DOYARD 'CUVEE VENDEMIAIRE' BRUT CHAMPAGNE NV

"Charles Doyard started working full-time with his father Yannick in 2006, who himself began making wine in 1979. Today he farms old vine sites in the finest terroir of the Côtes des Blancs: Vertus, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Avize and Cramant. A traditionalist at heart, much of the Doyard philosophy reaches into the past for inspiration. The wines are bottled at lower pressure (4-5 atmospheres, instead of the 6 atmospheres that is the norm today) and all have incredibly long lees aging, giving the wines an extraordinary level of depth and finesse. The other nod to the past is the non-interventionist approach the family has always used. “We want to let our old vines and nature express themselves and intervene as little as possible.” says Doyard. Since 2007, zero new wood is used (3-5 years old), there is no filtration, very low doses of SO2, and he has stopped using cold-stabilization - preferring instead to simply leave the wines in the coldest portion of his cellar to allow them to precipitate naturally. The combination of long lees aging, incredible terroir, organic viticulture, and fair prices, make it clear why Doyard has achieved cult status. This is the kind of Grower Champagne that brings you to your knees, with its ability to maintain such weightless intensity. These are pure, mineral driven, fiercely elegant Champagne.”