And then Chateau Latour came calling: The wines of Eisele Vineyard (Calistoga, Napa Valley), 1997 - 2014

Eisele Vineyard is the iconic Calistoga estate famed for its production of world-class Cabernet Sauvignons and Sauvignon Blancs. The quality of the Araujo (most recent prior owners) wines, and the repute of the estate, was of such that Artemis Domaines (owners of Chateau Latour and Chateau Grillet, among other labels) made the trip across the ocean in 2013 and, unbidden, made an offer for the estate. 

History of the Estate

A table on the left side of the estate's reception area exhibits a number of wine bottles, each displaying the label of a winemaker who has, over time, made vineyard-designated wines with grapes sourced from this vineyard. 

As shown in the timeline below, the vineyard's history stretches as far back as does the history of To Kalon and grapes have been planted continuously on the property for the duration. 

When the vineyard was purchased by the Eiseles, they became 60+-year-old grapegrowers. They offered their grapes to Paul Draper of Ridge and he produced a vineyard-designated wine in 1971.

The Araujos bought the vineyard in 1990 and, in short order, built a winery and produced a wine under their own label. The 1991 harvest was shared between Joseph Phelps and the Araujos and they both produced wines under their individual labels.

During their tenure, the Araujos elevated the property from a great vineyard to one of the world's great estates. They introduced organic (1998) and biodynamic (2000) farming with all herbs and preparations used in the latter management process sourced from the vineyard.

Vineyard Visit
Our visit was arranged by Ron Siegel who had met Jean Gerandeau (Sales and Marketing Director, Artemis Domaines) at a Chateau Latour dinner held in Chicago by Hart Davis Hart. I had attended a Wine on the Way Eisele Vineyard Wine Dinner with Antoine Donnedieu de Vabres (Estate Manager) and had had extensive dialogue with him on the integration and labeling strategy. I was excited to see what progress had been made since that discussion.

The estate is 162 acres in size, 38 of which are under vine. It is located to the east of Calistoga and is surrounded by the Palisades Mountain Range, a situation which provides protection from the north winds while still allowing cooling by the westerly breezes that make their way through the Chalk Hill Gap. The nights are cool, resulting in meaningful diurnal temperature variation and its beneficial effect on the fruit.

The vines rest on volcanic cobbly soils which have been washed down from the Palisades and deposited as an alluvial fan by Simmons Creek -- the waterway bisecting the property -- and its tributary. There are gentle slopes between the creek bed and the foothills, the result of long-term gravitational and weathering effects upon the deposited rocks.

Intense storms during the winter months contribute to soil deposition but the creek dries up during the summer months leaving the vines dependent on depth-resident ground water. The stony subsoil facilitates the efforts of the deep roots to get at this water. Irrigation is only utilized when necessary.

The map below shows the configuration of the Eisele Vineyard.

Vineyard map (Source:eiselevineyard.com)

Source: eiselevineyards.com

Sonia Guerlou (Hospitality Manager),
Ron, and Bev

The vineyard is divided into 13 blocks and 40 sub-blocks reflecting “the nuances of soil and subsoil.” The varieties planted in the vineyard are as follows:

·       Cabernet Sauvignon – the best Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from the plots around Simmons Creek. Less complex wines are made from the younger vines in the eastern part of the vineyard.

·       Cabernet Franc

·       Petit Verdot – Fully ¾ of the vineyard is devoted to the production of the three Bordeaux varieties

·       Syrah – first planted in 1978

·       Sauvignon  Blanc – both Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Musque planted on the eastern side of the property

·       Viognier – Initially planted for co-fermentation with the Syrah; in some years there is enough product to make a varietal wine.

Vines average 25 years of age and are farmed according to biodynamic principles. The estate uses its own herbs and preparations from the vineyard.

Transition Winemaking
With the purchase of Eisele Vineyard, Artemis Domaines gained responsibility for harvesting and production of the 2013 vintage. They, obviously, were responsible for all aspects of the 2014 vintage. We will first examine the production parameters to determine any changes between these two vintages. This assessment will also allow us to get a full inventory of the wines produced by the estate.

Cabernet Sauvignon Estate – In both 2012 and 2013 the wines were made with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon fruit. The winemaking schema employed included: vigilant sorting; slow fermentation with gentle extraction; and barrel-aging with a careful choice of toasts and origins tailored to each vineyard block.

Altagracia – The Altagracia exhibited significant changes in its varietal composition between 2012 and 2014 with the Cabernet Sauvignon percentage increasing and Merlot and Malbec losing their place in the blend. Cabernet Sauvignon went from 71% in 2012 to 81% in 2014 while both Merlot and Malbec went from 6% and 4%, respectively, in 2012 to zero in 2014. The winemaking schema was the same as for the estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sauvignon Blanc – The Sauvignon Blanc is generally a blend of Sauvignon blanc (lean, gravelly structure) and Sauvignon musque (slightly exotic flavors). In 2013 this wine was made from 100% Sauvignon blanc while the 2014 and 2015 versions had 68% and 78%, respectively. In 2012 the mix was 75% musque and 25% blanc. It appears as though Eisele Vineyard tried a 100% Sauvignon Blanc in their first year and then thought better of it subsequently.

Beginning with the 2013 vintage this wine was subjected to extended elevage on lees with fermentation and elevage in a combination of stainless steel, French oak, and cement egg. In 2015 the fermentation percentage distribution was: concrete egg, 20%; used oak, 42%; stainless steel, 18%; and new oak, 20%.

Syrah – The Syrah is whole-cluster-fermented in small tanks and aged for 21 months in 50% new French oak. The wine had 1% Viognier in 2012 but was 100% Syrah in 2013.

Viognier– These grapes are whole-cluster-pressed and fermented with native yeasts. The wine is aged sur lie with batonnage in 50% stainless steel and 50% used oak.

Tasting the Wines of Eisele Vineyard

The following notes are curated from a series of tastings in which I participated and have been reshuffled for temporal consistency. The tastings include: post-estate-visit tasting;  Antoine Donnedieu de Sabres, Eisele Vineyard Estate Manager, Luma tasting hosted by Wine on the Way; a Wine Barn Best Cabernet Sauvignon tasting; 2014 DWCC BYOB in Montreux, Switzerland; a Breakthru Beverage Tasting at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse in Orlando; and various and sundry lunches and dinners with Ron, Bev, and Parlo.

The 2015 Eisele Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc was reminiscent of a Semillon on the nose. Creaminess, lime, and a burnt character on the palate. Persistence, with a cupric finish which morphed into stainless steel. Ranks among the best Sauvignon Blancs in the Valley.

2013 Eisele Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc -- A beautiful wine. Citrus, goosberry, herbs, and tropical notes on the nose. Bright but balanced on the palate. Mineral. Long, limey finish.

2012 Araujo Altagracia Proprietary Red -- This wine had been opened two hours prior to the tasting and double-decanted. It exhibited chocolate, toast and red fruit on the nose with a savory herb note and oak on the palate and finish.

2013 Eisele Vineyard Altagracia Proprietary Red -- This wine had also been opened 2 hours prior and showed marked differences from the 2012. It showed as more elegant, was less weighty on the palate, and was mineral, lean, and focused. 

Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 --  Andrew MacNamara MS pulled this out of his hat as the surprise wine of the night. Way too early. Powerful primary dark fruit and structure aplenty but it gives warning of a fulfilling future.

Andrew MacNamara holding court
while holding the 2014 close

There were marked differences between the Eisele Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 and 2013 tasted at the estate. The sense of increased elegance and a fine-boned character evident in the 2013 Altagracia was also present in the comparative tasting of the Estate Cabernet Sauvignons. Ron felt that you noticed more of the oak, riper fruit, and a California style in the 2012 whereas, in the 2013, the fruit is pure and clean, with no noticeable oak. The great structure and balance of the 2013 reminded him of a First Growth Bordeaux.The year 2013 was an exceptional vintage in Napa but I have no doubt that the new aging regime contributed to some of the differences that I observed between the two vintages and, in so doing, made a great wine even better.

2011 Araujo "Eisele Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon -- Complex and powerful while still retaining its elegance. Blackberries, raspberries, graphite, baking spices, mint, licorice, and chocolate on the nose. Rich and deep on the palate with ripe cherries and graphite evident. Full-bodied with a long, deep finish.

Araujo Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 -- This is a mighty fine wine, exhibiting layered complexity both on the nose and palate. Dark cherry, violets, earth, baking spices, dark chocolate and eucalyptus on the nose. Smooth on the palate with dark and red fruit notes, chocolate, and baking spices. Full-bodied and balanced, with well-integrated tannins. Lengthy finish.

Araujo Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 -- Blackberries, blueberries, and currants on the nose along with licorice, eucalyptus, earth and cedar. Restrained and balanced. Silky tannins and long tarry finish.

Araujo Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 -- Dark red and black fruit on the nose along with forest floor, chocolate, licorice, tobacco, eucalyptus, and baking spices. Complex on the palate with the fruit following through. Rich mouthfeel but balanced. Silky tannins. Long finish.

Araujo Estate Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 -- Great California wine. Was the consensus number one wine of a tough California night including 1994 Dominus. Unlike the 1991 Dominus, you know that this is a New World wine from California. Medium-bodied in an opulent style with good balance and length. Showing notes of blackberry, creme de cassis, forest floor, graphite, licorice, and violets (Ron's notes).

Araujo Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 -- Powerful. Blackfruits, licorice, spice, cocoa on the nose. Dense and full-bodied with silky tannins and a long finish.

Araujo Estate Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 -- Not the greatest Napa vintage ever. Not as fruit prominent as some of the other wines tasted. Earth, leather, tobacco, red fruit on the nose. Integrated tannins. Medium length.

Araujo Estate Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 -- This was supposed to be a great year in Napa but some of the wines have not held up well. Red and black fruit on the nose with licorice, eucalyptus, earth, and smoke. Black and red fruit on the palate along with dried herbs and earth. Fine tannins. Long, elegant finish.

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As Sonia kept pointing out during our vineyard visit, Artemis Domaines purchased an iconic estate at the top of its game and with a strong and loyal customer base. As in any acquisition of this type, the operating principle is "do no harm." That is, do not give the customer base any cause for concern. The challenge for Artemis was to establish an identity separate from the Araujos without giving the impression they were changing the core product (which was a very high-value product to begin with).

The strategy chosen was to elevate the vineyard name above all else. This goal was accomplished over a three-year period of "gentle, subtle changes." The result is shown in the photo below. The 1991 label shows the vineyard name in the center and the estate name in the bottom right. Both of these textual components are of similar size. The 2013 label has no estate name and the vineyard name is featured prominently, with a font size larger than on the 1991 label.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Bride Valley Vineyards: Steven Spurrier's British sparkling wine project; an update

Steve Spurrier has been one of my wine heroes ever since I first read George Taber's Judgment of Paris. Spurrier had created the arena, and brought the combatants together, creating the conditions wherein the Davids of Napa could vanquish the Goliaths of French wine; and then stood firm when the pillars of the French wine establishment sought to erase the evidence of their participation/contribution.

He was so much my hero that I traveled to London 10 years ago to attend a Bordeaux seminar that he led, said seminar held at Decanter's Blue Fin headquarters building. During the post-seminar lunch, it came to my attention that he was planting a vineyard in England with the intent of producing a sparkling wine. I sat with him to gain additional insight and, based on that info, plus material collected in subsequent emails, published a blog post on the topic.

Steven Spurrier and attendees at post-seminar
lumch

Author and Steven Spurrier at Decanter
lunch

Fast-forward 10 years and in my travels on the interweb, I see a notice from Vintage Conservatory for an upcoming online event with Spurrier wherein he would be discussing his recent book (the first edition of which was panned by critics for shoddy writing and editing) and Bride Valley Vineyards. I saw an opportunity to update my decades-old knowledge of the vineyard so I signed up.

Vintage Conservatory online Steven Spurrier event

Following is an update of my initial reporting on the vineyard and is a mix of material obtained in the online session as well as subsequent secondary research.

Steven and his wife had moved from France to Dorset and, soon after their arrival, his wife bought an 85-ha plot of land at the edge of Litton Cheney Village for the purpose of sheep-farming. As I had stipulated in my earlier piece, the plot is a bowl-shaped farm located in South Dorset, approximately 40 minutes from Kimmeridge, the village which gives its name to the geologic time period when the chalk soils stretching from Chablis to the south of England was laid down.  

There is a lot of chalk on the lower slopes of the farm, prompting Steven to show some of the rocks to Michel Bettane at L'Academie du Vin in Paris. Michel thought that the rocks were from Champagne. Investigating further, Steven had the Chablis producer Michel Laroche take some rocks back to his region for analysis. His conclusion? The area where the rocks were found would be perfect for growing Chardonnay and other white grapes and, if the climate allowed for their ripening, even Pinot Noir.

By early 2000, Spurrier had begun to take note of the improving quality and acceptance of British sparkling wine in the marketplace, as evidenced by the experiences of Nytimber and Ridgeview. By this time also, the sheep-farming venture had begun to stumble so he recommended to his wife that they convert the farm to a vineyard. She agreed upon the condition that he would pay for the conversion.

They initially sought a joint venture with Duval-Leroy in 2007 but that did not pan out. They next approached the Boisset family who sent their top sparkling wine expert, Georges Legrand, to explore the feasibility of the property. After detailed soil and climate analysis, he concluded that only 10 - 12 of the 85-ha would be suitable for classic champagne vines. The remainder was either too steep or too exposed. 

Vines for the plantings were acquired from Papinières Guillaume, supplier to such formidable names as Bollinger, Roederer, and Pol Roger. At the time of our conversation, a total of 12,500 vines had been planted in 2009 at a density of 4100 vines/ha. Special care was made to ensure that clones and rootstocks (Fercal and 41B) were matched with individually suited parcels. A total of 1200 vines had been planted so far in 2010 and an additional 6000 had been planned for 2011.

At the end of 2011, five of the 10 targeted ha would be under vine with a distribution of 50% Chardonnay, 28% Pinot Meunier, and 22% Pinot Noir. The overall planting program concluded in 2013 with the full 10 ha planted to 42,000 vines distributed 55% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir, and 20% Pinot Meunier. 

The vigneron of record at the time of our conversation was Steve's wife Arabella. She was assisted by wine consultant Ian Edwards, co-owner and winemaker at nearby Furleigh Estate, a regional sparkling- and still-wine producer. The wines are vinified at Furleigh Estate. Graham Fisher joined the team as Vineyard Manager in 2012.

The initial plan called for Bride Valley Vineyards to produce two wines: a cuvée (40% Chardonnay plus Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) and a vintage Blanc de Blanc. The first vintage was scheduled for 2011.

 

The 2012 harvest was washed out due to intense summer rains. The 2013 harvest was better but only yielded 200 cases. 2014 was the first proper harvest, yielding 3000 bottles of Rosé, 6000 bottles of Blanc de Blanc, and 11,000 bottles of Brut Reserve. This was also the first year in which the Pinot Meunier really performed up to expected levels.

In terms of styling, Steve has a preference for lightness and elegance. He is most hands-on with assemblage and dosage and favors 9 g/l for the latter.

The Bride Valley stable of wines has expanded beyond the planned two wines to encompass four sparkling wines (including a Crémant) and three still wines (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Rosé). I tasted one of the early examples of the estate's Blanc de Blanc, the 2013 edition.

By the time I tasted this wine in 2016, I had become a fan of Nyetimber and this wine lacked its power and presence. As noted above this was the vintage after they had been completely washed out the year before and the production volume was exceedingly low. In her review of the wine, Anne Krebiehl MW states thusly: "The crisp nose conjures up shades of green meadow and fresh apple peel, fresh foliage and lime, but also some honey and oatmeal. The palate remains crisp but has a toned lithe note of pure lemon that sings. This is taut, shows backbone and rounds itself out wonderfully on the palate, finishing with harmonious notes of apple and shortbread" (Winemag).

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

The finest artisanal grower-producers in the Champagne region (after Robert Walters)

Robert Walters "is a wine merchant, writer and vineyard owner with over 25 years of experience in the wine trade. His obsessive search for great grower wines has led him to work closely with many important producers in Europe, Australia and New Zealand as well as many of Champagne's finest artisans ..." In an article titled Alternative Champagne 2 (The World of Fine Wine, Issue 35, 2012), Walters described "Champagne de Terroir," as a wine which "maximizes the expression of the vineyard and removes the influence of the winemaker."  These Champagnes de Terroir were, according to Walters, "only produced successfully by a handful of the finest growers." I have summarized the methods of construction, the builders, and the characteristics of these Champagnes de Terroir in the chart below.

Walters has gone behind the curtains of his concept in a book titled Bursting Bubbles: A Secret History of Champagne and the Rise of the Great Growers. He takes two journeys in his book: (i) through the history of the Champagne region and (ii) a physical journey through the region to "... visit many of the finest of these 'grower producers' -- the artisans who are producing Champagne's most exciting and authentic  wines." I have covered each of these "finest" growers individually on this blog and will use this post to compare and contrast them across a number of relevant characteristics.

The figure, and immediately following table, show the population and geographic distribution of the growers identified as the "finest" by Walters.

Table 1: Regions and communes of the Great Growers

Producer	Sub-region	Growing Zone	Home Commune	Other Communes
Agrapart et Fils	Côte des Blancs	Côte des Blancs	Avize	Ogier, Cramant, Oiry
Anselme Selosse	do.	do.	Avize	Cramant, Le Mesnil, Aÿ, Ambonnay, Mareuil-sur- Aÿ
Larmandier-Bernier	do.	do.	Vertus	Cramant, Chouilly, Oger, Avize,
Ulysse Collin	do.	Val du Petit Morin, Côte de Sezanne	Congy
Jacques Lassaigne	do.	Montgueux	Montgueux
La Closerie (Jérôme Prévost)	Montaigne de Reims	Petite Montaigne	Gueux
Chartogne-Taillet	do.	Massif de St. Thierry	Merfy	Chenay, St. Thierry
Egly-Ouriet	do.	Grand Montaigne, Petite Montaigne	Ambonnay	Bouzy, Verzenay,Vrigny
Vouette et Sorbée (Bernard Gautherot)	Côte des Bar		Buxières-sur-Arce	Ville-sur-Arce
Roses de Jeanne (Cédric Bouchard)	do.		Celles-sur-Ource

Grand Cru, Premier Cru, Autre Cru.

Some points of note on the above data:

• Vineyard sizes range between 1.5 and 12 hectares
• Almost half of the producers have been influenced in one way or the other by Jacques Selosse
• A majority of the producers had served a stint away from the estate before returning and taking up the reigns
• Four of the 10 producers have access to Grand and/or Premier Cru vineyards.

In order to be officially classed as a grower-producer, the producer has to vinify and age estate-grown fruit. Use of non-estate fruit positions the producer to be classed as a negociant-producer; and two of our identified producers have crossed over into that territory:

(i) Jérôme Prévost came by way of his 2.2-ha vineyard -- Les Béguines -- as a result of his mother inheriting the property. According to Tyson Stelzer (Champagne Grower-producers: the beginning of the end, Decanter, 7/7/2018), while the 13,000-bottle annual production is well-regarded, and sells for respectable prices, "such a small production is insufficient to sustain his livelihood. In order to grow production by purchasing fruit, Prévost recently relinquished his récoltant-manipulant credentials to be reincarnated as a négociant-manipulant."

(ii) Jacques Laissagne's estate holding is a single 3.5-ha block in the Le Cotet vineyard. In an effort to tap into all of the terroir opportunities on Montgueux, Emmanuel supplements the estate fruit with grapes purchased from a few small growers. In order to ensure that the purchased product approaches the level of quality of his grapes, Emmanuel's requirements are as follows:

• The source vineyard must be located in Montgueux
• The source vineyard must have a south or southeast exposure
• The source vineyard must rest on chalky soils
• The vineyard must be managed by a good grower who works effectively in the vineyard
• The fruit must issue from old vines (45 - 60 years old).

As a result of purchasing fruit, Jacques Lassaigne is classed as a négociant-manipulant.

Farming Practices

For the vast majority of Champagne's growers, it is easier, and more profitable, to sell grapes to the Houses than it is to make and sell their own wine (Tyson Stelzer, Champagne Grower-producers: the beginning of the end, Decanter, 7/7/2018). So the growers that do produce their own wines are not doing so to have things easy, or in pursuit of easy dollars. Rather, they are mission-oriented; and the mission is the production of wines that are reflective of the terroir within which they are produced.

Most of the producers practice some form of biodynamic, organic, or sustainable farming. Of the ones practicing biodynamic or organic farming, individual producers may or may not be certified. Jacques Lassaigne, for example, farms its vineyards organically, eschewing fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. The grass in the vineyard is cultivated between vines and rolled flat between rows. Ulysse Collin practices a mix of organic and conventional farming in order to provide the flexibility to intervene if the occasion warrants it. Vineyard practices include:

• Ploughing ("To plough the soil encourages biological activities for oxygen, water, temperature and fungus" -- Olivier Collin)
• Powdered sulfur to combat odium
• Organic insecticides used against ver de la grappe (tiny caterpillar that eats the berries and causes gray rot)
• Mildew is fought with chemical compounds
• Organic compost is added to the soil as needed.

Bertrand Gautherot of Vouette et Sorbée Bertrand started out a grower and his passion has always been in the vineyards. He began farming biodynamically in 1998 and gained his certification in 2001. He feels that "biodynamics has encouraged the root structure of his vines to descend deeper into the ground rather than settling for nutrients near the surface" (Peter Liem, Champagne).

Fruit Quality
Growers and Houses in Champagne are not too concerned about the ripeness of the fruit as chaptalization and dosage are available as options to boost the sugar content of the wine. Further, if a yeasty character is the end goal, then fruit ripeness represents something that has to be mitigated. That is not the case for the grower-producers, however. Every one of the producers identified herein pursues ripeness of fruit (As a matter of fact, Tom Stevenson, noted Champagne critic, has accused Selosse of using over-ripe fruit in his wines).

According to Walters, the key to the Larmandier-Bernier wine is its ability to harvest fully ripe grapes. Walters sees this ability being driven by:

• Biodynamic viticulture
• Balanced yields
• Minimal fertilizers
• Precise pruning 
• The nerve to wait.

According to Larmandier-Bernier, its recipe for high quality grapes is:

• Old vines
• Working the soil (The estate feels that ploughing promotes deep roots and facilitates healthy soils)
• Moderate yields
• No fertilizers
• Mature grapes picked by hand.

Yields in the Roses de Jeanne vineyards are vanishingly small -- 26 hl/ha -- making it easier for the vines to produce ripe, high-quality wine grapes. With the low yields, Bouchard's wines easily attain 11% - 12% alcohol, unfamiliar territory (without chaptalization) for most other Champagne producers.

Pressing
Grapes are gently pressed in refrigerated (Egly-Ouriet), bladder (Larmandier-Bernier), or manual (Ulysse Collin) presses. In the case of Egly-Ouriet, the press is whole-cluster and only the first run juice is used. In the case of Ulysse Collin, the first and second issue from the press are pumped into vats and stored separately for 1 year after which they are blended. According to Olivier, the first press provides backbone and structure while the second adds strength and richness.

Fermentation
All producers use indigenous yeasts to ferment the grapes in a variety of vessels to include oak barrels (of various sizes and origin), stainless steel tanks, and concrete eggs. Plots are vinified and held separately.

Scalawine.com, in discussing fermentation at Egly-Ouriet, stated thusly:

Like many Burgundians, Francis (ed. of Egly-Ouriet) is convinced a big element of barrel fermentation and long (7 - 10 months) aging on the lees of the first fermentation is critical for expressing the terroir in the wine, giving less of a reductive "stainless steel" effect to the wine and, of course, allowing individual parcels to be captured and calculated into blending options much more precisely than if larger tanks were used. The small volume of wine in barrel gives less pressure over the lees than in a big tank, so better convective contact with the solids and enough infinitesimal exchange with air to avoid the sulfery reductive aromas that can be the bane of wines kept long on lees. A long time on the first lees allows a gentle flocculation of yeasts and settling out of the tiny colloidal solids in the wine. There is no battonage to avoid "fatness" in the wine and this long barrel regime for the vins clairs obviates any fining or filtration.

Aging
Malolactic fermentation and aging occur in stainless steel tanks or in oak; in some cases on the lees (6 - 36 months) and, in some cases, with lees-stirring. Prevost ages his wines in a mix of used barriques and demi-muids ranging in size between 400L and 600L. Unlike Jacques Selosse, for example, Cédric Bouchard does not use any oak in the aging of his wines. In his view, wood adds substances to the wine and, in so doing, detracts from the terroir effects. In addition, the use of oak promotes oxidation of the wine and he views oxidative notes in Champagne as a flaw (as does Tom Stevenson). All of the Bouchard wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks

Additives
For the most part, the producers do not fine, filter, cold stabilize, add enzymes, or chaptalize their wines. Agrapart adds 50 mg/l of SO₂ at crush to combat oxidation while Prévost, Selosse, and Vouette et Sorbée own up to minimal amounts added.

Blending
Because of the small plot sizes in Champagne, a producer generally presses grapes from multiple villages and stores the resulting wines separately until blended. Bouchard and Prévost do not blend their wines. Rather, they seek to distill the essence of terroir through single-vineyard, single-variety, single-vintage wines.

In Agrapart's view, some components show as complete and then regress when blended with wines from another village. They notice no such regression when wines from similar geological environments are blended and this has led them to implement geological blends -- finished Champagnes that come from vineyards with similar geology (Walters). In Pascal's assessment, these similar-soil wines blend more "comfortably."

Peter Liem calls the Selosse blending process solera and describes it as being akin to the process used to make sherry in Jerez. Both White and Parker refer to the Selosse method as perpetual blending. According to Parker, the true solera method requires that each vintage (criadera) be kept separately with the oldest vintage being called the solera. Selosse, on the other hand, adds the new vintage to a common pool and then draws from that pool for the current season's wine.

A number of the producers hold back a portion of each year's wine as a reserve to be added to future vintages. Those future wines will then be comprised a blends of two or more vintages.

Liqueur de Tirage
Prévost adds 23 gm down from 24.5 gm prior to 2007. This new level has resulted in lower pressure, fewer bubbles, and lower alcohol. Bouchard is even lower at 20 gm (well below the norm of 24 gm). This reduced level of sugar yields gas pressure of 4.5 atmospheres (versus and average of 6) and "a gentle, disappearing mousse."

Lees Aging
Depending on the producer and the wine, lees aging can range between 1 and 10 years.

Dosage
Dosage is very low among the producers, ranging from zero across the entire line (Vouette et Sorbée) to a range that tops out at 7 g/l (Larmandier-Bernier and Agrapart). The entire line of the Prévost, Egly-Ouriet, and Ulysse Collin wines fall at or below 3 g/l dosage.

The table below captures selected critical perspectives of the Great-Grower wines.

Table 2: The wines of the "Finest" producers

PRODUCER	WINE
AGRAPART ET FILS	… pillowy textures from ripe Chardonnay … married to a racy, saline, mineral freshness … mouth-filling and relatively full-bodied wines, yet they are never heavy; rather, they are always refreshing, energetic and racy. They are without doubt some of the very finest wines being produced today in Champagne
JACQUES SELOSSE	"outstanding for their arresting tang and vinosity combined with what I can only call a gorgeous finesse of mousse ..." (Tom Hall, scalawine.com)
LARMANDIER-BERNIER	“… wines of great purity, monuments of restraint that are one more nod to the monastic" Peter Liem (Champagne)
ULYSSE COLLIN	“… ripe, richly expressive single-vineyard wines
JACQUES LASSAIGNE	Les Vignes de Montgueux – a racy, salty, iodine noted wine, at once deliciously refreshing yet having good depth and some exotic notes. Le Cotet – a racy, mineral, citrusy, complex wine (Walters)
LA CLOSERIE (JEROME PRÉVOST)	“Saline, savory undertones and sleek, tense build. Its energy and vibrancy is unlike any other Meunier in Champagne and his wine always needs several years after its release to reveal its depth and complexity of flavor” (Peter Liem)
CHARTOGNE-TAILLET	"… each distinct, complex and terroir-driven and yet they share a minerality and vinosity that can be attributed to Alexandre's hard work in the vineyard" (closcru.com)
EGLY-OURIET	Power, purity, intensity of fruit
VOUETTE ET SORBÉE (BERNARD GAUTHEROT)	“… uncompromisingly original, possessing deep, vinous aromas and assertive personalities. These are wines before they are Champagnes, and their intensity of character makes them more suitable for contemplative drinking or to accompanying food than to casual sipping” (Peter Liem)
ROSES DE JEANNE (CÉDRIC BOUCHARD)	“… some of the most spectacular wines being made anywhere in the world …” (Antonio Galloni)

 The shared objective of these producers is to craft wines reflective of the grape sources -- terroir wines -- and they accomplish that goal by harvesting ripe fruit and vinifying and aging them with the minimum of intervention. Ripe grapes result from a combination of the right soils, right exposition, and best farming practices.

For additional information on each of the individual estates, please click on the links below.

Agrapart et fils
Jacques Selosse
Larmandier-Bernier
Ulysse Collin
Jacques Lassaigne
La Closerie (Jérôme Prévost)
Chartogne-Taillet
Egly-Ouriet
Vouette et Sorbee (Bernard Gautherot)
Roses de Jeanne (Cédric Bouchard)

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