VINE & BUBBLE Magazine Issue No. 3

I S S U E N O. 3

Australia’s Champagne Magazine

Chalked Up! The Greatness of

Champagne’s Chardonnay

WINE CRISTAL 2012  THIÉNOT X PENFOLDS  APOLLONIS  THE PHILOSOPHY OF LEES  WHEN BURGUNDY COMES TO CHAMPAGNE VINE THE CÔTE DES BLANCS  YIELDING CHAMPAGNE  HARVEST 2019 REPORT PEOPLE JEAN-JACQUES PEYRE FROM PALMER & CO. PLACE WHERE TO DRINK CHAMPAGNE: PENFOLDS MAGILL ESTATE, LA GARE RESTAURANT, LE RECOMMANDÉ, LE GARDE CHAMPETRE

@V INE A NDB UBBL E

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Australia’s Champagne Magazine

Inside this

Issue

Cover photo: Ayala Blanc de Blancs 2013. Photography by Jack Turner

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WIN E 09.

King of White: The Greatness of Champagne's Chardonnay

13.

Take a Walk on the White Side (Tasting Feature)

22.

Returning to Craftsmanship: Cristal 2012

26.

Tour de Force: ThiĂŠnot X Penfolds

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The Philosophy of Lees

32.

When Burgundy Comes to Champagne

W IN E 36.

The Sound of Music: Champagne Apollonis

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The Tasting Room

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Arrivals Summer 2019 VINE

50.

Chalked Up: The Côte des Blancs

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Harvest 2019

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Yielding Champagne

PEO PLE 57.

Trade Relations: Jean-Jacques Peyre from Palmer & Co.

PL ACE 61.

Sniff, Sip, Savour: Penfolds'Magill Estate Restaurant, La Gare, Le Recommandé and Le Garde Champetre

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Our

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Contributors We thank our contributors who are boundlessly knowledgeable and unwaveringly passionate about champagne. Above all, they are genuinely connected to the wine of Champagne, and its people.

Ned Goodwin MW @nedgoodwinmw Ned Goodwin MW is unlike any other. Born in London, raised in Australia and educated in Tokyo and Paris, Ned splits his time between Tokyo - where he resided for 14 years - and his beloved Sydney. Ned is a dux of the Len Evans Tutorial, Japan’s first Master of Wine, educator, consultant, judge, critic and a highly regarded motivational speaker and presenter on the topic of his passion.

He has served as Wine Director - educator and buyer - for one of Asia's largest restaurant groups, Global Dining Japan, and has been appointed to the ‘Wine Committee’ at Italy’s most illustrious estate, Biondi-Santi. Ned also co-writes the Halliday Guide as a chief critic and has served as Bettane et Desseauve’s critical voice across Antipodean wines for the Chinese market. As host to wine dinners for winemakers, châteaux owners, Hollywood stars and corporate organisations, Ned has a unique ability to hold an audience’s attention like no other.

Liinaa Berry @the_wine_sheriff Liinaa Berry is one of Adelaide’s star sommeliers. She started her career at resorts in Mauritius and the Seychelles and, in 2015, moved to Australia where she was responsible for curating the Crafers Hotel cellar in South Australia, which went on to win the Best Pub List in the country. Liinaa later joined 2KW Bar, offering hard-to-find producers, a great representation of old-world classics, and a selection of progressive wines. She has been a host of SBS’s Battle of the Vines, sat on numerous tasting panels and hosted events all in the name of her passion. Liinaa recently assumed the position as Head Sommelier at one of Adelaide’s premier establishments – Leigh Street Wine Room – with a focus on natural wines from Australia and around the world.

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Caroline Henry @MissinWine W www.missinwine.com

Caroline Henry is a journalist, writer and educator specialising in terroir-driven champagne. In 2017 she self-published her first book, Terroir Champagne: The Luxury of Sustainable, Organic and Biodynamic Cuvées. Since 2012, she has been the Champagne correspondent for Wine-Searcher and occasionally writes for Decanter, among other publications.

In 2018, her work received recognition by the Champenois winegrowers, when she was the first woman to receive the coveted Terres et Vins de Champagne prize.

Kaaren Palmer @Kaarenpalmerchampagne @KaarenPalmer Kaaren is an award-winning author and educator on the subject of her passion – champagne. After many years working in the corporate world, Kaaren turned her focus to explore the science and art of champagne, living in and visiting the region for extended periods of time.

In 2016 Kaaren published the acclaimed Champagne – A Tasting Journey and won the Gourmand International Food and Wine Book Award for Best French Wine Book 2016. She is a Dame Chevalier of the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne and contributes to numerous food and wine publications.

Cameron O’Keefe @centrahotel

Cam O’Keefe is a young sommelier and owner of Centra Hotel in Geelong. He is a lover of all styles of champagne but with a particular interest in growers. Cam is part of a new generation of champagne enthusiasts and aficionados; a lover of the black varietals (any way they come) and terroir-driven cuvées. Winner of the coveted Vin de Champagne Award (professional category) in 2016 and recently named Australian Young Restaurateur 2018, Cam travels annually to the region and spends time amongst the vines and in the cellar with the region’s leading growers and producers.

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OUR CONTRIBUTORS

David Donald @grandmasterfizz @daviddonaldchampagnes W www.ddchampagnes.com.au

Grower champagne importer, David Donald, offers the largest range of Special Club champagne in Australia. A Laureate of the prestigious Vin de Champagne Award, David is one of our country’s foremost champagne experts, passionate about engaging producers directly with their customers. He has worked in the wine trade for 25 years, mostly in fine wine retail but also education, marketing and production. David was a pioneer for online retailing for champagne two decades ago and now owns www.ddchampagnes.com.au, a place where he showcases great but lesser-known artisan producers that he fully believes in.

Megan Barber @meganb_xo Megan is as passionate about champagne as an industry as she is about the wine. Beginning her professional career as a Brand Development Manager in Sydney for one of Champagne’s oldest Grandes Marques, her enthusiasm for the wine inspired a year in France where she was mentored by one of Champagne’s youngest and most dynamic producers. At the end of 2018, Megan returned to Australia to assume a role as Brand Development Manager with Noble Spirits in New South Wales.

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EDITORS NEWS

Welcome!

I love chardonnay more than any other grape variety.

When expressed well, blanc de blancs champagnes enter another world of refinement with their creamy, seductive texture, fresh salinity and rapier-like acidity.

What fascinates me is its transparency; able to accurately convey the terroir on which it is grown.

This issue, I indulge my heart and prepare for summer with a poolside feature that I hope will inspire others to try some of the best all-chardonnay champagnes. Telling the tale of chardonnay are some of the industry’s most knowledgeable champagne identities.

Issue No. 3 of VINE & BUBBLE Magazine marks exactly one year since our launch. In a short space of time we have managed to produce something that appeals to an ever-growing population of champagne lovers as well as to people in the trade. I'm proud of the standard of our publication, its thought-provoking content as well as its beautiful design. The quality of what we produce means we are able to attract quality contributors. I am thrilled to welcome to the team, Master of Wine, Ned Goodwin,

and Wine-Searcher journalist, Caroline Henry, as well as Liinaa Berry, one of Adelaide’s top sommeliers, and Vin de Champagne Award winner, David Donald. Their expert contribution adds considerable weight to the virtue of the magazine.

Lastly, you will notice we've changed our format slightly; the magazine is a little shorter in length and we've redesigned the cover to create a larger space for our hero image. A small tweak has given the magazine a slightly more contemporary feel.

Now it’s time to sit back, pour yourself a glass of champagne, and enjoy the latest issue of VINE & BUBBLE Magazine.

Santé!

Sara Underdown Founder and Editor, VINE & BUBBLE Magazine VINEANDBUBBLE.COM

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King of White The Greatness of Champagne's Chardonnay

Champagne may be celebrated as a blend of three great varietals, but in the case of chardonnay, it has the ability to stand alone like no other. Blanc de blancs can be the freshest and most elegant of all champagnes, wonderfully transparent of the soil on which it’s grown and providing drinkers with a real taste of Champagne. Award-winning author, Kaaren Palmer, takes a closer look at Champagne’s king of white grapes.

WORDS BY

Kaaren Palmer, adapted from her book: ‘Champagne: A Tasting Journey’ P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y Victor Pugatschew

Chardonnay wines from Champagne present a great cache of attributes.

From the crystalline purity of chalk and citrus associated with the Côte des Blancs, to the richer and rounder profile of the Montagne de Reims, and more characterful chardonnays of the Aube, it is an adaptable grape with an almost chameleonlike ability to express itself through its terroir rather than as itself.

Therefore, when grown in different areas of Champagne, and blended, it appears more than one-dimensional.

Blended with wine made from pinot noir or meunier, it adds lift and elegance. Alone, it can be sharp or thin when young, but becomes rich and buttery with age. It can hold a red wine drinker’s interest like no other white grape because of its weighty feel in the mouth so that its acidity is less noticeable, except as palate length. With age, chardonnay’s palate length becomes longer and the aromas and flavours rich and nutty.

In Champagne, plantings of chardonnay occur in areas where the subsoil suits its requirement for good drainage. That subsoil is usually chalky, but other well-drained slopes where the microclimate is suitable include eastfacing slopes that catch the morning sun, and the calcareous slopes of southern Champagne. As there is no significant topographical barrier between Champagne and the sea, moderating oceanic influences help ameliorate what is usually a harsh climate for grapes.

cru vineyards of the Côte – south of the Congy area to the Sézannais, the Vitryat area south-east of Châlonsen-Champagne, and at Montgueux north-west of Troyes, albeit with a subsoil of a different type of chalk, from an older geological era.

Chardonnay tolerates cold and buds early when compared to other vines in Champagne’s relatively short growing season. The vines mature quickly and early, when there is a risk of spring frost damage to tender young shoots. The young yellowygreen leaves of chardonnay vines are as if traversed by cobwebs, with small tan bumps on the underside.

Two thick veins radiate from each leaf’s stem, either side of the centre.

The white buds have fluffy, rosy edges. The grapes themselves are small and spherical, loosely packed

“It can hold a red wine drinker’s interest like no other white grape…”

The Côte des Blancs, its topsoil visibly chalky white, is south of Epernay and perpendicular to the Marne.

It is a famous Champagne viticultural area for good reason, but outcrops of chalky subsoils are scattered further than the continuous grand and premier

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Left: Chardonnay grapes grown at Calsac clos in Avize.

Right: Salon was the first to produce blanc de blancs in Champagne in 1911.

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in slightly elongated bunches. Their skins are delicate and split easily.

When they ripen, they change colour from green to yellow-green, then golden yellow, even slightly tawny when very ripe.

Farmers say to one another, “the foxes have pissed”, that is, the grapes are ready for harvesting.

The first reported all-chardonnay – or blanc de blancs – champagne was produced by Eugène Aimé Salon at Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in 1911. His first commercial vintage was produced in 1921.

Cuvée S from Champagne Salon is the descendant of that first blanc de blancs; it is only made in excellent years. Mumm de Cramant Blanc de Blancs was not born until 1922, and others came much later, such as Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne, in 1952.

“The first reported allchardonnay – or blanc de blancs – champagne was produced by Eugène Aimé Salon at Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in 1911.”

In the glass, the colour of chardonnay from Champagne ranges from pale green to lemon yellow. Its bead in champagne is tiny. Its aromas depend on where they are grown, the terroir, for their expression.

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Ruinart, Billecart-Salmon, Delamotte, Perrier-Jouët and Henriot assemble readily available, non-vintage blanc de blancs cuvées.

For vintage blanc de blancs, houses that produce delightful examples include Deutz, Ayala, BillecartSalmon, Delamotte, Duval-Leroy, Jacquesson, G.H. Mumm, Pol Roger and Louis Roederer. The cooperatives, Nicolas Feuillatte, Le Mesnil, Jacquart and Palmer & Co. also bottle pure vintage chardonnay champagnes.

Prestige cuvées are Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne, which paradoxically combines richness and lightness, Deutz’s Amour de Deutz, Dom Ruinart, Charles Heidsieck’s Blanc de Millénaires and, in their blanc de blancs incarnations, Perrier-Jouët’s Belle Epoque and Gosset’s Celebris.

Tasting blancs de blancs In the mouth, a youthful blanc de blancs can be austere, lean and acidic. Given breathing time, look for length and minerality and an inviting, salivating acidity that is only quenched by further tasting.

Creamy complexity arrives with maturity. The early impression is always crisp, fresh and exhilarating with lingering juicy acidity. Elegance and finesse are hallmarks, and a bright but supple impression.

P R I M A RY A R O M A S

S E C O N DA RY A R O M A S

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Floral (delicate white spring flowers like hawthorn) in a cool vintage, through to heady spring bulbs when the growing period extends into a drawn-out vintage summer

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Citrus (orange or lime blossom, grapefruit), with mineral nuances of chalk, and sea breezes

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Iodine and oyster shells from ancient marine deposits

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Ferns and cut grass, akin to green tea, in a difficult year

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Cucumber, melon, apple, pear, white peach, lychee, pineapple, banana, and coconut, in a ripe year

Banana, pineapple, toffee, beeswax, and nuts (fresh, roasted or grilled)

T E RT I A RY A R O M A S •

Honey, nougat, baked or caramelised apple, macaroon, tobacco, citrus rind, vanilla, marzipan, hazelnut, and almond kernel

This article is courtesy of Kaaren Palmer’s awardwinning book, Champagne: A Tasting Journey. The book is a comprehensive introduction to the world of champagne, and a step-by-step guide to tasting and appraising champagne – the first of its kind.

Available from Amazon and discerning book sellers.

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Take a Walk on the

White Side

Stave off the heat this summer with our recommendations for some of the best blanc de blancs available now. From light and bright to mouth-filling creaminess and salivating minerality, these champagnes will quench your summer thirst.

Sara Underdown P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y Jack Turner WORDS BY

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Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs 2011, Agrapart & Fils Terroirs Extra Brut and G.H. Mumm’s RSRV Blanc de Blancs 2013.

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Pure and

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Mineral Champagne doesn’t always have to be fruity or yeasty. Pure, clean and mineral styles heighten our appreciation for the terroir they herald from, all the while enthralling us with their salivating salinity, freshness and lively acidity. Serve them with their food equals…something that is light and fresh from the sea.

Agrapart & Fils Terroirs Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Grand Cru 100% chardonnay RRP taken from two vintages in Avize, Cramant, Oger and Oiry.

Vines are an average 40 years old. Comprises 50% reserve wine and 50% from barrel.

Up to 36 months on lees. Dosage is 5g/L.

$165

This is a bright, ripe and mineral style with aromas reminiscent of wet chalk, white pepper, pear and grass, but with some slightly oxidative notes. The palate is chiselled and pure, possessing gripping mineral tension and lemon freshness, softened by flavours of comforting pear tarte tatin. Expect a long, dry finish.

Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs 2011

G.H. Mumm RSRV Blanc de Blancs 2013

100% chardonnay taken from RRP Avize. 18% vinified in oak.

No malolactic fermentation.

Lower pressure.

Aged 5 years on lees + 8 months post-disgorgement. Dosage is 9g/L.

100% chardonnay taken from RRP Cramant.

Vinified in stainless steel. 4.5 bars of pressure.

Aged for 3-4 years on lees. Dosage is 6g/L.

$160

Louis Roederer’s blanc de blancs are typically more earthy than fruity, with a purity and delicacy seldom seen elsewhere. In the 2011 vintage, the nose is garden-fresh, melding together orchard fruits with white flowers and hay without betraying the salty genesis of its terroir. The palate is immediately bright, with a mineral liveliness, but gives way to something that is velvety, fine and graceful. Humming away in the background is a subtle fruit intensity, adding complexity and weight, to this multi-faceted, delicious and elegant champagne that ends with a trademark saline finish.

$170

From the ‘chalk mountain’ comes a champagne that is particularly refined: pure, restrained and delicate. The combination of the cooler 2013 vintage with RSRV’s lower pressure style makes it so.

The nose is all about the sea – oyster shell and wet chalk present a fresh impression - and just a hint of acacia adds some floral beauty.

On the palate, it’s light and subtly creamy, dry and saline, leaving a fine chalk fingerprint from the beginning to its long finish.

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Fine and

Creamy Champagne is at its most seductive when beautifully textured. Soft, creamy and silky blanc de blancs are some of the most pleasant and easy to drink. Serve them on their own or with something light, creamy or toasty to make them shine.

Palmer & Co. Blanc de Blancs NV

RRP

$120

100% chardonnay taken mostly from Villers-Marmery and Trépail, blended with fruit from the Côte de Sézanne. Aged for 5 years on lees + 6 months postdisgorgement. Dosage is 7g/L.

Palmer & Co.’s non-vintage blanc de blancs is perhaps most emblematic of their fine and lacey style. The nose offers loads of crushed pineapple mixed with subtle lemon citrus, white flowers and almond. On the palate, the nose finds its equal when it comes to flavour, albeit bordering on some caramelised notes, and finds a balance between vibrant acidity and rich reserves.

Texturally, it appears silky with fine chalk minerality. A lovely, pure-drinking cuvée with lots of crowd pleasing appeal.

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Pommery Apanage

RRP

$99

100% chardonnay taken from the .95 northern parts of the Montagne de Reims and Nogent-l'Abbesse.

Vinified in stainless steel and includes 15% reserve wine. Aged for 42 months on lees + 6 months post-disgorgement. Dosage is 8-9g/L. Pommery’s eternally youthful style is on full display here with their newest non-vintage blanc de blancs, Apanage.

The nose is particularly light, in a reductive style, with aromas reminiscent of cool, wet stones, white flowers and lemon citrus. On the palate, it’s delicate, fresh and easy-drinking, hinting at some creamy and bready autolytic notes. The finish is dry and of medium length.

Ayala Blanc de Blancs 2013 100% chardonnay taken from Cramant, Cuis, Chouilly, Vertus and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Aged for 5 years on lees. Dosage is 6g/L.

Boll & Cie Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra Brut 2010 RRP

$135

Ayala is a house that flies under the radar, but their elegant chardonnay driven cuvées are very good, and worth discovering. The 2013 vintage is restrained and light and plays to their style well. Pale gold in the glass, it offers a nose of fresh citrus, melted butter and schist minerality. The palate is pure and understated with delicate flavours - notably peach, lemon zest and cream – and a soft as silk texture.

This is an immensely satisfying champagne that seems almost ethereal. It finishes clean and dry, of medium length, with a pleasing bitterness at the very end.

100% chardonnay taken from Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Aged for 6 years on lees. Dosage is 4g/L.

RRP

$149

This is a reasonably complex champagne with a nose that teeters between fresh lime, sea spray and toasty aromas, making it appealing as an apéritif or food wine. On the palate, it’s deceptively rich thanks to some good fruit intensity and a creamy and mouth-filling profile, balanced with a saline streak. Lovely long finish.

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Top Left: G.H. Mumm's RSRV Blanc de Blancs 2013 is pure and restrained.

Bottom Left: Consider serving energetic and bright champagnes with oysters au naturel or creamy crab canapĂŠs with a twist of lemon to keep things fresh and zingy.

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Top: Ayala Blanc de Blancs 2013 is beautifully textured and elegant.

Bottom: The fine and creamy style of Pommery's new non-vintage blanc de blancs, Apanage.

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Energetic and

Bright

Feel the rush of bright acidity, lively minerality and concentrated flavours with these worthy suggestions. They make for excellent apéritifs, but not only. Consider serving them with salmon blinis, oysters au naturel or creamy crab canapes with a twist of lemon to keep things fresh and zingy.

Pierre Péters Cuvée de Reserve Blanc de Blancs Brut NV 50% 2015 base vintage and 50% solera reserve going back to 1988. Fruit taken from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cramant, Oger and Avize. Partial malolactic fermentation. Dosage is 7g/L.

Voirin-Jumel Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut NV RRP

$95

The wines of Pierre Péters consistently punch above their weight for a small producer, privileged to some of the best vineyards belonging to grand cru villages in the Côte des Blancs. This champagne is one of the best in their range. A youthful, sea spray and oyster shell nose is offset by the warming aromas of almond croissant and toast, care of some impressive solera complexity.

The palate is simply exhilarating and delicious, smacking of lemon zest before plunging into the salty depths of the sea. But just before things get too chilly, be buoyed by the underlying richness of tropical fruit notes and brioche. A simply stunning non-vintage blanc de blancs, exuding confidence in its flare and finesse. It finishes long and strong.

100% chardonnay taken from Cramant, Chouilly, Avize and Oger. Based on 2015 with 20% reserve wine added. Dosage is 6g/L.

RRP

$75

This is a super-fresh and lively style, with a tensile quality that keeps everything focused and driven. On the nose, it speaks loudly of its grand cru origins, with bright citrus, florals and cool mineral notes. The palate is alleviated from its strong mineral grip by some nice mid-palate fruit intensity and light creaminess borrowed from Cramant. The finish is of medium length. A really enjoyable apéritif-style champagne that is also one of the best value for money.

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Returning to Craftsmanship

Cristal 2012

Louis Roederer’s chef de cave, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, in Adelaide earlier this year.

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On the year of his 20th Anniversary as chef de cave of Champagne Louis Roederer, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon has reached another epic milestone in his environmental quest with the release of Cristal 2012. During his recent trip to Australia, he spoke openly about how climate change challenges are pushing the industry to return to the era of craftsmanship.

Sara Underdown P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y Wade Whitington WORDS BY

2019 marks 20 years since JeanBaptiste Lécaillon became chef de cave of Louis Roederer. It’s a long time, but longevity is not uncommon for talented chefs de cave of Champagne’s finest houses.

It would be easy to grow stale, bored, and disengaged along the way, but not if you’re Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, a man whose passion grows steadily with each passing year. It’s easy to see why. Lécaillon is much, much more than a winemaker. He’s a

grand philosopher – and maestro – of the industry’s trajectory for environmental change.

In his 20 years as chef de cave, Lécaillon has achieved a meaningful legacy, earning Louis Roederer a unique status as the region’s largest organically certified producer.

A meagre two percent of all vineyards across the 34,000 hectares belonging to the Champagne appellation are certified organic. Louis Roederer owns almost 20 percent of these,

“And as Chair of the Technical Committee for Champagne’s powerful trade association, he has presided over a series of radical shake-ups of the industry…”

accounting for 122 out of 240 estate owned hectares. Ten hectares are certified biodynamic. And as Chair of the Technical Committee for Champagne’s powerful trade association, the Comité Champagne, he has presided over a series of radical shake-ups of the industry, pushing toward an uncompromising commitment to the environment.

In 2018, recommendations put forward by the committee saw houses and growers stand together on uncommon ground; agreeing to eradicate herbicides by 2025 and reach 100% environmental certification by 2030.

Professionally, these are significant achievements. But for someone like Lécaillon, they are also deeply personal. The release of Cristal 2012, in early 2020, will be the first to

Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, in Adelaide, speaking about Cristal 2012.

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have been farmed 100% biodynamically.

It follows Cristal Rosé 2007, which was also cultivated biodynamically. It’s a tremendous moment in the landscape

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“The release of Cristal 2012, in early 2020, will be the first to have been farmed 100% biodynamically.” of prestige champagnes…no other champagne at this super-elite level is made with the same attention to detail for the environment and underlying philosophy to express the uniqueness of terroir in its wine.

Speaking candidly during his biennial trip to Australia, Lécaillon muses about how it’s all part of his quest to reinvent champagne for the 21st Century which he says is less about know-how and more about letting terroir speak, the potential for which starts with an environmental agenda. A return to craftsmanship, as he calls it, is part of an extended dialogue around the quality of champagne wine and engaging consumers with different tastes.

“I’ve been working on it for 20 years,” he says. “What’s funny is that we’re just going back to the way it was. Most of it is thanks to the grower movement.

[Anselme] Selosse was the leader of that. He said ‘come on guys, it’s about terroir’.”

Pre-1960s Champagne was all about craftsmanship,

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says Lécaillon, who goes on to compare it with the forty years that ensued, when the region doubled its appellation size, maximised yields using chemical farming techniques and planted higher yielding clones.

“In the 70s and 80s the winemaker was very important. They were looking for a very neutral base and to personally make a strong impact on the wine,” he says. “Now, there is a new wave in winemaking. Winemakers are now prepared to step down and let the terroir speak because that is the uniqueness of champagne. The uniqueness is not the know-how.”

For Cristal, the child of chalk, craftsmanship comes from an organic or biodynamic path, depending on vintage conditions.

Following 20 years of trials, Lécaillon believes there is a tendency in warm years for biodynamics to perform well due to its ability to preserve soil freshness.

Freshness is more than just acidity, it's precision of fruit, salinity, sapidity, length and elegance. Organics, he says, is good but it doesn’t perform the same.

“Biodynamics is all about soil preparation, especially the 500 and 501 treatments,” he says referring to the use of horn manure and horn silica to stimulate soil life and boost plant immune systems. “When you use 501 you send messages to the vines to re-concentrate their cells and not play to the sunshine. You work with them and you can accelerate or slow down.”

Under a biodynamic regime, such as the one used on Cristal 2012, treatments ease vine vigour during periods of sunny weather to impart freshness.

But in cooler years, organics is preferred because biodynamics adds too much. A biodynamic path is nonetheless set at the start of each year and altered accordingly.

2012 was decidedly warm for Champagne, attracting good amounts of sunshine in August and September, resulting (generally) in fruitier wines with more texture and roundness. But in the case of Cristal, biodynamics has achieved a comfortable nexus between freshness from soil and roundness from sunshine, says Lécaillon.

“The more sunshine you have, the more freshness you need from soil,” he affirms. “If you grow in the bedrock of chalk, it’s unique. When roots are in the deep cool atmosphere they never stress and ripeness is always slow and steady because you don’t have a lot of stress from too much heat and not enough water.

Chalk is the perfect soil for freshness and to achieve a very low pH of wine.”

Forty-five biodynamically farmed plots across some of the best grand cru territory bequeaths Lécaillon a unique privilege in the making of Cristal. ‘A little bit of this and a little bit of that’ is used, at discretion, to maximise freshness and express the properties of terroir in what he affectionately dubs à la carte winemaking.

But while the idea of fighting for freshness comes from chalk, Lécaillon stresses it also comes from the cellar, erring toward more reductive – protective – winemaking.

“I think the méthode champenoise process has been designed for that,” he says referring to protecting the essence of the soil in champagne winemaking. “We do a soft pressing, select wild yeasts, age our wines in cask, bottle early, ensure no / low malo, and use low dosage. Our wines are low pH. Having a fresh winemaking style is all about that.”

Cristal’s 2012 vintage is the first to be farmed 100% biodynamically.

With all this said, what can we expect from Cristal 2012? Lécaillon says that unlike Cristal 2008 which was all about freshness plus acidity thanks to a cool, dry summer, Cristal 2012 is fresh with salinity yet it feels balanced. It adheres to its typical blend of 60% pinot noir / 40% chardonnay, malolactic fermentation was blocked, 32% of wine was fermented in cask, and a low dosage of 7.5g/L has been used.

Bottles were aged for a little over six years on lees. Early reviews suggest that it already feels like a complete wine, even at this initial stage in its journey.

After 20 long years of trial and error, Cristal 2012 may very well represent a landmark for prestige cuvées. But you would be mistaken if you thought it will be marketed on its environmental credentials.

“If you like Romanee-Conti, it’s not because it’s biodynamic, it’s because it’s good,” smiles Lécaillon. “It’s the same with Cristal. You like it because it’s good and, by the way, it’s biodynamic.”

In closing I am reminded of something once penned by 19th Century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard: “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” Cristal’s journey, like its maker, demonstrates that the highest virtue in winegrowing is just as important as winemaking at a prestige level. Coming back to what Champagne has been doing for centuries and embracing its very essence is, for Cristal, its DNA of uninterrupted purity and beguiling finesse; you can literally taste the earth.

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Tour de Force

WINE

Thiénot X Penfolds When two great wine brands come together, anything can happen. The unlikely collaboration between Thiénot X Penfolds has the potential to change the future for champagne across more challenging markets. With their eye on China, this could be the one thing that penetrates the impenetrable.

Sara Underdown P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y Leif Carlsson WORDS BY

It’s the eve of Penfolds’ anniversary extravaganza in Adelaide to commemorate 175 years of winemaking by one of Australia’s oldest wine brands. Unusually, champagne will take some prominence on the night, a nod to a new era of partnership with one of Champagne’s most respected and youngest houses, Thiénot. Stanislas Thiénot, Managing Director of the house, and Peter Gago, Penfolds’ Chief Winemaker, have set aside the afternoon to meet with me and talk about their collaboration.

In 2019, they took the wine world by surprise with the release of a brandnew champagne, a 2012 vintage, under the auspices of Thiénot X Penfolds. The gold and red label cast against a jet-black bottle is as audacious as the idea of one of Australia’s biggest and oldest wine brands making their own champagne.

Champagne, by virtue of its UNESCO heritage listed status, is the most protected wine-producing region in the world.

It was ambitious, to say the least, to seek industry approval for the

partnership. On that, both men agree that it has always been their intention to protect the integrity of Champagne above any business proposition.

“The CIVC [Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne] says we did it properly from the start,” says Thiénot about the industry’s staunchly protective trade and regulatory body. "It was important for us to do it transparently with the CIVC and it was important to Peter and Penfolds to do it right. It’s a project that has never existed in Champagne before.”

Gago adds that whilst it was a longshot, the proposal presented some convincing win-win opportunities for the greater good of champagne wine, in addition to their business objectives.

“The CIVC says we did it properly from the start…”

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“It could be that the CIVC thinks that by using Penfolds, Champagne can enter into new markets,” he says.

By this, Gago refers to China, which has proven difficult for champagne to crack into despite growing

affluence. Champagne is considered by many producers as a cause not yet worth fighting for in China, at least for now, with sales held back almost indefinitely by consumers’ drinking habits. In 2018, a paltry 4.7 million bottles were shipped to the Chinese triangle comprising mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Penfolds, on the other hand, couldn’t be more popular, with China accounting for half of its total earnings across Asia.

Even at this early stage in the relationship, there are signs that the collaboration could be getting through to China.

“People [in China] are buying it, including a lot of millennial Chinese,” says Gago. “In terms of a win for champagne, you’re getting Chinese and you’re getting millennials…it’s tick, tick.”

Gago gives the example of a Penfolds dinner he attended in China with wealthy business people. Guests were stunned, to say the least, at being handed a glass of champagne on arrival. When they heard it was a Penfolds champagne, they were willing to give it a go.

Top: Penfolds' Chief Winemaker, Peter Gago, with Managing Director of Thiénot, Stanislas Thienot.

Bottom: Thiénot X Penfolds Chardonnay Pinot Noir Cuvée 2012.

“People went to a Penfolds dinner to drink red wine, but also drank champagne. By the end of the night it was ‘can I have another glass please’.”

has the Penfolds touch, according to Gago. It employs French oak barriques used to mature Penfolds’ premium Yattarna chardonnay, to house the liqueur d’expédition. And whilst the use of Yattarna barriques may represent the smallest of touches, Gago says it’s the first toe in the water.

“The potential of champagne’s reach into China via the Thiénot X Penfolds brand has been realised by many in the industry…”

The potential of champagne’s reach into China via the Thiénot X Penfolds brand has been realised by many in the industry, attracting support from the corporates behind Champagne’s most important houses who see it as a good thing.

Beyond China, the acceptance of the partnership has been amazing, according to Gago and Thiénot, who say that in America, and even around France, people have embraced the project. Producing a top quality vintage champagne has been essential in winning over the hearts and palates of would-be critics.

The inaugural release from Thiénot X Penfolds comes from the generous 2012 vintage. It is a 50/50 blend of pinot noir and chardonnay and

“Originally, I thought it would be lovely for Penfolds to buy a little vineyard over there [in Champagne],” says Gago about plans to strengthen their connection to the project. “I am now totally aware of the dynamics. Stanislas’ father was a broker of vineyards, and a very successful one, but it’s not easy, there’s a queue.”

Whilst land ownership may not be an option for Penfolds, they have found other ways of getting Australia’s fingerprint on the champagne.

Gago came together with the team at Thiénot recently, for harvest, but also when composing the blend(s)

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Left: Tasting vins clairs at Champagne Thienot.

Right: Peter Gago with Thiénot chef de cave, Nicolas Uriel.

for the current champagnes, and then during trials of dosage levels with blind tastings. Dosage sits at 4g/L but only 2.4g/L was added with non-fermentable sugars making up the difference.

The quality of fruit from the 2012 vintage was really good, according to Gago, who goes on to say that acidity was softer, requiring less dosage. Full malolactic fermentation was also used.

Thiénot about retaining freshness in a decidedly warmer vintage year, Thiénot points to the very cold nights they had, which helped. Crops were also smaller due - in part - to some odium issues, resulting in deeper and more textural wines.

“On the palate, Thiénot X Penfolds 2012 vintage is delicate and silky, as well as fresh with a lovely line of acidity.”

“We did take a look at the 2008s alongside the 2012s but there was no choice,” he says. “I think, as more 2012s come onto the market, people will say ‘hang on, this is a very special vintage’. And it’s not because it was a hot or cold year, it’s because all of the stars aligned for it.”

On the palate, Thiénot X Penfolds Chardonnay Pinot Noir Cuvée 2012 is delicate and silky, as well as fresh with a lovely line of acidity.

It’s more chardonnay, than pinot noir, which is still unfurling at this early stage. When I asked Gago and 28

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Gago concurs, saying there used to be an adage from Burgundy that the best fruit comes from cool areas in a warm year.

“It’s all pre-climate change,” he says.

“Even in the Coonawarra, the warmer years in this cool area produce some of the very best Cabernet. Things have changed now even in Champagne, in a year like this.

Cool area, warm vintage – it’s Champagne.”

of two new grand cru champagnes from the collaboration: a blanc de blancs sourced exclusively from Avize and a blanc de noirs from Aÿ.

Gago believes their release will go well in Australia because Australians know how to enjoy champagne throughout a meal, not just for celebrations.

“It’s why Australia is such a prominent market, even though we’re a small size,” he says. “We treat champagne as a wine of great character. And not to forget the history of sparkling at Penfolds.

We started in 1912 with the Minchinbury and, 100 years later, a 2012 champagne.”

The unlikely partnership between one of Australia’s oldest wine brands with one of Champagne’s youngest houses proves that when two great brands come together, anything can happen. All of a sudden, the future looks very bright – and different – for champagne.

“Next year, the 2012 vintage will continue as a theme with the release of two new grand cru champagnes from the collaboration…”

In 2020, the 2012 vintage will continue as a theme with the release

WINE

The Philosophy of Lees

The effect of time on champagne, both on and off lees, is as much a question of taste as it is about quality. Ned Goodwin MW provides some clarity, and challenges our expectations, with his thoughts on the familiar lees-derived characters of classic brut style champagnes.

Ned Goodwin MW Moët & Chandon and Champagne Palmer & Co.

WORDS BY PHOTOGRAPHY BY

I am often asked the difference between champagne and wine; an odd question given that champagne is a wine and should be enjoyed as such, be it as an apéritif or as an accompaniment to food. This is a question shaped, perhaps, by notions of how to approach champagne, often limited by its festive nature.

However, there are salient traits that differentiate champagne from the bevy of still wines and other sparkling expressions.

Considering these, we must first acknowledge that champagne is a regional wine stamped with a duress inherent to the most viticulturally challenged meld of soil and climate of any major wine region in the world.

Not only is the place cold, verging on frigid, but the soils are largely bereft of nutrients, exacerbated by the free drainage capacity of the dominant geological strata, chalk.

Of course, the region and its wines are also defined by the production process, entailing a second fermentation in bottle, jurisdiction over where grapes can be grown, pressing quotients and overall yields which, frankly, despite the impregnable mantle of branded luxury that allows champagne to loft over other sparkling wines, are nothing to brag about. The average yield of the region is unabashedly high. Too high.

“Not only does it confer poise and complexity to the wines, but it has come to partly define divergent styles…”

Moreover, there are further legal parameters stipulating permitted grape varieties, training methods, dosage levels across styles and the minimal period of lees ageing for

non-vintage cuvées (12 months; 15 in bottle) and vintage wines (three years), to name but a few.

It is this last point, the lees ageing, that is particularly interesting.

Not only does it confer poise and complexity to the wines, but it has come to partly define divergent styles, accentuated by the growing stature of wines from smaller producers less reliant on lees-derived detail than the champagnes from larger houses.

Lees ageing takes place following the secondary fermentation of the blend, in bottle. Ageing nascent champagnes on their lees, or the decomposing amalgam of yeast and other microbes that remain in the bottle following the exhaustion of carbon sources by the fermentation, incites the process of autolysis.

Autolysis sees the dying yeasts, starved of nutrients, break down.

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WINE

to impart flavours and aromatic compounds akin to the pastry notes, or toast, that most of us ascribe to qualitative expressions.

champagnes benefit from additional time in the cellar, as gradual oxidative ingress through the porous cork deepens the hue and imparts complex nutty and truffled notes to the ageing wine.

“The longer a champagne is aged on lees, the more forcefully these characteristics will present themselves in the glass.”

The longer a champagne is aged on lees, the more forcefully these characteristics will present themselves in the glass. Often for better; sometimes worse.

I once tasted an Australian sparkling wine whose maker had done his best to emulate long lees-aged champagne; to the wine’s detriment.

There simply was not the natural acidity in the wine to carry the creamy heft and accentuated toastiness from all of his hard work.

Indeed, those Champagne houses championing traditional toasty styles will adjust the lees ageing period to find confluence with the base year. Should, for example, the base year provide a high acid wine, it may be toned with longer lees ageing, resulting in a more balanced finished champagne. Conversely, should the base wine hail from a warmer vintage, extended lees ageing may impart too much breadth and the champagne may lack poise and palpable freshness.

The end drinker may then determine that a champagne deserves more time in bottle.

Like any quality wine, certain

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Conversely, some champagne houses do the ageing for us, releasing top cuvées after a period of ageing before re-releasing them again across staggered disgorgements.

These wines are largely aged on their lees, pre-disgorgement, rather than post. To the uninitiated, the wines are ostensibly the same: maker and vintage. However, for the perspicacious drinker, the later disgorged wines are different on many levels.

Rather than being shaped by the oxidative process of ageing under cork, later released champagnes are given a more febrile cadence by reductive, rather than oxidative, conditions. In other words, oxygen is staved off by the protective carapace of high acidity, low pH,

Examples include Bollinger’s prestige cuvées. Its La Grande Année is aged for seven to 10 years, depending on the nature of the vintage. After further time on lees, often up to 15 years in total, bottles are released under a different moniker as the R.D., or Recently Disgorged, cuvée. The constituents are the same, albeit, the additional period on lees and its anaerobic bind, imbues a pungent mineral freshness. The R.D. is tensile, while the La Grande Année - at least in this context - is softer and almost relaxed.

Dom Pérignon, too, a staunchly reductive champagne, is released as Plénitude 1 (seven to eight years on lees), 2 (circa 20 years) and 3 (older releases, in excess of 25 years), each revealing different facets of the same constituents, brought to light by different periods of lees ageing.

Is one approach better than the other?

Not really, but I often prefer champagnes aged postdisgorgement, under cork. They are less shrill and, I suppose, a testament to my patience. They are wines to linger over as I ponder the passage of time; in contrast to the impressive freshness and fibre of later disgorged bottlings, bedazzling because of their resilience against time’s passing, like a liquid Dorian Gray.

“Rather than being shaped by the oxidative process of ageing under cork, later released champagnes are given a more febrile cadence by reductive, rather than oxidative, conditions.”

CO2 and most of all, the cloudy mass of oxygen-occluding lees in the bottle.

Challenging these barometers of quality, the grower revolution has

Top: Champagne Palmer & Co. Bottom: Champagne maturing on lees at Moët & Chandon.

seen the acclaim of champagnes crafted by a legion of small growerproducers. This movement picked up steam following the deregulation of the champagne market in 1990, when the echelles system of fixing grape prices based on origin (rather than quality and demand) was discarded. Champagne became a free market and with this, the region’s narrative shifted irrevocably.

Out of necessity, many of these producers dispatch their wines to market earlier, resulting in substantially shorter periods on lees. Synergistically, with fewer vineyard holdings and reliance on that growing in their backyards, so to speak, their story is one of greater site-specificity, morphing into a combatant thread of ‘us versus them’, or small land-holding winemakers versus the larger houses that grow grapes in many instances, but largely purchase fruit across the 34,500 hectares of the Champagne region.

flitting with the essential properties of their wines.

And there lies the rub. These champagnes tell a different story.

There are fewer parts to their composition and the end result is one of streamlined transparency, rather than the toastiness and creamy mouthfeel of a classic brut style of champagne. Indeed, for many of the newer guard, toasty aromas are perceived as maquillage, or makeup, to obfuscate lesser quality materials.

To each their own, I suppose.

In essence, the story of the grower has become one of transparency, rather than that of an inordinate blend designed to replicate a consistent style year in, year out.

Growers often embrace wood – new smaller format casks, together with larger neutral vessels - to evince textural authority, while dropping dosage (residual sugar) levels to clarify the voice of the vineyard melded to their culture, or terroir.

Concomitant to the minimalist wine movement, many embrace holistic viticulture across its guises and a ‘less is more’ approach to vinification, manifest in ambient yeast, minimal fining and less

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When Burgundy Comes to

Champagne

A more Burgundian approach is something often cited by proponents of good grower champagne. But what does it mean? One of Adelaide’s leading sommeliers, Liinaa Berry, returns from Champagne and gives us her impression of two top growers, with divergent styles, employing the best from Burgundy.

Liinaa Berry Victor Pugatschew and Pierre Paillard

WORDS BY PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Anselme and Guillaume Selosse with a geographical soil profile of one of their vineyards in Avize.

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Top: Benoît Paillard with his sons, Antoine and Quentin Paillard, who represent the eighth generation of their family to grow vines in Bouzy.

In the last five to ten years, there has been a surge in grower-producer champagne made available in Australia.

Instead of selling their fruit to Champagne houses, grower-producers make their own champagne. In doing so, they offer a more personalised wine, with the propensity to show individual characteristics and a sense of place, allowing vintage variations to shine through. They offer a window into the craftmanship of individuals who have a particular philosophy toward the way they treat their vines and land.

The best growers resonate with a respectful approach to agricultural work and biodiversity in the vineyard. Their wines are a totem to the magic that can happen when human hands and nature work together in symbiosis.

Nonetheless, styles and approach vary significantly, from producer to producer, as is the case in any other wine region. A producer in the Loire can work sauvignon blanc very differently from his or her neighbour. In the same way, a winegrower from the northernmost part of Champagne can work differently from his southernmost counterpart.

This year, I travelled to Champagne where I met with a range of producers. Two stood out not only for their exceptional wines, but also for changing the way I think about champagne.

I was ecstatic. One of my dream visits was to become reality.

Both are visionaries, and pay homage to Burgundy in their approach, albeit using contrasting styles. Get to know them, and you will understand why there is an escalating interest in grower champagne from sommeliers like me.

Unlike the sons of other vignerons in the 1970s, Selosse did not study viticulture at the Lycée Viticole in Avize, where more conventional methods of winegrowing and making are taught. Instead, he went to Beaune in Burgundy. The time he spent there made all the difference to his personal path, imparting an understanding of Burgundy’s Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system, which reflects diversity of terroir, and the expertise of its winemakers, through a single vineyard network.

“Their wines are a totem to the magic that can happen when human hands and nature work together in symbiosis.”

As a sommelier, I am handed some of the best opportunities to get to know Champagne as a region and wine; meeting winegrowers and winemakers, visiting vineyards and chalk cellars. In the last seven years, I have tasted thousands of different wines across the spectrum of houses and growers, and have learnt to discern differences in style.

As a wine lover, it’s a fascinating experience and one that never ceases to evolve.

Jacques Selosse – Avize (Côte des Blancs) Sitting at wine bar and local institution, Gluepot, with two of my friends during this year’s trip to Champagne, I received a phone call from one of my mentors. She called to confirm our appointment with iconic winegrower, Anselme Selosse.

I have been a disciple of Selosse since I first discovered his wines at the start of my career. Anyone who knows champagne knows of his lead role in today’s grower movement.

An ecology course he enrolled in also played a role in opening his eyes to ecosystems and biodiversity in the vineyard. Over time, he became more passionate about observing nature and making sense of geology and climate than he was about making wine. The discovery

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Top: Pinot noir taken from vineyards belonging to Pierre Paillard in Bouzy.

WINE also manifested in the cellar, where he toiled away at making some exceptional wines from a genesis of healthy vines. Selosse’s biggest work started in the vineyard, decoding links between different soils – terroir – and, just like the appellation concept in Burgundy, understanding how Champagne could also make the finest wines using plots and communes. Today, he produces rich, voluminous wines with extraordinary depth and vinosity.

During our tasting, it was interesting to hear Selosse say that he was not responsible for making

the wine, that it was nature. His role, he believed, was simply to accompany fermentation and guard the wine’s natural evolution. Selosse was curiously philosophical, verging on prophetic. Being in his presence was awe-inspiring, an exceptional human being who has done so much to inspire younger people to work organically and as naturally as possible.

Selosse’s style is also defined by perpetual blending. Some wines are produced by bringing all vintages together from a single terroir and topping up the vessel each year with a new harvest. And whilst it

sounds like a solera system, it is not.

By contrast, the solera approach keeps all vintages separate and then blended together to produce a desirable style. Not all barrels are blended and, at other times, some barrels are used more than others.

Selosse, on the other hand, blends everything together. The idea behind it is to offer a more rounded expression of each terroir. And perhaps it explains the oxidative element to his wines, but also a profoundness, with layers and layers of complexity.

My pick | Initial Anyone wanting an introduction to Selosse’s style should start with the cuvée, Initial, which (to me) is his best wine. Initial is always a blend of three consecutive vintages from three villages: Cramant, Avize and Oger. Vines are planted on deep, chalk/clay soils and most sites are found on the lower slopes. It comprises 100% chardonnay and spends five to six years on lees. Due to the richer soils, this wine is voluptuous and fills the mouth with dense fruit and a slight oily contour. The colour is an attractive golden yellow, the nose throws ripe orchard fruits and white flowers, dry croissant and brioche.

On the palate, there are notes of peach skin and subtle ginger spice over some nuttiness, as well as a slightly bitter almond paste on the finish.

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Cédric Bouchard – Troyes (Aube) The Aube is a sub-region on the southern skirts of Champagne, closer to Burgundy, and possesses distinctive clay, marl and limestone soils with a warmer micro-climate.

Unlike Jacques Selosse, which is located further north in chardonnay heartland, Cédric Bouchard works mainly with pinot noir, producing some of the most aromatic expressions of champagne. He crafts wine to reflect one parcel, one variety and one vintage. Think of it as wines from Burgundy, but with bubbles.

Bouchard’s passion can be found in regenerative farming and celebrating the connection of humans with the land. He rejects the notion of blending altogether and, rather than producing a consistent and predictable non-vintage wine, aspires for terroir-driven champagne. This, he believes, is best when avoiding oak, opting for enamelled cement, to bring out fruit richness and expression of site and variety. Having revoked many conventional champagne making practices, he is considered, by many, as a trail blazer for the industry.

Stylistically, Bouchard’s approach involves bottling with less

pressure than usual – four and a half atmospheres rather than six. Bubbles, he believes can be distracting and aggressive, impeding the taste of wine. His wines, consequently, have some of the most refined beads I have ever experienced for a Méthode Champenoise. Even with a much softer mousse, the wine has incredible persistence and the tiny perlage stays with you until the end.

And, as with Burgundy, Bouchard’s wines are made with no dosage.

This makes sense to me as the Aube is a warmer sub-region, generally producing more ripeness and sugar in the grapes.

My pick | Roses de Jeanne, Côte de Val Vilaine, 2015 This is a blanc de noirs comprising 100% pinot noir. Expect a chiselled wine with mouthfilling depth of fruit. A red currant spice with some plum notes are quick to make themselves noticed from the intense pinot fruit and, as the wine unfolds, you will notice something more subtle on the mid-palate; white tea, chamomile and gentle florals. I have found this wine enjoys a decant. Yes, it is totally fine to decant some champagne. Cédric Bouchard will like you for it. This wine should be treated as though it were pinot noir from Burgundy. If you want to taste what Bouchard has really worked for, then don’t feel too attached to the bubbles. Let them slowly go as you decant the wine. You will end up with a fine wine brimming with elegance and power, the bubbles will stay in the background. My favourite glass to use for this wine is Riedel’s pinot noir glasses.

Here are my other picks from producers worth getting to know...

Pierre Paillard, Les Parcelles Grand Cru Extra Brut NV - Bouzy (Montagne de Reims) Non-vintage champagne doesn’t get better than this! The grapes for Les Parcelles come from 22 individual plots, all grand cru sites from powerful Bouzy. It comprises 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay with one-third reserve wine. For the price, it’s hard to find anything else that matches its execution. Phenomenal complexity, palate coating intensity and power. This wine is the definition of balance, bringing together fruit with a fine streak of chalkiness, leaving an impression of light heartedness in the soul. Serve this one in a Grassl champagne glass for best results.

Bérêche & Fils Brut Réserve NV (Montagne de Reims) What can I say? This is a poised, original and sophisticated wine from the north of Reims. The two brothers Raphael and Vincent - work with nine hectares of equal portions of chardonnay, pinot noir and meunier in their family estate which was founded in 1847. This cuvée always has 70% wine from the base year with the balance coming from reserve wines. Pale yellow-gold in colour, this is a wine with lots of energy. On the nose, aromas of quince, apples and pear drops with some wildflowers and slight seaweed character. The palate is saline, dry and crisp but follows through with a gorgeous lift of spice and lemon zest. I would serve this in a Zalto universal glass and share with friends who can appreciate grower champagne.

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Michel Loriot plays Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms in his cellars to encourage development of perfume and better structured wines.

WINE

The Sound of Music

Champagne Apollonis Champagne Apollonis may belong to one of the oldest families in the Champagne region, but their approach is anything but conventional.

Since 2010, they have aged their bottles to the sound of music. And since 2012, their vineyards have also received their share of great composers in order to stimulate natural resistance in the vines.

WORDS BY

Cam O’Keefe

P H O T O G R A P H Y C O U RT E S Y O F

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Apollonis

The origins of Champagne Apollonis can be traced back through Michel Loriot’s family to the 17th Century when his ancestors started growing vines, in 1675. Twelve generations have followed, including Paymyre and Leopold, who built the very first local press house in 1903. I met Michel for the first time back in 2016, when travelling in Champagne. He is joined by his wife, Martine, their daughter, Marie, and her husband, Alban, who heads-up production. To this day, the domaine remains small and family-run, reinforced by Michel’s association with the Vignerons Independents that he presides over.

on that later. The brand’s name is relatively new, introduced in 2015, replacing Michel Loriot’s namesake label, to distinguish it from the ‘Loriot’ name commonly found in the area.

“Apollonis may be an odd name to call a champagne producer, a reference to Greek mythology’s daughter of Apollo, and goddess of music and the arts.”

Apollonis may be an odd name to call a champagne producer, a reference to Greek mythology’s daughter of Apollo, and goddess of music and the arts. But it all makes sense once you’ve visited. More

Festigny, located on the left bank of the Marne River, is home to Michel’s domaine as well as some of the best meunier in Champagne.

The village is characterised by some chalky soils, more than average for the Vallée de la Marne, and receives excellent sun exposure.

Apollonis’ vineyards are found surrounding a hill on steep, clay-rich marl and limestone soils. They are planted mostly to meunier (80%), as well as some

chardonnay (18%), and a little pinot noir (2%) across seven hectares. Soils are aerated, once winter has passed, before allowing grass to propagate between rows. Come growing season, the grass is cut several times and hoed away under the vines.

Only natural fertilisers are used to treat vineyards following conversion to environmentally sustainable farming over a decade ago.

Getting things right in the vineyard, says Michel, requires less work in the cellar. And whilst a minimalist approach is preferred, winemaking receives an extra special touch; not from the hand of the winemaker, but – unusually - by the reverberations of music. Music deeply resonates with Michel whose great grandfather, grandfather and father played in the village band.

But he prefers not to just listen, he likes to feel it too. More than a decade ago, when travelling through Switzerland, he visited a winery where barrel rooms were

“…he dedicated himself to researching the idea of proteody, or protein music, and its potential to affect the quality of wine.”

Left: Apollonis produces mostly meunier-driven cuvées.

Right: Apollonis circulates classical music across the vineyards using speakers.

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Above: Apollonis’ vineyards are some of the best located on steep slopes in Festigny, located on the left bank of the Marne River.

flooded with the sounds of classical music. Curious, he dedicated himself to researching the idea of proteody, or protein music, and its potential to affect the quality of wine. ‘Music for plants’ - as Michel calls it - was investigated decades ago by Joel Sternheimer, a French physicist and composer, who was the first researcher to claim that when plants listen to a different note or tune, they produce more amino acids in their proteins.

across the vines. Michel changes composers, depending on the stage of the growing season, but generally focuses on those from the classical era (circa 1780-1820s).

During months in the cellar, after wines have been bottled, Beethoven can be heard playing. Then comes Mozart and Brahms to play their part in the final stages of making

or writer, Peter Liem, and leading food and wine publications such as Decanter or Gault&Millau for evidence.

To taste, Apollonis offers good examples of classic meunier champagnes; rich, fruity and bright.

Authentic Meunier is perhaps the most representative of their style across the range with its fruit mince and dark rye aromas. It’s a non-vintage, boasting ample reserves – up to 50% - and receives 24 months on lees. A step-up is their Vieilles Vignes 2008, made entirely from old vine meunier. Vinified in enamelled vats with malolactic fermentation, it was aged seven years on lees and dosage is kept to a low extrabrut. It’s crisp and fresh, expressing yellow stonefruits, lightly baked bread notes and an almost minty leaf-like quality. On the palate it’s light and creamy with wellintegrated salinity.

“During months in the cellar, after wines have been bottled, Beethoven can be heard playing.

Then comes Mozart and Brahms to play their part in the final stages of making champagne.”

Sternheimer’s research demonstrated that plants respond to sounds in profound ways which not only influence their overall health but also increase the speed of growth and their size. Although relatively unheard of in Champagne, Michel now employs some of these techniques to strengthen his vines, increasing their resilience to disease. The result?

Vines are thriving.

When visiting Apollonis, the first thing you notice along the pathway to the winery are things that appear like tiny birdhouses scattered throughout the vineyards.

They are in fact speakers, mounted atop poles which project music

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champagne. Notes of melody have individual vibrations, according to Michel, and penetrate wines via the yeast/proteins inside each bottle. In turn, they act on the structure of the wine and elaborate a spectrum of perfume and aroma.

Of course, whether or not you believe it is entirely up to you.

Either way, the goodness of Apollonis’ cuvées speak for themselves. Look no further than champagne critic, Richard Juhlin,

Like a full-scale classical orchestra, the wines of Apollonis are a product of many components but, distinctly, with careful consideration for feeling and harmony.

The Tasting Room This issue, we take a look at some intriguing new arrivals, and some new producers, worth trying.

WORDS BY PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Sara Underdown Jack Turner and producers

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Discover There’s been an influx of newentrants to the Australian market in recent times. Here are some worth getting to know.

Timothée Stroebel Stroebel’s champagnes are as eye-catching as their labels; quirky and lively. He lays claim to 3.5ha of organically farmed vines in the premier cru village of Villers Allerand, just south of Reims, mostly planted with meunier (55%) and pinot noir (35%) with the balance made up of chardonnay. A minimal interventionist approach sees low or no sulphur, no dosage and no fining or filtration. Malolactic fermentation is left to nature. Contact Nesh Simic from Organic Champagne for more details.

Try RRP

$105

Triptyque 10% chardonnay, 60% pinot noir, 30% meunier taken from three vintages (2011, 2013 and 2014). Zero dosage.

Triptyque’s allure is in its hyperactive energy, its powerfully peachy aromas even noticeable before you raise the glass to your nose – delicious! There is also blackcurrant and menthol, brioche and raw cashews.

The palate produces a lively attack from grapefruit acidity, accentuated by a course chalky texture and lack of dosage, but there’s some subtle softening creaminess from barrel work. This is not an overly complex champagne but nonetheless as enthralling as a high-speed chase through the Montagne de Reims… including a long and super-dry finish.

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WINE

R.Pouillon Sam Barry, of Jim Barry wines, says that it was Fabrice Pouillon’s passion and attention to detail that convinced him to import his champagnes, and it’s easy to see why. Fabrice makes exceptional champagnes, rich, textural and multi-layered, sparking with energy. Much of the character of the wines comes from their grand cru terroir around Aÿ, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Mutigny and Epernay. ‘Living wines comes from living soil’, Fabrice says, to this end a natural approach is employed using sensitive practices to concentrate mineral content.

RRP

$250

Try Parcel Les Valnons 2012 – Aÿ Grand Cru 100% chardonnay taken from a single parcel in Aÿ. Vinified in oak barrels (new to 10 years old). No dosage.

There’s something special about chardonnay grown on first-rate pinot noir soil. Take, for example, this single-vineyard beauty from the coveted land of Aÿ in Champagne’s Marne Valley. Gosh it’s good. Grapes grown on chalky-clay soils located on historic slopes have been vinified in oak (old and new) using indigenous yeasts and bâtonnage. It sees no dosage, instead elaborating its inner beauty with a nose of menthol, hay, red apple and lavender. Its palate is paradoxically richly flavoured yet medium in weight, appearing softly textured, broad and creamy. Fine and saline minerality is omnipresent and the finish is long and dry. Superb!

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Philippe Fourrier From the quaint village of Baroville, in the Côte des Bar, comes some characterful cuvées from the family-owned estate of Philippe Fourrier. Spread across nearly 18 hectares, the family is privy to some excellent pinot noir (70%), chardonnay (29%) and meunier (1%), which is dutifully tended to by three siblings – Julien, Stéphanie and Mathilde – each with a hands-on role within the business. There are nine champagnes in the range, including some worthy blanc de blancs and a very rare 100% pinot blanc.

RRP

$330

Try Cuvée Intimiste 2014 Chardonnay taken from 30 year old vines, facing south.

Vinification in oak barrels. Ageing on lees for 9 years.

Dosage is 8g/L. This is chardonnay from the Côte des Bar in full glory: rich, lively and characterful. It reveals a pronounced nose of sweet apricot kernel and brioche, and a palate that feels full, fresh and with good intensity. The finish is long, leaving a fruity aftertaste and touch of aniseed.

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Champagne Most This is the unlikely story of a self-made négociant, Gaëtan Gillet, who – at the age of 22 - became one of Champagne’s youngest winemakers and entrepreneurs. In an industry girded by tradition and heritage, Gaëtan (refreshingly) challenges the status quo. Following his studies in viticulture and winemaking in Avize, he bought the ruins of an old town hall with a loan from his parents, renovated, moved in, and began renting out rooms to students.

Money earned was pooled to buy grapes and, in 2010, Champagne Most was born using equipment in wineries owned by friends. Gaëtan has since gone about acquiring a small number of vineyards, all in grand and premier cru territory across the Côte des Blancs: Cramant, Avize, Oger, Vertus and Le Mesnilsur-Oger. But, for the most part, he continues to buy grapes required to meet production needs. Single parcel wines are vinified in barrel, all are fermented with wild yeasts and receive minimal dosage. Wines typically receive long lees ageing of 5-7 years. Contact Nesh Simic from Organic Champagne for more details.

Try

RRP

$120

Subtil 100% chardonnay taken from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.

Based on the 2010 vintage. Vinified in stainless steel with malolactic fermentation. Disgorged 2016. Aged for more than six years on lees. Dosage is 5g/L. In the glass this cuvée is surprisingly golden in colour, so it’s little wonder that the nose reveals some developed and oxidative notes, lifted by freshness from seaspray, hay and menthol. On the palate it’s more mineral than fruity, successfully integrating marzipan, pear and biscuity notes with the bitterness of orange pith and underlying dryness of chalk minerality. Flavours gain intensity along the length of the palate, finishing long and dry.

WINE

New Releases Summer isn’t the only thing hot this season. These new releases from Louis Roederer and Jacquart are some of the most exciting and ready to drink right now.

Louis Roederer's collaboration with Paris designer, Philippe Starck, enters its third chapter with two new and highly anticipated cuvées from the generous 2012 vintage: Brut Nature and Brut Nature Rosé.

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WINE

RRP

$180

Louis Roederer Brut Nature Rosé 2012 55% pinot noir, 25% meunier and 20% chardonnay taken from biodynamically farmed vineyards in Cumières. 15% vinified in cask. A small portion of pinot noir is harvested separately and undergoes cold infusion, without fermentation, before being incorporated into the Brut Nature Blanc juices. No malolactic fermentation. Zero dosage.

If the pale salmon hue doesn’t lure you in, then perhaps the tiny bead or fine mousse will. Or maybe it will be the fresh mineral and peppery nose with fuzzy peach, juicy quince and even a glimpse of red berries. But then again, it might be the palate, that makes you feel alive with mineral tension and spritely grapefruit acidity. If it’s none of these things, then it will definitely be its unmasked purity; a window into the soul of its terroir, a place where chalk meets clay on the banks of the River Marne in a warm and generous year. It introduces some juiciness, adding flesh to its mineral bones and long length to the palate. But, of course, it’s all of these things that makes Louis Roederer’s very first Brut Nature Rosé so wonderfully alluring.

Louis Roederer Brut Nature Blanc 2012

RRP

$180

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55% pinot noir, 25% meunier and 20% chardonnay taken from biodynamically farmed vineyards in Cumières. 15% vinified in cask. No malolactic fermentation. Zero dosage.

You will do well to let this one warm up a degree or two in your glass. Only then will it reveal all that makes it different and special. The nose extracts the freshness of earth – a mineral backbone of salinity – and the perfume of bergamot and summer fruits. The palate follows through with its mineral definition but opens-up to a touch of creamy complexity and sticky pastry flavours.

These richer notes deepen the longer your glass is left to warm, but they never overtake the steely resolve of its mineral fibre. The finish is intensely saline, clean and dry.

RRP

$100 Jacquart MosaĂŻque Extra Brut 40% chardonnay, 35% pinot noir, 25% meunier. Includes one-third reserve wine. Vinified in stainless steel. Aged for five years on lees.

Dosage is 4g/L. This new release from Jacquart is a dryer take on its MosaĂŻque Brut NV which sees a more generous dosage of 9g/L. The result is a compellingly clear and brilliant champagne with mouth-watering appeal. For an Extra Brut style, it has a surprising richness on the nose with crushed pineapple and the sweet/sour aromas of Morello cherries alongside some toasty complexity. The palate is bright, clean and dry, with lemon acidity and tropical fruit providing some succulence. The result is a beautiful champagne that finds its balance between low dosage and rich reserves. Delicious.

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WINE

Arrivals Summer 2019

Summer’s good-time vibes and lazy days make champagne a necessary accompaniment to the holiday season. This year, champagne producers offer us a mixture of limited releases, special formats and some lovely fresh stock to get the party going.

G.H. Mumm Good news for those lucky enough to have tried Mumm’s superb and exclusive RSRV range.

Historically, reserved only for ‘friends of the house’, Mumm will release its Blanc be Blancs for the first time to selected retailers. The delicate and elegant 2013 vintage, which is the latest incarnation from the range, will be the first available. Mumm’s RSRV Blanc de Noirs 2009 will remain reserved for friends only…at least for now.

Perrier-Jouët The ethereal Belle Epoque from Perrier-Jouët will delight us again with the release of the 2012 vintage soon, moving on from 2011. In other news, all non-vintage cuvées will switch to a new bottle shape which was launched last year, for the Blason Rosé NV.

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Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heidsieck It has taken some time, but the wait is worth it. Charles Heidsieck’s beautifully fresh 2006 vintage will finally be released in January 2020 whilst PiperHeidsieck’s Rare will move on from the current 2002 vintage to the 2006 vintage a month later, in February.

Bollinger The fanfare surrounding Bollinger’s La Grande Année 2008 may be far from over, but there is another release likely to cause just as much interest. Bollinger’s 007 Limited Edition Millésimé 2011, which has just hit our shores, celebrates their 40-year partnership with the James Bond series. Unusually, it is made entirely from pinot noir, taken from Aÿ.

Pierre Paillard

Bibendum Portfolio

Bouzy grower-producer, Pierre Paillard, has shipped a new allocation of their racy and rich cuvées to Australia just in time for summer. New stock includes: Les Parcelles (Base 2014), Les Maillerettes Blanc de Noirs 2014, Les Mottelettes Blanc de Blancs 2014 and La Grande Récolte 2008.

A new instalment from some of Champagne’s finest growers has arrived: Egly-Ouriet, Jacques Selosse, Agrapart, Larmandier-Bernier and Laherte Frères. But be quick!

Laurent-Perrier Some exciting developments are afoot at Laurent-Perrier, and it’s not just the appointment of new star chef de cave, Dominique Demarville, who vacated his role at Veuve Clicquot earlier this year. Following the roll-out of Millésimé 2008, the house has also released a brut nature, although it won’t be available in Australia just yet. And for the first time, the house has made available its esteemed Cuvée Rosé in a jéroboam format (3L) in the same iconic shape. Only 10 bottles have been allocated to Australia this year with some still available through online retailer, Emperor Champagne.

According to Brand Ambassador, Caroline Desaulle, there’s something extra special about Cuvée Rosé in jéroboam; it’s fresher, finer and more complex.

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Champagne Dehours There’s cause for excitement as more meunier goodness has just arrived from organic producers, Champagne Dehours. There are two new cuvées: Brut Nature Zero Dosage NV (using selected natural yeasts for the prise de mousse) and Vieilles Vignes Vintage 2011. Fresh stock has also arrived including Grande Réserve Brut NV, Vignes de la Vallée Brut NV, Oeil de Perdrix Extra Brut NV and Terre de Meunier Extra Brut NV.

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Moët Hennessy

Billecart-Salmon

A bevy of some heavy-hitting new stock has just arrived in time for the busy Christmas season: Dom Pérignon P2 2002, Krug 2006, Krug Grand Cuvée Edition 167 and Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Blanc and Rosé 2012. There is also a limited edition release of Dom Pérignon’s collaboration with Lenny Kravitz by way of the 2008 vintage and a 2006 Rosé.

Billecart-Salmon will release its prestige Clos Saint-Hilaire 2002 soon.

The small production from a single hectare behind the Maison in Mareuilsur-Aӱ is one of the most sought-after prestige champagnes, known for its consistently complex, powerful and aromatic profile.

Pommery

Gosset

Pommery’s new release blanc de blancs, Apanage, may very well have centre stage this year, however, there are other noteworthy arrivals. Some jéroboams of the 1999 and 1995 Grand Cru have recently hit our shores in addition to magnums of Cuvée Louise from the 2003 vintage as well as jéroboams from 1995. Pommery’s exceptional Les Clos Pompadour 2004 has also arrived in magnum, although in very limited quantities.

As we continue to wait patiently for Gosset to release its Grand Millésime 2008, we are greeted by the arrival of 2012. Early reports suggest it is still tightly wound following recent disgorgement, but will undoubtedly unfurl into all that is glorious about Gosset in coming months.

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WINE

Frerejean Frères This summer, we can expect two new vintages from Frerejean Frères, the boutique Avize-based producers making a mark in Australia. Their Rosé Premier Cru, dubbed by Catalina Rose Bay as the sommelier’s rosé, will roll into the delicate 2013 vintage whilst the excellent Cuvée des Hussards will move into 2012. The old vine beauty is Decanter’s 97/100 Platinum Award Winner.

Henri-Abelé

Paul Bara

Some super-exclusive stock has been made available from Henri-Abelé by way of their lively and spring-like limited edition 2012 vintage and a 2008 magnum limited edition.

For those who love the fruity and elegant style of Paul Bara, there is a new cuvée, shipped on very tight allocation. Only 1,000 bottles were made of the 2005 Annonciade, released earlier this year, which is a 100% pinot noir beauty that has seen 10 years on lees.

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Chalked Up The Côte des Blancs Plunge into the chalky, salty, frothy depths of Champagne’s finest terroir for chardonnay. Champagne expert and importer, David Donald, digs a little deeper into chardonnay’s spiritual homeland, the Côte des Blancs.

WORDS BY

David Donald Victor Pugatschew

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Demand for chardonnay has seen it become the most sought-after varietal out of the three main ones permitted in Champagne. Some houses, such as Ruinart and Bruno Paillard, have commented that sourcing premium chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs has become increasingly difficult due to strong demand and scarce supply, resulting in a disequilibrium in the market for grapes.

drainage and sun exposure - and favours cooler climates. Because it blossoms quite early, chardonnay is much more susceptible to frost damage than other varietals. Consequently, it has a natural affinity with the free-draining, chalky slopes of the Côte des Blancs.

“Running the length of the Côte des Blancs, chalk consists of the fossilised remains of belemnites (an extinct cuttlefish) and other micro-organisms, remnants of the cretaceous inland sea.”

Chardonnay arrived relatively late to the Champagne region; the first planting occurred toward the end of the 19th Century. Today, it is the least planted variety in Champagne with just 30 percent of total cultivations. One of chardonnay’s complications is that it requires specific growing conditions to be successful. It performs best on hillside locations - which provide good

The Côte des Blancs runs south of Epernay, for about 20kms, and is chardonnay’s spiritual home in the region.

It is not clear whether the ‘Côte des Blancs’ owes its name to its illuminating, white chalky hillsides or because more than 95 percent of vines planted there are chardonnay. Several key geographic features make this area truly unique.

The eastern facing slopes give perfect sunlight exposure whilst protecting the vines from bitter, westerly winds. The topsoil is meagre, allowing the vines to penetrate deeply and freely into the belemnite chalk below.

Left: The Côte des Blancs, taken from Atlas de la France Viticole L.Larmat, Paris.

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VINE

Left: Chalk soil sculpture in Cramant.

Right Bottom: Geographical cross-section showing depth of topsoil, followed by chalk.

Right Top: Vineyards in Avize.

Running the length of the Côte des Blancs, chalk consists of the fossilised remains of belemnites

“Six of Champagne’s seventeen grand crus can be found there, each prized for its superior and unique character.” (an extinct cuttlefish) and other micro-organisms, remnants of the cretaceous inland sea. Its high limestone content aids photosynthesis whilst reflecting and storing heat, increases acidities and retains moisture. The soil produces the finest blanc de blancs, full of minerality, sapidity and acidity.

The Côte des Blancs is not a large area but, as you travel from the northern village of Chouilly to the southern village of Vertus, the variations in characteristics are remarkable. Six of Champagne’s seventeen grand crus can be found

there, each prized for its superior and unique character. To further understand the personality of each village, there are fine examples that can be sought out from the best grower-producers of the region

Here are my suggestions...

Chouilly Grand cru

Roundness and flesh with mineral acidity. Vazart-Coquart and Roland Champion are both fine exponents of 100 percent Chouilly cuvées.

Cramant Grand cru

Creamy, silky textured, regal and majestic. Top producers include Philippe Glavier, Diebolt-Vallois and Lilbert-Fils.

Avize

Grand cru Power and structure. Top producers include Le Brun Servenay, Agrapart and Jacques Selosse.

Oger

Grand cru Minerality and fruit richness. Try Claude Cazals (although based in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, they lay claim to ‘Clos Cazals’ a 3.7ha walled-in vineyard in the heart of Oger).

Le Mesnil-sur-Oger

Grand cru Minerality and saline acidity. Top producers include Pierre Péters, Guy Charlemagne and Launois Père et Fils.

Vertus

Premier cru Freshness and floral notes. Try Larmandier-Bernier, Veuve Fourny & Fils and Barons de Rothschild.

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VINE

Harvest

2019

After the bumper 2018 harvest, 2019 had a lot to live up to.

Champagne journalist and author, Caroline Henry, reports back from this year’s difficult harvest, with early results indicating it could be one of the best this decade.

Caroline Henry P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y Tyson Stelzer WORDS BY

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Left: Pickers at Chigney-les-Roses during harvest, 2019.

Right Top: Antoine Roland-Billecart inspects chardonnay grapes at Billecart-Salmon’s press house.

Right Bottom: Pressing at Champagne Fleury.

After the rotten 2017 vintage, and the diluted 2018, 2019 has been hailed by many as the harvest of the decade. It may be a little early to make these statements yet, but after a complicated growing season the harvest delivered beyond expectations both in terms of quality and quantity.

Climate change dominated the 2019 growing season, testing winegrowers’ patience and resilience. The last week of February was unusually balmy, with temperatures up to 20°C. Winter returned at the beginning of March, but the early heat boosted the powdery mildew virus, especially among chardonnay vines in the Côte des Blancs. Spring frosts added to the woes of the Côte des Blancs growers in April and May, while summer saw grapes withering on

the vines all over the region when temperatures soared to 42.9°C. Nevertheless, the weather settled as harvest approached, and the cool nights and more moderate temperatures provided ideal conditions for grapes to ripen.

Sugar levels rose rapidly at the end

According to Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, cellar master at Louis Roederer, “The 2019 harvest surpassed all expectations both in terms of quality and quantity but, once again this year, the key was to pick at the right time.” This comment may have been inspired by growers precipitating to open press centres in early September, after sugar levels rose dramatically at the end of August. However, grapes did not reach phenolic ripeness at 10 or even 10.5% potential alcohol. Dominique Leboeuf, Director of the Station Oenotechnique de la Champagne, confirmed that the sensation of ripeness only occurred above 10.6% alcohol, adding that for him, the ideal picking window was between

“Climate change dominated the 2019 growing season, testing winegrowers’ patience and resilience.” of August, but at the same time a good level of acidity remained.

Gentle rain in late August, and heavy morning dew during harvest, further increased the bunch weight without diluting the flavours.

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Left: Pickers in Bouzy.

Right: Verzy, in the Montagne de Reims.

10.5% and 11% potential alcohol.

Anything above this, he feared, the wines would become too heavy.

Lécaillon disagreed on the 11%

2018 Roederer vins clairs “were the most elegant he ever tasted”, though many of them were picked above 11% potential alcohol.

des Vignerons de la Champagne, compared the harvest’s quality to 2015, one of the best years this decade.

During harvest, Leboeuf also stated that grapes picked under 10.5% potential alcohol showed some bitterness in the must, but later confirmed this disappeared during alcoholic fermentation. The resulting wines are less flavoursome than the ones picked at full ripeness, but they show the same freshness. With relatively low overall pHs, despite the intense heat this summer, Maxime Toubart, President of the Syndicat Général

Furthermore, despite several yield losses during the growing season, Toubart confirmed the appellation requirement of 10,200 kg/ha looked to be within reach. Losses were a lot less than expected, especially in the Côte des Blancs, where the intense heat in July helped to limit powdery mildew damages. Moreover, the abundant 2018 harvest provides a buffer for growers with severe losses, allowing the 2019 harvest to be one of the most serene ones since the turn of the century.

“Maxime Toubart, President of the Syndicat Général des Vignerons de la Champagne, compared the harvest’s quality to 2015, one of the best years this decade.” limit, stating Louis Roederer had picked at higher alcohol percentages in previous years (as well as this year) with excellent results. This is corroborated by champagne expert Peter Liem, who claimed that the

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VINE

Yielding

Champagne Deciding Champagne yields each year is a complicated process. A multitude of factors are taken into consideration, involving a network of industry stakeholders, to determine quantity. In doing so, the industry must find its balance between meeting future demand and satisfying quality objectives.

WORDS BY

Sara Underdown Victor Pugatschew

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

The Champagne appellation is governed by the strictest quality control rules applied to any wine producing region in the world. Harvest is a meticulously choreographed exercise, rolled out as a series of heavily regulated processes, with the ultimate bjective of ‘having man and nature play their parts to preserve the unique characteristics of a grape that is the essence of terroir and the origin of the wine, champagne’, at least according to the industry’s trade representative, the Comité Champagne.

Whilst quality objectives drive the regulation and compliance requirements of the region, there is also a commercial reality for France’s second most in-demand alcoholic beverage (after Cognac) with shipments by volume continuing to trend upwards. Harvest yields, therefore, play a critical role in judiciously balancing the mandate for quality with trade.

The legal base yield in Champagne is fixed by the INAO (Institut National de l’Origine et de la

Qualité) and defined as 10,400kg of grapes per hectare of which juice extraction is limited to 102 litres of must per 160kg of grapes, or 66.5 hectolitres her hectare. This is revisable up or down on the advice of the Comité Champagne.

Yield, therefore, becomes a twostep process defined initially by weight at picking and then by volume at press.

weight harvested. This is reduced again when separating the ‘cuvée’ (first pressing) from the ‘taille’ (second pressing), which sees 2,050 litres from 4,000kg of grapes portioned off as the best juice.

“These rules of ratio are unique in the world of wine; no other wine producing region mandates this level of control using a two-step process.”

These rules of ratio are unique in the world of wine; no other wine producing region mandates this level of control using a two-step process. However, because good champagne needs a creamy, delicate mousse (which is dependent on purity of juice, long lees ageing and fine bubbles) and fresh acidity, tiny solids from grape pulp and skins must be avoided.

In reality, rules of extraction make actual yield just 64% of the bunch

Many top producers use only the cuvée or the cuvée plus a small fraction of the taille before selling the rest. Thus the amount of juice that can be pressed from grapes is an important control point in the yielding process.

Base yields, accordingly, set the maximum for what may be turned into champagne as soon as possible and become very important in meeting future worldwide demand in 15 months (for non-vintages) or three years (for a vintage), following the compulsory maturation period.

To balance the needs of growers

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Left: Harvest at JM Sélèque.

Middle: Picking at Champagne Calsac, Avize.

Right: Pressing pinot noir at Bourgeois-Diaz in Crouttes-sur-Marne.

and producers with demand from global markets and quality, annual yield figures are recommended by the Observatoire Économique (organised by the Comité Champagne) based on observed sales figures alongside the current stock of reserve wine, bottles ageing and predicted sales. The task is set each year to marry production with demand; ensuring vignerons offload grapes and maximise profits while making sure producers aren’t oversupplied, resulting in excess inventory.

Not everything harvested gets converted into champagne straight away. Reserves are a necessary consideration each year, legally obligating producers to set aside a percentage of their yield from each harvest as a kind of insurance against future poor years (such as in 2001, 2003, 2011 and 2017, in more recent times). By way of example, in 2014, which was a good year, the base yield was set at 10,500 kg/ha.

400kg/ha of this comprised existing reserves which meant 10,100kg/ha of grapes could be picked to make champagne from that vintage.

However, there is a nuance in all of this. Permission may be granted to allow some flexibility in yield. An ‘upper limit’ may be set depending on the quality and quantity of the yield but capped at 15,500kg/ha, or 100 hectolitres per hectare.

For the 2014 vintage, the upper limit set was 13,200kg/ha so the difference between the base and the upper needed to go into reserve holdings.

Quality is therefore an important consideration in yield decisions.

Monitoring ripening of vineyard plots is the responsibility of Réseau Matu (ripening observation network) comprising volunteer professionals from the Champagne region. 450 control plots are monitored twice weekly, as grapes start to change colour (véraison).

Grapes are picked, weighed and pressed then checked for estimated sugar and total acidity as well as any indication of grey rot. Dates for harvest, according to ripeness and acidity, are ultimately determined from this process.

“Quality is therefore an important consideration in yield decisions.”

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In another example, but on the other end of the spectrum, the 2017 harvest was a very challenging one whereby the entire appellation’s average yield reached 9,500kg/ha; considerably less than the yield set of 10,300kg/ha. A release of 500kg/ ha was allowed from the reserve (taking the allowable total to 10,800kg/ha). Yet many producers still fell well short of desired supply.

Restricting yields creates a genuine shortage of champagne to sell, fuelling increases in the price per kilo as producers compete for supply. This can result in price hikes passed onto customers. Conversely, increasing yields may ease the pressure on the price per kilo (in good years) but quality can suffer.

Yield decisions are therefore important in the context of producing enough current and reserve wines, as their combined security and release meets market expectations especially during periods of exceptional demand.

PEOPLE

Trade

Relations

Get to know the face behind the brand in this Q&A with one of Australia’s importers for champagne.

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PEOPLE

Jean-Jacques Peyre Managing Director Paradox Wines @paradoxwines W www.paradoxwines.com.au

W H AT D O YO U D O ?

I established Paradox Wines around seven years ago, which I manage with my wife, Paula. The idea was to create a distribution platform catering primarily for the on-premise market and have a selective distribution approach to the retail market. Our portfolio has been handcrafted, and I have personally sourced every international wine, most of which are new to the Australian market.

W H AT I S YO U R B A C KG R O U N D ?

I was born in Toulouse, France, and studied in Bordeaux before moving to Australia in 1987. I’ve been involved in the wine industry for over 30 years and have worked for an international group as well as for one of Australia’s largest independent distributors. Now I have my own company. Over the years I have represented six different Champagne houses.

“Today, Palmer has around 40 plantings, comprising just over 1,000 acres.”

W H AT I S PA L M E R & C O. ?

Winemaking cooperatives were not new to Champagne when seven grower-producers banded together to make the first Palmer champagne in 1947. Yet, Palmer was unique. The purpose wasn’t low cost, but high quality.

The seven Palmer members came from five different

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villages in Champagne and held premier cru and/or grand cru vineyards. They reasoned that, since blending in Champagne can allow for higher quality wines and greater consistency year-to-year, teaming up would allow them to produce one cuvée better than any of them could produce independently.

Palmer’s growers maintained their own press and winemaking facilities. Individual wines were collected and taken to Avize, the village where Palmer was headquartered, for blending and ageing. Not until 1959, when Palmer moved to Reims and constructed a new facility, was winemaking consolidated, though there are still four separate pressing facilities to ensure maximum freshness and a new purpose-built reserve wines facility.

Today, Palmer has around 40 plantings, comprising over 1,000 acres. About half are either premier cru or grand cru. In 1970, Palmer began acquiring vineyards outside the Montagne de Reims. Today, holdings include vineyards in the Côte des Blancs, Vallée de la Marne and the northern portion of Côte de Sézanne.

D E S C R I B E T H E PA L M E R & C O. S T Y L E – W H AT M A K E S IT A P P E A L I N G TO AUSTRALIANS? Palmer’s style is about elegance and finesse with fruit purity and minerality. They are champagnes you can enjoy as an apéritif or throughout your meal.

Below: Palmer & Co. champagnes are particularly long ageing.

We use chardonnay from the north – primarily Trépail and Villers-Marmery on the Montagne de Reims – to define our style. As our chef de cave says, “the art of Palmer is the Montagne de Reims.”

This northerly chardonnay zone, with its vineyards facing south-east, gives our chardonnay more power, minerality and citrus than wines from southerly regions where chardonnay dominates. Also, Palmer keeps dosages moderate, around 7-8g/L, to subtly balance acidity without masking character.

Because of the structure of their chardonnay, Palmer holds their wines longer than other producers. Extra time rounds out the acidity while micro-oxidation, introduced by cork, builds complexity. The same group of Palmer winemakers have been meeting for the past 25-30 years, making decisions on blending and deciding when bottled wines are ready for market. They believe the wines are at their ideal drinking window at shipment.

As an example, the Brut Reserve NV spends four and a half years on lees and six months rest post-disgorgement.

The base wine is from the 2013 vintage and includes 35 percent reserve wine, whereas the Millésimé spends eight years on lees and one year following disgorgement.

W H O A R E YO U R C U S TO M E R S ? W H AT K I N D O F P E O P L E B U Y PA L M E R C H A M PA G N E ?

Our supporters are effervescently referred to as ‘Palmarians’, lovers of good champagne with a penchant for chardonnay-driven wines. Primarily, they are

“We use chardonnay from the north – primarily Trépail and Villers-Marmery on the Montagne de Reims – to define our style.” champagne educated and looking for diversity, brand integrity and charisma.

W H AT I S YO U R B R A N D S T R AT E G Y F O R PA L M E R ?

As a former Vin de Champagne Award finalist, I use this knowledge and insight of champagne to host education classes, corporate presentations and champagne dinners.

It provides us with the perfect platform to engage directly with the trade representatives and consumers alike.

We offer our range to cafés, resorts, hatted restaurants and a few select caviste (retailers). Of course, we always look for mutually successful partnerships with likeminded champagne lovers.

W H AT G E N E R A L T R E N D S / C U S TO M E R I NT E R E S T S D O YO U S E E E M E R G I N G I N A U S T R A L I A W H E N IT C O M E S TO C H A M PA G N E ?

We have witnessed a trend toward low to zero dosage champagne, an emerging interest in rosés, and, of course,

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Top: Palmer & Co. Brut Reserve, Vintage 2008 and Blanc de Blancs.

Bottom: Xavier Berdin, chef de cave, of Palmer & Co.

grower champagne. However, we haven’t seen the benefit of people’s growing interest in diversity as the core of the market is still driven by larger producers. Over time, I’m sure we will witness a greater move toward diversity and, with that, an opportunity for smaller and different brands to have a greater impact on the market.

W H AT A R E S O M E O F T H E B E S T F O O D PA I R I N G S YO U ’ V E E X P E R I E N C E D W IT H PA L M E R C H A M PA G N E S ?

Our Blanc de Blancs NV paired with Queensland seared scallops dusted in lime zest, aloe vera and jasmine jelly with a crisp green salad. Also, the Millésimé 2009 paired with a pastilla of confit quail, date and almond, carrot and currant salad.

A R E W E E X P E CT I N G A NY T H I N G N E W F R O M PA L M E R I N T H E N E X T 1 2 M O NT H S ?

We will be releasing our 2008 Millésimé magnums next year which, on the back of this tremendous vintage, will attract a lot of interest from collectors.

W H AT I S T H E B E S T PA RT A B O U T YO U R J O B ?

Visiting my producers and sharing the stories and excitement of forthcoming vintages. I look forward to tasting vins clairs with Xavier Berdin (our chef de cave), Rémy Vervier (Managing Director) and Raymond Ringeval (Export Director), whose passion and attention to detail are commendable.

Finally, having the ability to savour such a beautiful beverage in bubbly abundance.

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Sniff, Sip

Savour

Inside Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant, Adelaide, South Australia.

The best places to drink champagne in Australia and France.

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PLACE Left: Penfolds' Magill Estate Restaurant exterior.

Right: Lounge area inside Penfolds' Magill Estate Restaurant where guests can enjoy a glass of champagne before dinner.

Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant | Australia Location

Open

78 Penfold Road, Magill, South Australia, Australia

6.30pm – 11pm Wednesday to Saturday; and 12pm - 3pm Friday and Saturday.

WORDS BY PHOTOGRAPHY

What many don’t realise - or expect - is the excellent champagne list offered by Penfolds’ fine dining restaurant at Magill Estate in South Australia – just a stone’s throw from Adelaide’s CBD. From Krug’s 1979 vintage to some of the hardest to source single vineyard grower champagnes, the list is perhaps the most extensive and diverse in South Australia.

It may seem an odd coupling, having champagne in the spiritual home of Australia’s most iconic red wine producer. The restaurant cellar boasts the finest collection of Penfolds' wines dating back to the 62

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W www.magillestaterestaurant.com

Sara Underdown S U P P L I E D B Y Penfolds

creation of the first experimental Grange in 1951. The diversity of South Australia’s terroir provides the restaurant with a rich palette of regional produce to pair with its wines.

for staff to play around with food and wine pairing, beyond Penfolds’ portfolio.

“We are mostly a special occasions restaurant,” says Das. “When people come here, “It may seem an Restaurant their mindset is Manager, to drink Penfolds’ odd coupling, Rudranil Das, having champagne whites and reds. In who has been terms of service, we in the spiritual at Penfolds seat patrons in the home of Australia’s lounge and offer since 2013, says most iconic red that customers them a glass of have inspired champagne before wine producer.” their everdinner. That was our growing champagne list which idea initially, but it has grown into provides an extra element of ‘fun’ something much more than that.”

Bottom: The interior of Magill Estate Restaurant in Adelaide.

What started out as a handful of when it comes to champagne, but lounge afterwards, to have another house champagnes offered as an that it’s Australians, rather than glass or bottle.” apéritif, has overseas visitors, who are most Discerning grown into a interested.

“What started out as palates seeking list boasting a handful of house “People come to taste the new something more more than 55 champagnes offered champagne but then see we have might opt for different labels as an apéritif, has all these others,” he says about a bottle tucked comprising the restaurant which is mostly away in their grown into a list houses as frequented by locals. "We also have extensive cellar well as top boasting more than plenty of interstate people who and not on the growers. Three 55 different labels come especially for lunch and some list. It’s part of champagnes comprising houses internationals. Europeans know the Penfolds are poured by as well as top champagne. But with Penfolds being experience, says the glass, which an Australian brand, they’re looking Das, who goes changes weekly. growers.” for local sparklings.” on to relay their Das credits approach which local winemaker, Kate Laurie, who To this end, the restaurant will is to talk to people, understand their has studied and trained extensively continue to grow and diversify preferences, and make suggestions in Champagne, with helping them its champagne including to build diversity into their list.

– exclusive “Discerning palates offering mostly to satisfy “Kate got us a lot of introductions offerings. seeking something Australians – but with suppliers. She’s been more might opt will also look On the topic instrumental in growing our list,” of Penfolds' says Das. “It means we can keep for a bottle tucked to include some sparkling wine collaboration changing. We focus on a style or away in their which, Das says, with Champagne region for a month and then move extensive cellar will also allow house, Thiénot, onto others. It allows us to play and not on the list.” people to compare Das says that it around and for patrons to enjoy their the two if they has helped the experience more.” wish. The focus, restaurant receive From Pierre Gerbais, Christophe however, will still be on champagne. some recognition Mignon, Cédric Bouchard and JM Sélèque, to Dom Pérignon, Salon, Bollinger and Ruinart – and others in between – the range caters to those seeking a brand reference but also for people looking to explore.

The latter, he says, forms the majority of patrons walking through the door.

“Only five percent or so know what they want when they come in,” he says. “Everyone else is looking for us to help them make an educated decision. Champagne is big. It’s not just an apéritif. We offer it for lunch, pre-dinner, during dinner and postdinner. Guests not only start in the lounge with champagne, they have it during a meal and will return to the

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WORDS BY

Megan Barber

La Gare Restaurant – Le Mesnil-sur-Oger | France PLACE

Location

Open

3 Place de la Gare, 51190 Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, France

Open 9am – 3pm Monday to Saturday; and 6pm - 10pm Thursday to Saturday.

W www.lagarelemesnil.com

You are never looking for La Gare Restaurant, quietly tucked away from the centre of Le Mesnil-surOger. It’s where locals come for lunch and enjoy the extensive range of local Côte des Blancs champagnes on offer. It has a classic French style, decorated with red trimmings. In the height of summer, you can sit alfresco and enjoy a casual view of the square, admiring vineyards rolling-up the hill.

Le Recommandé – Bar à Dégustation – Avize | France Location

Open

13 Rue Sainte-Dorothée, 51190 Avize, France

Open 11.30am – 7pm Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 11.30am – 11pm Friday and Saturday; and 10am – 2pm Sunday.

In the heart of Avize, you will find Le Recommandé. The exterior is the towering historic building that was once the Post Office.

Inside, interiors emit a cosy and understated vibe with long tables and comfortable couches.

They offer a revolving ‘by the glass’ champagne list and classic share plates of cheese and charcuterie.

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lerecommande.avize@gmail.com

Le Garde Champetre – Gyé-sur-Seine | France Location

Open

Route des Riceys, 10250 Gyé-sur-Seine, France

12pm – 1.30pm Wednesday to Saturday; 8pm – 10.30pm Thursday to Saturday; and 12pm – 3pm Sunday.

Very much off the beaten track, deep in the Aube, but absolutely worth the effort in getting there, Le Garde Champetre is an unlikely yet charming place to relax. Inspired by local ‘garde’ Monsieur Droze, it is housed in an old barn with high ceilings which has been completely transformed into an inviting restaurant. It has a certain appeal, as the ancient barn juxtaposes with contemporary furnishings.

Le Garde Champetre is surrounded by its own farm and a growing landscape. Follow the path, that passes a pétanque square, and discover the beautiful gardens leading all the way to the restaurant. Almost everything prepared is grown on their organic farm or sourced locally from excellent producers. This is your quintessential ‘farm to plate’ experience.

W http://legardechampetre.fr/

The restaurant is run by Juan Sanchez who established some brilliant restaurants across France, and has teamed with Cédric Bouchard, grower and chef de cave of the famed Roses de Jeanne.

The wine list is top-notch, but approachable, and if you hear a familiar accent, look to the kitchen for Australian born chef, Nathan Fallowfield, who works meticulously in the kitchen.

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