Champagne Pommery is celebrating 150 years since the release of its first ‘brut’ champagne. Madame Nathalie Vranken flew into Sydney recently, for the occasion, and hosted a gala dinner with two new cuvées. They pay homage to Pommery's brut style, its allegiance to chardonnay and gastronomy.
It’s been 150 years since Madame Louise Pommery launched the Maison’s first ‘brut’ champagne. The matriarch, one of the pioneering ‘iron ladies’ famed for propelling the industry forward during difficult times, was a revolutionary. Her idea for a dryer style of champagne, forever changed the archetype of champagne wines, and forged new markets broad.
To celebrate the anniversary, Vranken-Pommery Australia hosted a gala dinner at the newly opened Canvas restaurant located at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney with guest chef, Josh Raine, at the helm. Pommery’s co-owner, Madame Nathalie Vranken, flew in for the occasion, also releasing two new cuvées.
Pommery Apanage 1874 is a new release champagne
Apanage 1874, an uncommon wine of depth and breadth, that Mme Vranken says will be released, from time-to-time, under a new iteration.
On arrival, guests were served ‘Cuvée 150’, a new Blanc de Blancs NV, and then ‘Apanage 1874’ during dinner alongside coral trout dressed in a sauce of Apanage 1874, lemon myrtle and velouté. It was heaven.
The two champagnes were not originally planned for release in parallel but Mme Vranken says that they liked both so much that it made sense to enhance the moment with the duo. Both champagnes go back to the roots of the Maison, emphasising the brut style, but also its close association with chardonnay, the ‘blend’ and gastronomy.
The Cuvée 150 is a real stand-out for its surprising structure but also finesse. Mme Vranken says that it was a project imagined by her current chef de caves, Clémont Perlot, with grapes coming from 10 crus belonging to the historic terroir of the Maison. Clémont looked back at the Maison’s archives to source fruit from warmer areas including the famed Clos Pompadour. Riper fruit sources were then contrasted with cooler areas such as Verzy and Verzenay to add ‘raciness’ and a strong structural backbone. Based on the 2016 vintage, it spent six years on lees before disgorgement.
“When we started to think about how we were going to celebrate, Clémont had his own reflection. He wanted to do something in a different direction,” she says.
This is a distinctly structured blanc de blancs with broad shoulders. It brings a great deal of riper fruit character like nectarine and apricot but also blood orange. Let it unfurl in your glass and you’ll discover ginger spice. There’s a racy edge and a lot of tension, with a finish that is long and assertive.
The Cuvée 150 is the first time that Pommery has captured a cuvée in a clear bottle, which is remarkably beautiful against the ‘Pommery blue’ label. It’s also limited to just 10,000 bottles.
Cuvée 150 is a real stand-out for its surprising structure but also finesse
Mme Vranken says that it was a project imagined by her current chef de caves, Clémont Perlot, with grapes sourced from 10 crus belonging to the historic terroir of the Maison.
The diamond in the crown was Apanage 1874, an uncommon wine of depth and breadth that Mme Vranken says will be released, from time-to-time, under a new iteration.
“It will be a champagne version of the Pommery ‘Expérience’,” she says, referring to the Maison’s ‘Expérience Pommery’ – an annual exhibition supporting the arts and a visitor attraction located in the Gallo-Roman cellars of the Domaine in Reims.
“This champagne is like a big ‘hug’,” she says about its generosity and warmth. “It’s like, we’re saying ‘thank you champagne for this experience’ because it’s so fruity but also fresh and easy to drink.”
Apanage 1874 is a nod to Pommery's tradition of blending a perpetual reserve with vintage years. In this case, 16% of perpetual reserve has been added to a blend of warmer years; 2012, 2015 and 2018, to make 'something deep and complex'. Fruit has been sourced from 17 crus, primarily Cramant to Bergères les Vertus (Côte des Blancs), Bouzy to Ecueil via Verzenay (Montagne de Reims), Mareuil-sur-Aÿ to Fleury-la-Rivière via Aÿ-Champagne (Vallée de la Marne) and Les Clos Pompadour.
The blend is 40% chardonnay and 45% pinot noir, with 5% meunier. Time on lees occurred over 48 months and dosage was a sensible 8g/L.
Apanage 1874 is an immediately pleasing and delicious champagne noted for its slick of melted butter, great texture and sensuality. It’s not at all yeasty or overly made, rather it sits in a sweet spot for enjoying now. The length is stretched far concluding with a pinot-dominant finish.
“The most impressive thing for me is that it stays in your mouth,” says Mme Vranken. “I really believe that this is a tribute to everyone who loves champagne. It’s a gift.”
Pommery’s Cuvée 150 is available at Vintage Cellars (only 800 have landed in Australia) for RRP $329. Apanage 1874 is available at selected restaurants, David Jones and Prince Wine Store for RRP $165.
