Domaine des Tuileries “Les Crayeres” 2019 Visiting the cellar of Adrien Rousseaux is a mind bending experience. Barrels and bottles stacked precariously filled with some of the most sought after champagne in the region. Each barrel holds a different plot where he has coaxed flavors both complex and delicate. The resulting wines often drive us to hyperbole but suffice to say you will not suffer to find praise to heap on this bottling. He’s not a recluse but he doesn’t take many visitors and the biggest production of any one bottling is less than 6,000. This specific cuvée is less than 2,000. 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir, all Grand Cru fruit from Verzenay. Adrien has confessed this to be his favorite cuvée he made in 2019. We tend to agree. TECH SHEET
A. Levasseur “Trait de Saison” 2015 On our most recent trip to visit David Levasseur in Cuchery we revisited some favorites and dug in to some back vintages. The way these champagnes age is amazing to see. With that knowledge David has a program of releasing wines a bit later than others and that is why we are able to have some of this magnificent 2015. Most other people have sold this vintage off years ago and presumably they have mostly been consumed. Here we have the ability to go back in to the not so distant past and taste what that year 2015 provides. A year with great ripeness and expressive fruit that was not universally loved by tasters. This, however, is a shining example of a great producer making great champagne in a less than optimal year. Personally we love drinking wines like this, great wines from less than perfect years show how good a winemaker and their terroir actually are. TECH SHEET
Domaine des Tuileries “Les Crayeres” 2019 Though he grew up in a winemaking family, Bryan Marx is not a classically trained winemaker. This has allowed him to make wines the way he wants and the results are sublime. A visit to see Bryan in Venteuil usually ends 10 meters underground in a hand dug chalk cellar that he used to play in as a child. Now this cellar holds the barrels for his highly sought after project Domaine des Tuileries. “Les Crayeres” is three individual plots from his village in the Marne Valley. Only the best barrels are chosen and blended to show the best of the vintage. Minuscule quantities are made and even less are available in the US. It is the beginning of a new journey into the possibilities of a New Champagne that we are all discovering together with the help of pioneering winemakers like Bryan Marx. TECH SHEET
Famillie Delouvin “Sauvage” It doesn’t take much to convince Geoffrey Delouvin to jump in the truck and take you on a tour of his vineyards. For ten generations his family had been farming in the village of Vandieres in the Marne Valley. His plots are only in this one village, something that is less common than you would imagine. When standing along the road, looking down at the arc of the amphitheater of vines and the village below it really is easy to see the various terroirs at offer. The soils vary from limestone, chalk and clay giving Famillie Delouvin many different grape expressions to play with. In the “Sauvage” bottling Geoff uses 100% Vandieres Meunier from three different plots all with different soil types, at different elevations and expositions. This is a true snapshot of the terroir of the village all presented with no dosage to further show off the beauty of the fruit. TECH SHEET