Champagne "Base" Brut Nature Grand Cru 2016 - Benoit Munier (BD & vin nature)

The 'basic' cuvée of Benoit Munier. Which then has absolutely nothing basic about it. Disgorged as Zero dossage Brut Nature. Intense, with aromas of ripe pear and grapefruit and toast. Lively with a delicious soft mousse and a very long mineral finish. Brut Nature Grand Cru of 60% 2016 harvest and 40% (!) vin de réserve.

Country / Region: France / Côtes des Blancs (Champagne)
Grape variety(ies): 100 % Chardonnay
In the vineyard: Manual harvest. Terroir composed of chalk and limestone. 60% harvest from 2016, 40% vin de reserve. Organic farming.
In the cellar: Spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel. Zero dossage. Tirage April 2017. Disgorgement in December 2021. Without addition of sulphites.
Quality mark: vin nature

In Cuis, a Grand Cru village in the Côte des Blancs, Benoit produces beautiful champagnes on a modest 1.6 HA. Like many others in the Champagne region, the house was created through years of investing in small micro-parcels. In 1930, Benoit's great-grandfather Constant Gendron bought a small piece of land in Bouzy, a region where only Pinot Noir is actually grown. Nevertheless, Contstance decided to work with Chardonnay. The vines are passed on from generation to generation. While the family mainly works in large Champagne houses, the weekends are filled with working in their own orchards and purchasing new gems in the Côte des Blancs, on the various terroirs of Cramant, Avize, Chouilly, Oger and Cuis.

Benoit grew up in this winemaking environment. September was not the end of the summer holidays but rather the beginning of the harvest season.
After a few years of internship with a winegrower in Cramant and obtaining a number of wine diplomas, he started his own business and worked on the land of various wine producers. In the late 90s, only 20 years old, he took over the family home, then 1.15 HA, and decided not to just sell his grapes to large wineries anymore but to actually produce real Champagnes himself.

In 2011, his wife Séverine came to live with Benoit on the farm where she focused on the commercial and administrative side of the business. Together, they managed to expand the business in a short time to an organized and progressive company, belonging to the top of Champagne.

Since 2014, the Champagne House has abandoned conventional wine growing methods. As much as possible organic, for the benefit of the development of nature and vines, Benoit continues, with each vintage, new improvements, both in the cellar and in the vineyards. With as little sulphites as possible, without clarifications or filtration. And that with the designation Grand Cru.