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.
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?).
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, 17th 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 5th 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 425th 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.
Champagne Mailly by Pippa Hayward
Our last visit took us to Champagne Mailly where Jean-Francois Préau, Director, and Hervé Dantan, Chef de Cave, greeted us.
Mailly is a small, but arguably perfectly formed co-operative of 80 growers, over 70 hectares exclusively in Mailly Grand Cru. Founded in 1929, it is still owned by a majority of the original members. Annual production is 500,000 bottles sold mostly to restaurants and good wine shops. 50% of production is exported. Pricing is close to the NV of many Grandes Marques so quality drives all the decisions here.
The scale of the operation and quality of the wines means that competing for supermarket own-label production is pointless. Mailly derives 90% of its revenue from sales. The one honourable exception is Mailly Brut Reserve N.V. which is sold to Berry Brothers as their own-label Champagne. It also makes controlling viticulture much simpler –proximity of the plots and the growers’ vested interest in producing optimum fruit help. Currently 10 of the 70 hectares are in conversion to organic status, overseen by a consultant, with a view to reducing the use of chemicals as much as possible.
In the run up to picking, each of the 22 plots is analysed twice weekly and a picking date set. This helps ensure an orderly flow of grapes into tank – something especially helpful in a year like 2010.
We had visited Gosset just before –a house which owns no vineyards whatsoever- and had heard at first hand just how difficult managing the flow of juice into tank had been over the harvest this year.
I asked Jean –Francois Préau if he felt that the co-operative status of Mailly eased the annual price discussions. His view is that quality is best served by long-term contracts based not on volume but quality of fruit. The growers are very proud of their Mailly heritage. However they still have to pay the same price for grapes as everyone else -5% more this year as one large house paid 5% extra to secure the volume of grapes it needed.
Mailly is planted to Pinot Noir (75%) and Chardonnay (25%). A large number of small plots, some much older vines and Mailly’s predominantly northerly exposure all offer the potential for top quality fruit. Pinot here is renowned for its minerality and acidity and usually makes up the majority of each blend. The house uses malo routinely, partly to balance this quality. In warmer years like 2005 and 2009 malo may be blocked in some tanks. Dosage for most cuvées is between 6 and 10gms.
Wines are matured in tank and in barrel –all the latter come from Château Margaux’s Pavillon Blanc. Mailly keeps more than 2 million bottles in their chalk cellars 20 metres below ground. These were dug out by the co-operative’s original members.
Before lunch we were treated to an exemplary organised tasting of their entire range, in the purpose built tasting room with great natural light. The entire range impressed us hugely and provided an interesting comparison with Gosset who use no malo at all.
The most interesting aspect of the tasting was the opportunity to compare Mailly’s two Roses. L’Intemporelle Rosé 2006 made by assemblage, (Pinot Noir 60% Chardonnay 40% with the addition of 3% still red from 40 year old vines ) and the Brut Rosé, (Pinot Noir 90%, 10% Chardonnay) made by the saignée method and also based on the 2006 harvest.
Hervé Dantan explained that his aim is to create two different styles. Assemblage allows him to create a more delicate and refreshing wine with a subtle and fruity taste–the percentage of still red added varying with each year. It also gives the wine a more blue –pink colour. The saignée wine is based on Pinot from older plots given between 12 and 24 hours maceration depending on the year. It is a more full-bodied, food friendly wine with distinctively red fruit character, more texture on the palate and some subtle tannins on the finish.
The Extra Brut (zero dosage), first produced 50 year ago for a Swiss customer, also showed beautifully with real vinosity, richness and pronounced autolytic notes from 4 years ageing before disgorgement- a fitting testament to top quality fruit , fine wine making and patience.
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