7/10/26 - 

With this many new arrivals from Champagne I couldn't help but offer them together today. While tasting, and looking deeper into these domaines, I noticed how almost all of them focus on single parcel and varietal wines with many additionally being vintage dated. Of course there are a few exceptions to that rule, with wines that provide fun entries into these fantastic domaines, but across the board you will see Champagnes made from exceptional terroirs and even more fantastic people.

-Hanna Krilov Cohen

Suenen

Aurelien Suenen might very well be one of the more serious Champenois I have ever met. Just walking into his winery and seeing how pristine it was, without knowing where anything was meant to be, I could tell that everything was in its place. As I listened to Aurelien talk about his methods in winemaking, and what he is doing as he looks towards a warmer future, it was clear that he does not do anything on a whim, but with calculated precision. I see this translate well into his wines, they are Champagnes of power, preciseness, and control, and happen to be utterly delicious!

The Suenen family has been in Cramant since the late 1800's and mainly sold grapes, but Aurelien's great-grandfather decided to make his own wines and that led generations to pursue this same goal. Fast forward to the 1950's and Daniel, Aurelien's father, was born. He grew up amongst the vines and spent 18 years working for his father before taking over the family business. In doing so he expanded the family's holdings and increased production. Larger changes came into play as Aurelien took over in 2009 and refocused the domaine to how we know it today. He immediately began transitioning to organic farming and that quickly lead him to focus on bottling single vineyard, vintage, and varietal wines. Today we are excited to show the 2022 base vintage of C+C and the 2019 La Cocluette. We are expecting more wines from Aurelien to arrive over the next few months so feel free to contact me here if there are any particular bottlings you are looking for and I will do my best to get them for you.  

Benoit Dehu

Benoit Dehu represents the 8th generation of vignerons from the village of Fossoy, on the western edge of the Vallee de la Marne. His family has been in the area since 1787, and up until 1968 they only made Coteaux Champenois (still wines). After spending time honing his craft at Bollinger, Benoit returned to the family estate in 2011 and separated out 1.7 hectares of the best vines to farm biodynamically. From here he makes the single vineyard, vintage, and varietal (Pinot Meunier) bottling of 'la Rue des Noyers,' a parcel that was once surrounded by hazelnut trees. Since starting his own label, Benoit has added a few more Champagnes to his lineup and each addition showcases his incredible talent as a vigneron. I recently got to visit Benoit and was even more impressed with him and his wines than I ever thought possible. He is a true intellectual, spending time studying his vines, soils, and the impact that each and every step has on his wines. He has gone as far as vinifying and bottling the three different rootstocks of the vineyard la Rue des Noyers just to see how each helps to form the overall wine. About 30-50% of his barrels are made from trees that neighbor his vineyard sites. On top of being an incredible winemaker, he is a truly lovely person too, we spent time discussing the wine and Champagne industry as a whole, what the future looks like for both vignerons, as well as retailers, and consumers too. All of this to say that Benoit makes some very special Champagne that shoot well above its price, that drink fantastic on release and will continue to age impeccably. I have been lucky to have started saving up bottles of his throughout the years and have experienced firsthand how outstanding la Rue des Noyers is with 5+ years in bottle. I am excited today to offer the new 2020 vintage release, perfect for enjoying now and for years to come. 

Agrapart

From Avize, in the heart of the Cote de Blanc comes Agrapart. The estate was founded in 1894 and today is represented by Pascal and his son Ambroise, the fourth and fifth generation. For four decades Pascal has been creating powerful wines of chalky minerality. He is passing his incredible talent and knowledge onto Ambroise who now manages approximately 10 hectares of the family's vines. The approach is quite natural in the vineyards with compost added from local ingredients and the main priority to have healthy organic life within the soil to encourage productivity in the vines. This dedication combined with the up to 70-year-old vines of the family create some of the most compelling wines in the Cote de Blancs. Amongst their amazing range of Champagnes, the first arrival this year is two vintage blends: 7 Crus and Terroirs. 

Jacques Lassaigne

Jacques Lassaigne is a family domaine based in Montgueux that is now run by Jacques' son Emmanuel. Montgeuex is technically located in the Aube but falls much further north near the city of Troyes. The terroir here is on the same limestone vein from le Mesnil providing excellent soils for growing Chardonnay, something Emmanuel does quite well! Historically, this site was known as the 'Montrachet of Champagne' with its Kimmeridgian marl soils and steep slopes. The Estate was created by Jacques Lassaigne in 1964 and in 1999 his son Emmanuel began working in the vines. In the vineyards, everything is done by hand and farmed organically without certification. Once harvested, the winemaking approach is quite hands off, starting with long, delicate pressing before fermentation with native yeasts. The wines age 12-24 months (depending on cuvee) in a mix of barrel and tank before being bottled for the second fermentation. Everything is aged sur lattes for 1-5 years based on the cuvee and all disgorgements are done by hand. As expected, almost all our wines offered today are Blanc de Blancs, highlighting the incredible terroir of Montgueux with the exception of his Rose which includes a small inclusion of Pinot Noir vinified red for color and red fruit flavors. We are excited to share the newest release of Montgueux, Montgueux Rose, Colline Inspire, and the 2017 Millesime.

R. Pouillon

The Pouillon family has been growing grapes in Champagne for over a century, but it wasn't until 1947 when Roger Pouillon decided he was going to begin making his own wines with the help of his wife Bernadette, and his uncle Louis Baulant who was a prominent winemaker and consultant at the time. As years went on, the estate grew as grape contracts expired allowing the family to make more terroirs under their own label. James, Roger's son, joined the domaine in 1964 and began to modernize the cellar. Then Fabrice joined in 1998 after attending business and oenology school and truly began making waves. In 2003 he started the work of conversion to organic viticulture and today incorporates some biodynamic practices as well. Around the same time he began to introduce single parcel cuvees into the lineup which are the main focus of the estate today. What might be most innovative is his "Method Fabrice Pouillon," this eliminates the use of any external sugar in the winemaking process and uses just the natural sugars present in the grapes. He believes this shows a more pure expression of the fruit and terroir in his Champagnes. His importer Schatzi explains how "he separates 15% of the pressed juice and holds it in steel until spring. The rest is fermented in neutral barrels with ambient yeast. After 12 months he blends the vin claire with the grape juice and the fermentation starts again with ambient yeast. When the remaining sugar reaches 24 grams/Liter, he bottles the wine under cork for the secondary fermentation. If dosage is used, it is made with grape juice. As of the 2019 vintage, all Pouillon wines utilize this method." What started as an experiment has really transformed an entire estate. Today I am excited to share three Champagnes from Fabrice from 2019 and 2020 that each showcase a single terroir, vintage, and grape varietal: Terres Friodes (Chardonnay), Chataigniers (Meunier), and Montgruguet (Pinot Noir). 

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