Mathieu involved 1997, which he believes is a better year than many others do. He believes it round and balanced but with sufficient structure to age well. Time will tell.

Fizz

Gosset by Neil Courtier

With the rigorous discipline that’s required on trips of this nature, the alarm was set for an early start to the day. Our appointment at Champagne Gosset was arranged with an 8.30 am arrival time (7.30 UK time)! With this in mind, it was a relief that our host – Phiippe Manfredini  conducted a tour of Gosset’s facilities & cellars in Epernay, before the tasting!  

The oldest wine house in Champagne, with its historical home in AŸ acquired the additional operational facilities in Epernay during its 425^th anniversary year.  Previously known as - ‘the smallest of the large houses’, the 1.5 km of cellars has a storage capacity of 2.5 million bottles.  A perfect fit if ever there was one, to accommodate Gosset’s expansion plans.

I’ve always considered Gosset to be ‘a Champagne lovers’ wine’, better known in the on-trade & through independent wine merchants. A long term exponent of avoiding malolactic  fermentation – cellar-master Jean-Pierre Mareigner makes wines that are well-built, powerful, aromatic, yet elegant, that combines brilliantly with the right type of food & age well too. 

The tasting focused on three wines – Gosset Grand Blanc de Blancs – Brut NV – the newest member of the Gosset family, which exhibits very fine bubbles, with citrus & apple-like aromas & a very attractive texture on the palate, that’s fresh & intense leading to an elegant / long finish. The Grand Reserve – Brut NV followed. Probably the best known wine from Gosset, a blend of three ‘good’ years & based on 43% Chardonnay, 42% Pinot Noir, 15% Meunier - released later, a wine that represents the house style to a tee – the nose shows notes of brioche, dried-fruits & gingerbread., which pretty much follows through in the mouth. A minerally thread of bright acidity enhances its appeal. Finally the Grand Rosé – Brut NV - made with 7% of red wine from Bouzy & Ambonnay, which contributes to a coral pink colour & red-fruit characteristics. Pink Champagne for modern cuisine that’s drinking well now, but has plenty of energy to mature.