Lelarge-Pugeot Les Meuniers de Clemence Extra Brut Premier Cru (6 x 75cl)

Lelarge-Pugeot Les Meuniers de Clémence Extra Brut Premier Cru (6 x 75cl)

Vineyard:

Made from 100% Pinot Meunier, which is something of a rarity in Champagne.

Lelarge-Pugeot's vineyard is spread over 42 distinct parcels in and around the Premier Cru village of Vrigny and is farmed according to organic and biodynamic methods.

The vineyard comprises eight hectares and the vines grow over gently rolling hills at altitudes of 150 metres above sea level.

The grapes for this cuvée come from a blend of four of the parcels from Vrigny Premier Cru, where the soils are sandy loam and calcareous marls.

The Pinot Meunier vines are pruned according to the Cordon method, restricting the yields and concentrating the flavours.

The vineyard is ploughed by horse during the year, to prevent soil compaction, allowing the top layers of soil access to oxygen and boosting the overall health of the soil, vines and grapes.

Grasses and plants are used between the vine rows to impart valuable nutrients to the soil. Harvested by hand.

Winemaking:

The grapes were pressed using a pneumatic press, followed by a long "débourbage" or settling period.

A small amount of sulphur was added prior to the fermentation.

Alcoholic fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks using their "pied de cuve", which is a technique used in natural winemaking to employ natural yeasts.

A small batch of must is used to start a spontaneous fermentation using indigenous yeasts, once this has been deemed successful, this “pied de cuve” is then added to the remaining must to start the fermentation process.

Following fermentation, this cuvée underwent natural malolactic fermentation and was bottled the following April. The wine spent four years ageing on its lees in bottle.

Tasting Notes:

This stunningly poised wine has a crisp palate which is beautifully balanced by intense fruitiness; it is full of green apple and lime juice. A mineral texture and a creamy mousse character lingers on the endless finish.