Champagne Week has become an annual pilgrimage for wine professionals around the globe keen to explore the diversity of Champagne’s terroir and styles with tastings of still wine and finished champagne. Award-winning champagne writer, Kaaren Palmer, reports back from a week of exceptional tastings.
Champagne’s annual growers’ super tasting event - Le Printemps (Springtime) des Champagne - occurs in April. What has now become a hugely successful internationally attended show-and-tell event of 25-plus groups began in 2009 with a single group of young and vigorous producers, Terres & Vins de Champagne, organised by Raphael Bérèche. They invited buyers, writers, photographers and guests to meet them in historic Aÿ, at Hotel Castel Jeanson, owned by the Goutorbe family, who also attended in their own right as vignerons and winemakers. Many of us thought, back then, it was worthwhile making a pilgrimage for just that occasion. Les Artisans du Champagne, with their illustrious members including some small family Houses, such as Alfred Gratien, presented their wines the following year.
The aim has always been to show quality and diversity, both from the vins clairs of the prior harvest, that is, the still wines after first fermentation, and newly released finished champagne from many harvests prior. Few people get to try champagne still wines the way they were before the bubbles were harnessed for our pleasure but, during these few days, that foreshadow of pleasure is ours.
Exhibitors hope to develop their markets, achieve fame and glory in the press, and/or create acknowledgement and demand for their products. The best are in high demand already and unavailable to mere mortals without inside knowledge. Attendees comprise buyers, writers and high-profile consumers. Luminaries such as Essi Avellan MW from Finland and Charles Curtis MW from New York, European champagne ambassadors and globally recognised dames and chevaliers rub shoulders with 'champagneophiles' from throughout the world. The Chinese contingent especially grows with each passing year.
But how to convey the Spring in the air, the sensory tasting overload, the joy and the weariness, unforgettable delight in the masterclass magnificent with 10, 20 and 30 year-old magnums of old-vine Blanc de Blancs from Didier Gimonnet, the wonder of Mailly’s old treasures, and the reinforcement of sheer class from the new releases of Charles Heidsieck? The beautiful town entices many champagne friends at once and camaraderie fills the air day and night, week-long.
Even though most events are now held around many fine and historic buildings of central Reims, it’s a physically exhausting and tooth-enamel-challenging marathon to run from one place to the next in a futile attempt to cover just some of the 330+ exhibitors (although some pop-up in more than one group) and 1,000+ wines. And then there are older, under-the-counter treasures offered confidentially. Fascinations! One must surely swallow samples of these gems, although to do so depletes the stamina necessary for a long tasting day.
Trait-d-Union is one of the event's most distinctive groups
Trait-d-Union's Origins Can Be Traced to 2010The idea to form the group arose around 2010-2011. Anselm Selosse of Champagne Jacques Selosse emphasises, “The relationship that we have created among us led to the creation of this group.”Registration is necessary for all events and snacks are provided. The well-established and most fashionable groups, which include high profile growers, limit their numbers and admission to their salons is by invitation only. The very exclusive Trait d’Union winemakers (Selosse, Roger Coulon, Larmandier-Bernier and Egly-Ouriet) didn’t even put themselves in the official 2018 program. An invitation arrived in one’s inbox…or not. Not only was it held on the same day as nine other sessions - four of which were similarly appealing - but also required an hour-long taxi ride to Vertus each way. I missed my favourites at Passion Chardonnay (Bertrand Lilbert, the Veuve Fourny duo, Guiborat, Glavier and more) as well as Club Trésors (many wonderful producers who present their Special Club prestige cuvées), Champagne Terroirs etc. and Des Pieds & Des Vins.
In general, my approach is to select the groups and producers’ names in advance, either those with newly forged reputations, or old favourites just to say hello, have a quick taste and spit of a few random newbies. Even so, I missed many, including whole sessions which coincided with others.
This year, I particularly enjoyed the Meunier Institute group, so impeccably presented by Carl Edmund Sherman, a Swedish-American with champagne now in his family as well as in his veins. Nicolas and Clotilde Didier presented their accomplished Meunier Absolu, and their still wines once again exhibited the gentle spiciness that blends so well. Champagne Serveaux & Fils, another from the Champagne et Villages export stable, have lowered their dosage, resulting in a style suiting the experienced champagne drinker and one requiring at least an oyster or three.
Discoveries for me included champagnes from Eric Taillet, Météyer Père & Fils and Francis Orban. A highlight here was the excellent provisioning and, afterwards, a fine party filled with special treats of aged meuniers in wonderfully large format bottles. But renowned local hostess, Emily Jeangeorges, had organised a charming party in her beautifully appointed apartment, so away we went to gorge ourselves on further delights of local cheeses, charcuterie and salads, with fabulous champagnes in magnum from the stars of Vilmart, Gimonnet, Mailly and Gosset-Brabant.
Sunday dawned with a choice of five groups between 10am and 9pm. The exciting Bulles Bio (41 producers) brings together a group of vignerons who use no pesticides or chemical treatments. Instead, they treat their vines with plant or animal products as required. Some of this group are also certified biodynamic and/or organic. Les Mains du Terroir gather in the beautiful Hôtel de Ville, where the richness and diversity of many fine producers Coessens, Dethune, Vazart-Coquart, Eric Rodez, Penet-Chardonnet and more can be explored.
Do look out for that doyen of 'terroirists', Geoffrey Orban, whose writings detail the geological and topographical history of the many types of terroir to be found in Champagne. He always has something interesting on display.
I found my friends, Martine and Michel Loriot (Apollonis Champagne), at the Cercle Colbert at the end of the day.
Terres & Vins de Champagne, formerly Terroirs & Talents de Champagne, base themselves in the beautiful Palais de Tau near the famous Cathedral. So many amazing wines! Pascal Agrapart at Agrapart & Fils (Avize) displayed very accomplished expressions of Grand Cru terroir, flavourful interpretations from Françoise Bedel and her son Vincent Desaubeau (Crouttes-sur-Marne) in the far west of the Marne Valley, skilled Raphaël Bérèche at Bérèche & Fils (Ludes), Francis Boulard and his daughter Delphine (although found in Cauroy-les-Hermonville, they draw their grapes from three hectares of diverse small parcels), Emmanuel Brochet, Alexandre Chartogne at Chartogne-Taillet (Merfy), Vincent Couche (Gyé-sur-Seine, also some interesting parcels from Buxeuil and Montgueux and well-recognised in the French press), Dominique Moreau from Champagne Marie Courtin in the Aube, Pascal Doquet (Vertus), Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy (Cumières), Étienne Goutorbe from Henri Goutorbe, Olivier Horiot (Les Riceys) was an opportunity to taste some delicious Côteaux, pure and incisive champagnes from Cyril Jeauneaux at Jeaunaux-Robin (Talus St. Prix in the Val du Petit Morin on the Sézannais border), Benoît Lahaye (delectable Ambonnay and Tauxières-Mutry), Aurélien Laherte at Laherte Frères (Coteaux Sud d'Épernay) with 76 parcels of vines in 10 villages endow their champagnes with appealing layered complexity, Vincent Laval (Cumières), David Léclapart (Trépail) was divinely aromatic, highly sought after champagne from Marie-Noëlle Ledru (Ambonnay), Franck Pascal (an organic grower in Baslieux-sur-Chatillon on the Marne's right bank), Olivier Paulet at Hubert Paulet (Rilly-la-Montagne), Fabrice Pouillon at Pouillon & Fils (Mareuil-sur-Aÿ), rising star Aurélien Suenen with some vines in Cramant and – finally - dynamic Benoît Tarlant (Oeuilly). Each producer offers champagnes that are more than worthy of your keen interest, served in fine glassware. There are pop-up yummies in the front courtyard for lunch. Seriously, this group is unmissable.
On Monday evening, Le Wine Bar, 16 Place du Forum in Reims, with its wonderfully long list of champagnes and numbers by the glass, home-away-from-home for so many of us, opens its doors to crowds of growers, many of whom are not part of Printemps. Tastes and glasses are pressed upon you, as are tasty morsels. It was here that I tasted the beautiful and newly released Chardonnay, Le Champs Rénard, from Champagne Jacques Picard at Berru.
Another favourite and long-established group is Les Artisans du Champagne. Their tasting is held in the beautifully appointed restaurant area of Domaine Les Crayères overlooking the wonderful gardens. Which Récoltant-Manipulants show champagne that is ‘authentic, thoroughly truthful and free of artifice? Nicolas Maillart and Daniel Savart (both from Éceuil), Pierre Paillard (Bouzy), Jean-Paul Hebrart (Aÿ), Huré Frères (Ludes), Pierre Gerbais (Celles-sur-Ource), Doyard (Vertus), Arnaud Margaine (Villers-Marmery), excellent Vilmart (Rilly-la-Montagne), Domaine Lancelot Pienne (Cramant), Jérôme Dehours, Meunier wizard from Cerseuil/ Mareuil-Le-Port, Fleury (Courteron) whose champagnes have developed over the years into seductive drinks of great elegance and character, always delicious Rodolphe Péters of Pierre Péters (Le Mesnil) and Gonet-Medeville (Ludes). What a feast! Charcuterie and cheeses are also on offer.
And what a shame that I couldn’t spend time with the brilliant growers of Les Origines, La Transmission – Femmes en Champagne and the other several groups. Only Saturday left a tiny window for a quick trip to the Secraie des Vignerons du Sézannais, where I took notes on new growers with a view to checking their development for next year. Sigh! Over and out until next year!
Les Printemps des Champagnes is held each year around the middle of April and is open to trade only. For more information, visit: www.printemps-des-champagnes.com
