2015 | Dhondt-Grellet | Le Bateau

The elegant ‘Le Bateau’ 2015 is a blanc de blancs with notes of lime zest, fresh peaches, mint, vanilla and brioche. The wine is characterized by purity and defined structure.

Producer Information

Dhondt-Grellet is a small grower Champagne house. It was founded in 1986 when Eric Dhondt and Edith Grellet stopped selling grapes to negociants and began bottling their own wines. Their son Adrien has taken over the winemaking. There are holdings in Sézanne (the Côte de Sézanne is effectively a continuation of the Côte de Blancs), Cuis in the Côtes de Blancs heartland, and Avenay Val D'Or in the Marne Valley. In all there are about 6 hectares (15 acres) of vines. Adrien has increased the range of Champagnes by adding location-specific cuvées. That said, Dans Un Premier Temps is a Brut cuvée made from fruit from all three villages with which Adrien farms. It features 50 percent Chardonnay from Sézanne, 30 percent Pinot Noir from Avenay Val d'Or, and 20 percent old vine Pinot Meunier from Cuis. The base vintage accounts for 70 percent of the blend; reserve wines are in a solera arrangement going back to 1986 and the first vintage. Dosage is 6 Les Terres Fines Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs is made from nine different plots in Cuis with an average age of 45. The proportion of base wine to reserve is the same as for Dans Un Premier Temps. There is zero dosage. The Cramant NV is 100 percent Grand Cru Chardonnay. Dosage is 3 to 4 grams per liter. The base wines are vinified in stainless steel but plans are afoot to move to barrel fermentation for this cuvée. This wine replaced the Prestige du Moulin Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs which combined Cramant and Chouilly fruit. Les Nogers is a vintage wine which replaced the Vieilles Vignes Selectionées, starting with the 2012. The vines in Dhondt-Grellet's section of the Les Nogers are over 50 years old. The vineyard lies on the same hill as Cramant's Le Bateau (see below), but over the border in Cuis. The latter is one of the best sites Grand Cru in Cramant. Dhondt-Grellet's Le Bateau cuvée comes from vines planted in 1951 by Adrien's grandfather, and are the oldest in the estate. Le Bateau's base wine is oak fermented with indigenous yeasts. It spends 8 months on lees in barrel; there is no fining, filtration or cold stablization. The bottles spend 3-4 years on their sides after the second fermentation is started, and a further year after disgorgement. Dosage is ess than 3 grams per liter, and zero in some years.

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