Champagne Visit April 2022
Wine is the sum of all its parts, not just a finished product. This is important to remember even during the past two years of a worldwide pandemic and travel lockdowns. What connects me most to the wine in my glass is walking the vineyards where the grapes were grown, and meeting the people behind the winemaking. Small things begin to make sense; like why they chose to bottle this particular vineyard for only one year, or what influenced them to switch from stainless steel to oak. There is an enormous amount of information that is behind most winemaking processes so asking questions is a necessity when you have a chance to be in front of the winemaker.
Pamela and myself had the chance to venture over to Champagne last week, marking our first time back in Europe in a number of years. We went to connect with some of our favorite growers in Champagne, and to celebrate our long delayed honeymoon. I can not understate how much visiting these properties invigorates me; and even in the constant rain, I enjoyed every moment we spent walking the vineyards and in the cellar with these vignerons (translated - one who cultivates grapes for a living). The vignerons were the core reason for our visit so let's get to them.
Agnes Corbon
Champagne Corbon is located in the town of Avize, the heart of the Cotes de Blanc. It is pouring rain when we visit with Agnes, but we walk with her along the vineyards in Avize.
It is noticeable when we pass each row which growers are spraying with pesticides and which are not. The dearth of anything green along the row is a pretty large indicator that they are spraying. Agnes is a large proponent of the rule changes upcoming for 2025 where no growers will be allowed to spray to kill weeds. She is a 5th generation winemaker whose wines still fly under the radar here in the US and in France. What she is producing though has insane purity of fruit, which is incredibly undervalued.
With a number of tough growing seasons, most growers' supply is low, so when new Corbon discorgements come in we plan on snapping them up!
Currently in stock :
Corbon Blanc de Blanc (declassified 2011) - $50
Les Bacchantes BDB Grand Cru 2010 - $78
Thomas Barbichon
Champagne Barbichon is located in the southern part of the region, in the town of Gyé sur-seine. This is the heart of the Cote des Bar, a region that has not had much attention in the past two decades.
Thomas is a 5th generation winemaker as well with about 9 hectares of demeter certified biodynamic vineyards. The majority of what he grows is pinot noir, but also has plantings of chardonnay, meunier, and pinot blanc. Thomas uses stainless steel for his fermentation but has been adding more and more oak for the ageing process. This has given his champagne a softness texturally that is hard not to appreciate. Lower dosages and great acid denote these wines as racy as hell.
Currently in stock:
Barbichon Blanc de Noirs NV - $46
Dominique Lelarge
Champagne Lelarge Pugeot is in the town of Vrigny in the Montagne de Reims. Husband and wife team both named Dominique run this 8th generation winery with the help of their two kids.
Demeter certified and organic this winery is actually new to the state of CT. They are easily the biggest vigneron we visited with an annual production of 80,000 bottles (For perspective Dom Perignon produces around 2 million bottles for each vintage). Meunier is a massive player in Vrigny and they produce a number of champagnes with the varietal dominant. Their aging process is a mixture of large foudres (very large barrels) and new smaller oak. The vibrancy here is amazing, with their dosages being incredibly on point.
Currently in stock:
Champagne Lelarge Pugeot Tradition - $59
Champagne Lelarge Pugeot "Charmes de Vrigny" - $75
Maxime Ponson
Champagne Ponson is in La Petite Montagne but their parcels are spread over multiple towns and communes.
The 6th generation winemaker is easily the youngest that we met with during our visit and still joyously excited about all things champagne. He took over the entirety of the estate after his father's untimely passing in 2018. He converted every parcel to organic viticulture and has drastically changed the path of his family's winery. These wines are fermented at a lower temperature deep in the cellars of his grandfather. Because of that the bubbles produced are much more fine, making his champagnes incredibly drinkable.
Max is also releasing some cuvees completely without sulfites (we literally cannot wait for this). His approach is to have each wine speak to the vineyard it came from almost transparently so.
Currently in stock:
La Petite Montagne Premier Cru - $44
Blanc de Noirs "Maupas" 2016 - $60
"Life is too short to drink bad Champagne" - Agnes Corbon
– David 4.13.22