Man oh man, these wines. Champagne savvies have been sniffing around here for a bit yet pricing remains delightfully sane. For now.
You notice quickly that these Montagne de Reims gems (Sermiers, Chamery, Éceuil) individuate strongly from the grower Champagne pack. This is to say their appeal is larger and more permanent than 1) newness and 2) small production. If this sounds like small praise you may think more excitedly than us about the raft of grower Champagnes available today, a category in which edgy zero-dosage redundancy can feel frustratingly routine.
Feneuil’s wines are many things, routine never. Feneuil is a modern proponent of agroforestry, i.e. the practice of letting trees grow freely among the vines. He traces inspiration to travels in Morocco where the practice remains widespread. Here olives, almonds, figs, and grapes often grow in wild symbiosis. (Increased biodiversity, higher microbial activity, and the cooling effect of tree canopies are three agroforestry advantages. And interestingly, Arthur Clair of Burgundy’s Bruno Clair reports that his domaine recently began practicing agroforestry in Gevrey-Chambertin).
‘Les Ruisseaux’ is 100% Meunier from a small parcel in Sermiers. No coaxing needed: flowers and zested lime, subtler lemon, the Meunier caraway. Though charmingly intense the wine hovers across the palate in a Chambollesque textural sleight of hand. And a lovely, persistent finish. Parsely, mint, green peppercorn…
Cheers,
Jason
