Champagne Bourdaire-Gallois Extra Brut NV

Alcohol: 12%

Grape(s): Pinot Meunier

Localization: Champagne, France

Tasting Notes: The result is a novel Champagne graced with accents of apple and breadcrumbs.

Description: The Brut NV is 100% Pinot Meunier harvested from six different parcels.  After a slow and gentle pressing in a traditional Coquard vertical press, the juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks. It undergoes malolactic fermentation and then rests “sur lattes” for a minimum of 18 months. The Champagne is finished with a dosage of 0g/l.

The Domain: David Bourdaire farms 8 hectares situated in and around the village of Pouillon. Pouillon is one of a dozen, or so villages in the Massif Saint-Thierry, a group of undulating hills and forests that slope off toward the vast plain, northwest of the city of Reims. This Massif is the northernmost part of the Champagne appellation and is home to some 900 hectares of vineyards which are spread throughout the dozen villages. Due to the challenging climate, it is the late budding Pinot Meunier that is the favored grape type. The soils have a large portion of sandy clays which offer a distinguishing expression to the area’s champagnes.

David’s family began estate bottling their champagnes in 2001 when they left the coop that David’s grandfather founded in 1951. The vineyard is comprised of 85% Pinot Meunier, 10% Chardonnay, and 5% Pinot Noir. The vines have an average age of 43 years with a few rows of Chardonnay planted at 11,000 plants per hectare that date back to 1923.  David farms organically and is in conversion to obtaining certification. The vineyard is planted on low-yielding rootstocks and David cultivates natural grasses between the vine rows to further limit yields. He vinifies each parcel separately according to the specific rootstock “Porte-greffe”.  After years of adjusting the dosage level with each disgorgement, David has settled on finishing all of his Champagnes with a dosage of 0g/l.