Champagne Vincent Charlot L'Or des Basses Ronces Millésimée 2014 Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs

Champagne Vincent Charlot

Location: the village of Mardeuil, just west of Epernay, Champagne, France

Owner & winemaker: Vincent Charlot

Vineyard area: Vineyard area: 4.4 hectares (~11 acres) spread over 39 different plots and 6 villages (Mardeuil, Vauciennes, Epernay, Moussy, Pierry 1er Cru, Ay Grand Cru), estate-owned

Vineyard management: certified organic (Ecocert) and biodynamic (Demeter), both since 2013

Soils: very diverse depending on the site – chalk, clay, silex (flint), sand, limestone

Main varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier + the ancient ones like Arbanne and Petit Meslier

Annual production (approx.): 30,000 bottles, all single vintage

Winemaking: Each parcel is vinified separately in order to showcase its uniqueness. Spontaneous fermentation in amphoras and seasoned barrels; the wines are left to go through malolactic fermentation as they choose (or not). Secondary fermentation in bottles with concentrated grape must, long aging on lees. Little to no SO2, very low dosages (around 4g/l, Extra Brut)

Fun facts:

• Vincent is a true terroir geek: he vinifies each of his 39 parcels separately and releases between 17 and 27 (!) different cuvées each year in order to showcase the unique personality of his highly diverse soils and expositions.
• These plots are all cultivated in biodynamics, and represent a biodiversity oasis with some 90 species of plants and animals thriving; many of the plants are edible, so a little vineyard snack is never too far away!
• As his vineyards are tiny (average plot size is a mere 0.1ha), there’s sometimes as little as one barrel (300 bottles) of one wine, and never more than 5,000 bottles
• Most of the wines decide not to go through malolactic fermentation – liberty that Vincent is happy to give them, as the resulting wines are balanced between richness and acidity
• Vincent went to winemaking school in Alsace in the early 1990s, along with another iconic French grower in our book, the local trailblazer Christian Binner.