Hello <<First Name>>. Welcome to a new direction in discovering domain bottled grower Champagnes direct from the vigneron.
March Pre-arrival - Ledru returns
The Grand Cru village of Ambonnay is regarded as the king of Pinot Noir villages. The power of red fruits is always in subtle counterpoint with lovely acidity and minerality. Ambonnay delivers on all these aspects and is home to the ‘greats’ of Champagne. Egly-Ouriet, Eric Rodez, Benoit Marguet, Paul Dethune and Marie-Noëlle Ledru. Of course, Krug has their outrageous Clos d’Ambonnay to set the bar extremely high.
With vineyards in Ambonnay and Bouzy in the south of Montagne de Reims, Marie-Noëlle Ledru is a rare breed of female vigneron – she calls herself a ‘viticultrice’. She is extremely well respected by all the vignerons in Ambonnay and is often regarded as the 'best' grower in the village. She has no website (ever) and reads her emails only occasionally, as she is busy in the vineyards. As a civil servant, she inherited the property from her parents who retired in 1984. Her philosophy is virtually organic, using no insecticides and no herbicides, and if treatments are necessary, only environment-friendly options are considered.
Until recently the Ledru estate was 6 hectares in size (some of the juice was being sold to Pol Roger and Deutz) but family disputes have resulted in her vineyards being reduced to a 2.5 hectares. 2ha Pinot in Ambonnay and .5ha Chardonnay in Bouzy. The wines are all classically vinified in tank with no oak maturation and malo-lactic fermentation occurs. Yields are low, chaptalization is avoided, no filtration, no cold stabilization, dosages are all low and minimal amounts of sulphur are used during the appropriate winemaking processes. Bottles are riddled and disgorged by hand. The entire winemaking process is manual and labour intensive – and the results speak loud.
The Ledru style focuses on purity, complexity, power and yet all of this is enclosed in an elegant framework. The smoky texture hints that oak may be utilised somewhere in the winemaking process, but this is not the case. Precisely manicured and maintained vineyards are the key. “Great wines start in the vineyard” – and Marie-Noëlle is the perfect example. The top cuvée is the 100% Pinot Noir called Goulté from her best old vine parcels in Ambonnay.
I was lucky to see Marie-Noëlle during the 2017 harvest which she pressed quite happily but decided to sell all the juice off and retire. So her final and last harvest was the 2016 and she has now officially retired, with her grapes now going to the sisters who sell them off. Her last few bottles are rationed out to her long term customers. As they get scarcer they also got more expensive. These are rare and extraordinary Champagnes and maybe my last allocation ever!
Marie-Noëlle Ledru Brut Grand Cru
Based on the 2015 vintage with 50% reserve wines, this Brut reveals the quality of Ambonnay and the purity of Marie-Noëlle’s winemaking style. Dosage at 4gm/litre is perfect. 85% Pinot from Ambonnay and 15% Chardonnay from Bouzy. The power and elegance of pinot noir is on display. Ultrafine mousse with creamy sherbet overtones and piercing nervosity. Hints of apple and hazelnut all bound in a smoky texture. Very pure and mineral. The Bouzy chardonnay adds a subtle floral component. Pre-arrival $87.00
Marie-Noëlle Ledru Extra Brut Grand Cru
Based on the 2014 vintage with 50% reserve wines. Rare now as she never makes too much of this. The Extra Brut is Brut Nature but never labelled as such. This is always the Brut blend with an extra 12 months on lees. The lower dosage reveals shimmering acidity and purity. Zero dosage adds linearity and the extra year on lees adds more structure.Brae Restaurant in Birregurra poured the Ledru Extra Brut for a three month period a few years ago. Pre-arrival $93.00
Marie-Noëlle Ledru Blanc de Noirs Goulté Brut Grand Cru 2014
2014 pinot noir from her best parcels in Ambonnay with dosage 4g. Goulté is an old French term meaning the very first juice that comes out of the press. More citrus and chalky mineral than the Brut and often gets confused as Chardonnay. Hints of brioche and lifted red fruits. Very rare and seen on a few online sites for double my pre-arrival price. Pre-arrival $128.00
Grand Cru Oger by a visionary - Domaine Vincey
The Vincey family have been growing grapes in Oger for 8 generations and for the major part, the resulting Champagne has been produced by the Oger Cooperative. Vincey sends grapes to the Co-op and they get back bottles which they can mature in their cellars for as long as they like and disgorge when necessary. This is their RC business.
Young Quentin Vincey and his wife Marine have refocussed the vision of their Grand Cru vineyards in Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Chouilly. They have decided to convert their very best vineyard parcels to biodynamics and to buy a small timber press and produce only vintage cuvées as part of their new Recoltant-Manipulant business. Their other vineyard grapes will still go to their RC range of Champagnes which include non-vintage cuvées. So this Domaine range of Champagne will always be ONLY vintage.
Their first two cuvées are from Oger and are a simple concept. One cuvée is a blend of Oger parcels, and the other is a mono parcel. They will also have similar cuvées from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in a few years. Terroir flavour wise, Oger sits between Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and shares some similarities from each but very much adds its own level of opulence and minerality. Oger is a mini-amphitheatre and hence has an excellent level of ripeness with hints of white fruit. Oger is famous for the Clos of Claude Cazals. Many of the big Champagne houses control vineyards in Oger.
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Domaine Vincey La Premiere 2014
100% Chardonnay from a blend of 50 year old vine parcels in Oger. No herbicide, no pesticide, no chaptalisation. Fermented in 50% oak barrels and 50% steel tank. No malo-lactic fermentation, no fining and no filtration. Dosage extra-brut at 3gm/litre. Hugely mineral and intense. Pure and long with a subtle mousse. Very limited release but I may get another allocation later in the year. An outstanding first release. Pre-arrival $93.00
Domaine Vincey "Le Grand Jardin" 2014
100% Chardonnay from a single vineyard "Le Grand Jardin'' massale selection planted in 1967. No herbicide, no pesticide, no chaptalisation. Fermented in 100% oak barrels. No malo-lactic fermentation, no fining and no filtration. Bottled under cork not crown capsule. Dosage is Brut Nature. More textural than the ''La Premiere'' with ripe citrus and tropical overtones. This vineyard is just over the road from the Vincey cuverie down the hill a hundred metres. An outstanding first release and maybe I will get a few more bottles later in the year. Pre-arrival $130.00 SOLD OUT
Etude Ledru Vincey six pack
How to allocate these small quantities is a conundrum and not easy. So to be fair I have created a mixed 6 pack.
Only the packs are available. Single bottles or other configurations are not available sorry.
Only 16 packs are available. One pack per customer limit. Offer closes March 6th unless sold out prior.
3 bottles Marie-Noëlle Ledru Brut
1 bottle Marie-Noëlle Ledru Extra Brut
1 bottle Marie-Noëlle Ledru Goulté 2014
1 bottle Domaine Vincey La Premiere 2014
Retail $862 - special Pre-arrival $575.00
Champagne Voirin-Jumel Blanc de Noirs 1er Cru
One of our sold out favourites is arriving on this shipment. 100% pinot noir from a single parcel vineyard in Mareuil-sur-Ay - Les Carelles. Dosage 6gm. Base 2016 and reserve wines. Mineral with some nice strawberry overtones. Pinot from Mareuil is always elegant and very subtle. Price has increased a little but still a bargain for single vineyard champagne. Pre-arrival $50.00
My other interest and business is photography, and I am delighted to have a
'Twelve year Retrospective' exhibition of my works on show at
Magnet Galleries at Docklands in Melbourne. Starting on
March 15th and closing
April 4th. It is a mix of landscape, architectural and wine related images. Of course, my award-winning images from the Pink Lady Errazuriz Competitions will be on show.
Champagne Exhibition Tasting
On the closing day of the exhibition -
Saturday April 4th 1pm to 3pm, Melbourne
Champagne subscribers will be able to taste thru a range of my Champagnes and also I will have my good friend and Champagne importer
David Donald from
David Donald Champagnes, showing his range of grower Champagnes. If the shipment arrives on time, I will have some Domaine Vincey on tasting. We will both be on hand to guide you thru the wizardry of grower Champagnes.
Places are very limited so you need to RSVP.
Email me your requests for the Etude Ledru-Vincey 6 packs and Voirin-Jumel and I will process as best I can. Orders need to be in multiples of 6 bottles, please. This is an early Pre-arrival offer, with the Champagnes due to arrive in late March.
regards
Victor Pugatschew
Champagne de Vigneron
www.champagne-de-vigneron.com
email:
victor@champagne-de-vigneron.com
