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The Champagne of small-scale vine growers
| 2008-12-22 By Emmanuel Tresmontant The French are partial. They like “small” rather than “large and dominant” - as in oversized supermarkets or major wine merchants... In the same vein, the Champagne region has recently begun enjoying a renaissance with the appearance of winemakers, small in terms of output but enormous in terms of talent, whose Champagnes have given a new lease on life to the long-overlooked regions of the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs. “I cannot live without Champagne. In victory I deserve it; and in defeat, I need it.” Winston Churchill 87 miles from Paris, Champagne was the setting of horrendous battles in 1914-1918 and some of the scenery is still scarred. Today, a battle of another kind is taking place here between the proponents of organic agriculture (slightly more than twenty certified vine growers representing 0.5% of the vineyard) and those who are continuing intensive viticulture thanks to which Champagne produces, year in year out, some 350 million bottles! The debate however is not just about being 'organic' or not. Whether a vine grower is organic or only a proponent of 'reasoned viticulture', the real priority is his labour, passion, and care for his vines and land. Historic Champagne terroirs (whether Montagne de Reims or Côte des Blancs) for instance do not express all their personality unless sound viticulture is practised with the ploughing of vines and the picking of grapes at maturity. Then authentic Champagnes reflecting their terroir must be elaborated and aged in cellars. This supposes, in particular, the exclusive use of indigenous yeasts and great moderation in the use of sulphur and sugar. Such vine growers exist and we have met them! Sometimes owning only a few plots of land, they have abandoned the intensive use of chemicals (fertilisers, weed-killers, pesticides) and patiently strive to produce 'character' full-bodied and complex Champagnes!  Cédric Bouchard, symbol of a rising generation One of the revelations of recent years! This young enthusiastic vine grower, who set up in 2000 in the Aube department at Celles-sur-Ource (between Bar-sur-Seine and Les Riceys), tends meticulously to a plot of barely one hectare at the locality of 'Les Ursules'. Very soon, his 'Rose de Jeanne' Champagne made a name for itself as one of the finest expressions of Pinot noir of all the appellation! Partridge-eye coloured, it exhales delicate fragrances of flowers and fruits. In your mouth, its finesse and purity are utterly dumbfounding. In short, a real gem. The mere 3,500 annual bottles can now be found only at the best wine shops.  Marie-Noëlle Ledru, or Champagne 'like a wine' Located on the 'grands crus' classified terroirs of Montagne de Reims, Ambonnay is a pool of brilliant vine growers of whom the most famous is undoubtedly Egly-Ouriet. For my part, I prefer to present you a vine grower slightly less in the media: Marie-Noëlle Ledru, whose superb Champagnes aged on lees for 3 to 5 years have uncommon density. Her extra brut blend (85% Pinot noir, 15% Chardonnay) is therefore at once vinous and sharp. Her vintage 'Cuvée du Goulté' Champagnes (100% Pinot noir) display, for their part, a complex nose of brioche and red fruits and a fine minerality. Earthy, elegant and vinous, they are a perfect match for a John Dory fillet or even old Comté! Is my Champagne dosed or non-dosed?After spending 15 months ageing on its lees, Champagne is 'disgorged' (in other words rid of its yeasts that collect in the neck of the bottle), and then 'dosed' to top up the bottle before final corking. Dosage generally consists in adding a cane sugar and old wine syrup, but concentrated grape must can also be used. The dosage is 6 g/l for extra brut, 15 g/l for brut, 12 to 20 g /l for extra dry and a maximum of 50g/l for demi-sec. Today, more and more aficionados admit they are partial to 'zero dosed' Champagne totally lacking in added sugar and therefore extremely lively. In actual fact only Champagnes made from healthy and ripe grapes can afford this luxury. Only too often, dosage serves to hide the poor quality of an over-abundant and acid harvest with poor grape selection.  Jacques Beaufort, one of the pioneers of organic Champagne Still in Ambonnay, I recommend you visit a most uncommon person: Jacques Beaufort. At the end of the 1960s, this vine grower suffered a serious allergy to pesticides and insecticides, forcing him to convert to organic agriculture. After 1971, he therefore started to hoe weeds out and applied all kinds of natural treatments like aromatherapy (spraying of essential oils of thyme and nettle) and homeopathy (to strengthen the vine's defences). Another peculiarity is that all Jacques Beaufort's Champagnes are vintaged and aged for several years before being sold. Jacques Beaufort has also made a name for himself with his extraordinary demi-sec Champagnes dosed with concentrated grape must. Far from being 'syrupy', these rare Champagnes are marvellously elegant, like the 1998 Ambonnay grand cru whose nose of quince and mandarin freshness make a good match for an exotic fruit salad!  Françoise Bedel, renaissance of the Champagne terroirAnother charming vine grower who stands out in this male microcosm, Françoise Bedel has been striving since 1997 to rediscover the taste of the Champagne terroir which, according to her, has been gradually steamrollered away by a dominating standard taste. Located in the western part of Vallée de la Marne, her 8 hectare estate has been worked organically since 1999. For her 'Comme autrefois' cuvée, she has revived the ancestral Champagne tradition: first vinified and aged in oak vats, on their own yeasts, her wine is then bottled manually before resting 5 years on boards. Very little dosed, it's a mealtime champagne that is at once generous, rich, lively and balanced with fragrances of honey and quince jelly! The 'Entre ciel et Terre' cuvée, for its part, is more accessible to the uninitiated: it's a Champagne that is at once fruity, mineral, and light, which becomes more complex on being decanted for a few hours. Françoise Bedel has managed to express marvellously well the identity of the Crouttes-sur-Marne hillsides.  Tarlant: sensualityThe Tarlant family has been cultivating vines in Champagne since 1687, and now brings together four generations, all of whom work together hand in hand and participate in the assembling process. Their estate is at Oeilly, 15 km (9 miles) from Épernay, on the historic terroirs of the Marne Valley. This site presents a mosaic of different soils (chalk, sand and fossil) and benefits from a microclimate. The Tarlants protect their vineyards and its ecosystem by using ancestral methods (organic fertilizers, grassing down, limited yields), which enable them to obtain very healthy grapes. All their champagnes made from old vines are matured in casks. The cuvée (or batch) “Brut Zéro” is a come-as-you-are non-dosage (unsweetened) Champagne, the perfect wine to accompany a hamper of oysters. Tarlant is also to our knowledge the only estate in Champagne, along with Bollinger, to possess a parcel of vines that survived phylloxera. The vines in question are ungrafted Chardonnay vines, which make you imagine what a 100% Chardonnay was like in the 19th century! The elegance and purity of this “La Vigne d'Antan” cuvée are wonderful. AddressesCédric Bouchard 13, rue Vivier 10110 Celles-Sur-Ource Tel.: 03 25 29 84 56 Marie-Noëlle Ledru 5, place Croix 51150 Ambonnay Tel.: 03 26 57 09 26 E-mail : info@champagne-mnledru.com Jacques Beaufort 1, rue de Vaudemanges 51150 Ambonnay Tel.: 03 26 57 01 50 Françoise Bedel 71, Grande Rue 02310 Crouttes-sur-Marne Tel.: 03 23 82 15 80 Tarlant Champagne 51480 Oeuilly Tel: 03.26.58.30.60 www.tarlant.fr |
