Tasted blind. Pale red, saignée appearance. Smells like a red wine! Does not conform to a stereotype of a pink sparkling wine. Lightly bitter with lots of fruit. Gone out on a limb. A good drink!
Reviews:
- Wine Spectator: Very firm and crisp on the palate, with notes of peach skin, oyster shell and pickled ginger.
Producer Information
Yann Alexandre is the eighth generation of his family to grow vines in the Petite Montagne de Reims, the third to make Champagne there. He and his wife, Séverine, share a passion for horticulture that directly informs their viticulture. “We grow the vineyard like a garden,” Yann explains. This is a high bar for two farmers working 6.3 hectares spread over 28 plots in nine villages. But is also essential to their philosophy: “I always try to put forward the characteristics of each plot of land and to reach perfect grape maturity and health.” Vitality is achieved through intensive hand work and regenerative practices to which the Alexandres have been dedicated since 1999. Swaths of bright yellow in the family vineyards signal the restorative impact of this approach: the region’s once ubiquitous tulipe de vigne was eradicated by intensive chemical farming; Yann and Séverine have nurtured the soils back to such health, the delicate flower has returned. As throughout the Petite Montagne, pinot meunier is the star, supported by pinot noir and chardonnay, the grapes matched to soils of calcareous clay, white marls, stones, and flint. Yann declares his aim is “as natural a Champagne as possible,” made from vital grapes, with minimal added sulfites, up to seven years lees aging, hand riddling and disgorgement, and “no detail left to chance.”
