Description

Vignes de Vrigny is 100% Pinot Meunier from 40+ year old vines in Vrigny located on the ‘Petite Montaigne de Reims’. Often a blend of 60% base wine from current vintage with a reserve wine blended. This is a unique wine to be sure. Normally scorned, but in this wine Meunier shows a powerful, dark fruited but floral personality. It is rich in the mouth with big phenolics. Seriously impressive drinking.

One of the top Grower Producers in the region. Egly Ouriet grow all their own grapes and produce their own wines. They specialise in the Pinot varieties from Grand Cru vineyards farmed using organic and biodynamic practices.

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.

Pinot Meunier

Meunier is most famous for adding body and richness to the wines of Champagne. But the trade-off is a quicker aging process for the Champagne. Therefore Prestige Cuvées often do not feature Meunier. Not often found in still table wine production.