Weekend VinopolPick 6-22-18

Christophe Mignon & Marguet Champagnes

We’re pleased to feature two up and coming grower Champagne producers, working biodynamically, that arrive in the next two weeks.  Both Mignon and Marguet are some of the most fascinating winemakers in Champange and their current releases look to be stunners from top to bottom.

“Mignon’s champagnes certainly reflect an emphasis on viticulture, showing a rich, ripe depth of fruit as well as a pronounced and complex mineral signature. As befits the soils in this area, the wines are more earthy and stony than overtly chalky, yet this doesn’t make them any less terroir-expressive, and a hallmark of Christophe Mignon’s champagnes is their intense articulation of place.

“This can be observed in Mignon’s Brut Nature, a pure meunier that is typically made from two different vintages, blended in equal proportions. A model of balance, its ripe fruit allows it to feel expressive in the absence of dosage, bringing minerality to the foreground while keeping acidity in check. Mignon also releases this blend as an Extra Brut, dosed with a liqueur of organic cane sugar, and in some years, this can be even more complex and complete than the Brut Nature. The same blend is used as the base for Mignon’s pungent, vinous Brut Rosé, where it’s combined with a relatively high percentage of red wine, made from meunier that’s vinified in barrel” – Peter Liem

“(Quiet) and soft-spoken, Christophe Mignon is a man of deeply held convictions. A visit to this tiny estate opens a window into Mignon’s deeply personal approach to farming and making wine that comes through in Champagnes of rarified distinction and personality. Biodynamic farming and stripped down winemaking inform the essence of Mignon’s approach.” — Antonio Galloni, December 2017

Christophe Mignon Brut Rose Pur Meunier, Champagne NV (13/14) 750ML ($69.95) $53.50 pre-arrival special
Antonio Galloni 90 points “[Review is for Feb 2017 disgorgement] The Brut Rosé Pur Meunier is a rosé done with a blend of mostly Meunier vinified in white, off the skins, with the addition of still red Meunier for color and texture. Bright, red-tone fruit, tobacco and dried flowers give the wine striking aromatic depth to play off and contrast the fruit. The 6 grams of dosage feels just a touch sweet for this wine. Otherwise, the Pur Meunier is very nicely done. The current release is a blend of equal parts 2014 and 2013.”
Peter Liem note “*(*) Based on Mignon’s non-vintage Brut Nature, this is blended with 15 to 20 percent of red wine from Le Breuil, which gives it a deep crimson color. Like the Brut Nature, this is exuberant and bold, yet the addition of red wine makes it even more vinous and intense, without really increasing the wine’s weight or body. It’s silky in texture and elegant in build, with a delicious pungency of fruit that simply makes you want to drink more. Last tasted: 2/18.”

Christophe Mignon Brut Rose de Saignee, Champagne NV (2013) 750ML ($79.95) $69 pre-arrival special

In Stock Now from Christophe Mignon:

June Clearance Sale Wine!
Christophe Mignon Brut Nature Pur Meunier, Champagne NV 750ML ($59.95) Was $46, Now $39, 22 bottles in stock now
Antonio Galloni 93 points “The NV Brut Nature Blanc de Noirs Pur Meunier is a fabulous wine that captures the essence of Christophe Mignon’s style. Rich and resonant on the palate, the Pur Meunier exudes creaminess. This is an especially weighty expression of Meunier, and yet all the elements are very nicely balanced. Red fruit, dried pear, smoke, menthol and hazelnut notes slowly open up in the glass adding further shades of nuance. Expressive mineral notes extend the finish while providing an attractive counterpoint to the dense, pliant fruit. The current release is a blend of equal parts 2014 and 2013. Mignon’s Pur Meunier is one of the most distinctive wines being made in Champagne today. Don’t miss it. Disgorged: March 2017 and bottled with no dosage.”
Peter Liem note “*(*) Made of 100-percent meunier, this is equal parts 2014 and 2013, from vineyards in both Festigny and Le Breuil. It’s generous and bold, its flavors of red fruit and stone fruit underlined by hints of cassia and clove, and it’s terrifically harmonious as a non-dosé, particularly almost a year after its disgorgement in March of 2017. It finishes with long, energetic aromas, feeling dark in tone and sleek in build. Last tasted: 2/18″

“Like the man himself, Marguet’s wines are outgoing, friendly and forthright, yet they conceal a depth and expression that is clearly the product of careful thought and insightful vision. They typically have an unusual intensity of flavor and a finely tuned balance, and with their delicious concentration of fruit and clearly articulated soil signatures, they readily invite you to drink more. With his conscientious and ever-inquisitive methodology in both the vineyards and the cellars, Marguet is on his way to becoming one of the finest producers in the Montagne de Reims…

“In the cellar, all of the wines are fermented in oak barrels, which Marguet prefers for the additional complexity that barrel-fermentation brings, but also because using wood makes him feel closer to nature than working with the cold impersonality of steel tanks does. His wines always go through malolactic (“If you’re stopping the malo, you’re interfering with the wine’s evolution,” he says), and all of his cellar work is done with respect to the lunar calendar, including racking, bottling and disgorgement. He is also gradually working more and more without sulfur, as he believes that sulfites are indigestible and that they impart an adverse energy to the wine—in the 2012 harvest, for example, 80 percent of the production was vinified sans soufre” – Peter Liem

Arriving July 6th:

Marguet Pere & Fils ‘Shaman’ Grand Cru Extra Brut, Champagne NV (2014) 750ML ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Peter Liem “As of 2015, the non-vintage brut became a cuvée of roughly two-thirds pinot noir and one-third chardonnay, called Elements: the base year is included in the title, so the inaugural release was called Elements 10 and the follow-up Elements 11 (the first to be certified organic). To complicate things, though, it turned out that the name Elements is trademarked in the United States by Codorníu Napa, who uses it for California red wines under their Artesa label. Thus, Marguet was forced to change his cuvée name again, and the 2012-based release is called Shaman 12, with a rosé version created as well.”

Marguet Pere & Fils ‘Shaman’ Grand Cru Rose Extra Brut, Champagne NV (2014) 750ML ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Peter Liem “As of 2015, the non-vintage brut became a cuvée of roughly two-thirds pinot noir and one-third chardonnay, called Elements: the base year is included in the title, so the inaugural release was called Elements 10 and the follow-up Elements 11 (the first to be certified organic). To complicate things, though, it turned out that the name Elements is trademarked in the United States by Codorníu Napa, who uses it for California red wines under their Artesa label. Thus, Marguet was forced to change his cuvée name again, and the 2012-based release is called Shaman 12, with a rosé version created as well.”

Marguet Pere & Fils ‘Sapience’ Premier Cru Extra-Brut, Champagne 2009 750ML ($219.95) $189 pre-arrival special
Peter Liem “Since 2006, Marguet has been working with Hervé Jestin, the former chef de cave of Duval-Leroy who is now a consultant to many wine estates around Europe. Marguet has gradually integrated Jestin’s homeopathic and biodynamic practices into his own winemaking, and the two of them have collaborated to create a special, naturally grown champagne that encapsulates and expresses Jestin’s philosophies. The first vintage of this super-cuvée was 2006, released in 2013, and the production was divided: half of it was sold under the Jestin label, with the other half under the label Sapience, which Marguet has indicated is a separate brand from the Marguet label.”