Grapes:  Meunier
Region: Croutes-sur-Marne//Champagne, FR
Method: Traditional
Body Profile: Medium
Sweetness Profile: Very Dry

Very excited to get his producer. One of the top natty Champagne Houses, certified biodyanmic. Lively fruit, the Meunier weight really shines here. Jérôme Bourgeois-Diaz is a 4th generation vigneron who has been making some of the most compelling Champagne in Crouttes-sur-Marne, on the banks of the Marne River halfway between Paris and Reims.Though he has deep family roots in the area, he was not always working in the vines, having had a previous career in industrial sales before taking over from his father in 2001.

He farms 7ha of vines that average 35 years of age (3ha Pinot Meunier, 2ha Pinot Noir, and 2ha Chardonnay) in the clay and limestone soils the region is known for. Jérôme is deeply committed to biodynamic farming, having gained certification by Demeter in 2015, meaning herbicides, fungicides, and all other sprayings are strictly prohibited. He allows for native, wild plants to intersperse the rows, which make his vineyards look like an oasis of green in an otherwise conventionally farmed area. Care is taken during the harvest to adhere to Pierre Masson’s lunar calendar and all vineyard work is done by hand.

“RS” stands for Rosé de Saignée. Made from 100% old-vine Pinot Meunier harvested a bit later than his other parcels with 24 hours of maceration on the skins. 30% of the juice is pressed into barrel and the rest stainless steel tank for fermentation. Deep and darker in color; savory, vinous, and long, this is an incredible wine.

Grapes: Pinot Noir
Region: Dizy//Montagne de Reims//Champagne, FR
Method: Traditional
Body Profile: Medium
Sweetness Profile: Very Dry

This is one of the exquisite Jacquesson single-vineyard, single-vintage bottlings. As this small producer has become more-and-more cutting edge, they have moved away from making a blended rosé in favor of making a site specific wine using the saignée method.

Jacquesson only produces a few thousand bottles of this per vintage. The vineyard is named for the “red soil” where the 3.3 Hectares of Pinot Noir grow - the soil is limestone over chalky silt over looking the town of Dizy. Two different “saignée” techniques are used - half where the grapes are destemmed and crushed and then left to sit on their skins for a day, half where a very slow press crushes the grapes over a four hour period. The result gives depth and color, with structure, but not so much the wine is tannic like a red.

No dosage, so this is a very dry wine. Jacquesson allows the wine to go through malolactic fermentation because it is more natural and tames the high acid - complexly intertwined raspberry, red cherry and strawberry notes with wet stones and brioche. This is a wine to consider decanting or opening in advace is possible.

Grapes: Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (35/30/35)
Region:
Method: Traditional
Body Profile: Medium
Sweetness Profile: Dry

That Haton family are a fourth-generation, family-owned Champagne House that owns 20 hectares of vineyards scattered around Champagne in 8 different Crus. While Haton began life as a recoltant-manipulant, demand for the house's wines made the decision to begin supplementing their own land with purchased grapes an easy one. Besides the estate's vineyards, Haton sources fruit from an estimated 75 hectares from over six dozen different crus. They are actually in the top 30 Champagne producers by size, though their relative anonymity in comparison the Grand Marques is notable.

The Brut rose is composed of 35% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay and 35% Pinot Noir (10% still wine for color). It has classic rose Champagne notes of bright bing cherry, strawberry, spice and yeast. It's a middleweight wine, more about freshness and intensity than depth and richness.

Grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir (49/38 + 13 red wine)
Region: Côte des Blancs // Champagne, FR
Method: Traditional
Body Profile: Medium
Sweetness Profile: Dry

This popular rosé comes from the small grower’s co-operative in the Grand Cru village of Mesnil. The co-op was founded in 1937, but was relatively anonymous until recent management decided to cut the volume produced and focus the co-ops members on providing quality fruit.

Sublime rosé is a bright, intense Champagne, with orange, apricot, strawberry and marzipan notes.