Description

De Sousa has outstanding sites in the Côte de Blancs villages of Avize, Cramant, and Oger. They have a lot of old vines in fact the average age of the vineyards are 45 years and they farm their vineyards biodynamically in Avize and the nearby villages, and organically elsewhere. Over the past decade, the winemaking – under Erick de Sousa – has reached the highest levels of sophistication. The resulting wines are remarkable for their elegance and balance but also their intensity. They are vinous and speak strongly of their origins.

The Brut Réserve is a blend of two or three different years and contains at  least 25% reserve wine. It is made from 100% Chardonnay. This really is a wonderful wine and a great example of the de Sousa style: intense, creamy Chardonnay fruit and a lingering, savoury finish. 100% Grand cru fruit from Avize, Oger, Cramant Reserve wines are kept for a few months in older oak barrels.

A great array of mature Chardonnay flavours: Toast, hazelnuts, brioche and honeycomb with a chalky undertone. There is plenty of richness on the palate here.

Champagne – A wine region of France approximately 160km East of Paris. It is also the name of the wines produced from the area. Most famously it is a sparkling wine that undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle and is aged on lees. Although there is the occasional still wine you can find around particularly Pinot Noir. The fantastically named Bouzy Rouge is one such example. There are very few single vintage, single vineyard, single variety Champagnes (I can only name one and it was produced only 47 times between 1900 and 1999). Why? Due to the large area the region covers, and the challenging weather the houses blended wines to produce a consistent and reliable product every year. This is where the growers come in. They relish the chance to show off vintage variation and small plot wines.