THE WINERY: Born in Champagne in a grower’s family, Juliette Alips rapidly found her passion. With the mentorship of her close cousins, Raphaël and Vincent Bérêche, she discovered and learned all the ins and outs of producing champagne, from farming, to vinification, tasting and blending. Now, with the help of her two cousins, she is starting this new adventure with Domaine Les Monts Fournois. Located in the north part of the Montagne de Reims, in the sub-area called La Grande Montagne, the Premier Cru Les Monts Fournois will be the focus of the domaine.

THE WINE: Le Domaine les Monts Fournois is presenting here this cuvée after a rigorous and precise search for the best terroirs of Premier and Grand Crus in Champagne. With these wines we would like to highlight the real expression of a terroir, a varietal and a vintage. These Crus have been sélectionnés by Juliette Alips and her cousins Raphaël & Vincent Bérêche.

The Verzy Grand Cru is located on the slope of the Montagne de Reims, Southeast of the town of Reims. Most of the vineyards are on north-facing slopes and are planted mainly to Pinot Noir. Verzy was promoted from Premier Cru to Grand Cru in 1985 alongside Chouilly, Oiry, Oger, and Le Mesnil sur-Oger.

Rather late harvest, but good quality. The grapes were picked in October. 2013 confirms the idea that great vintages are born in October.

After Juliette and her cousins select the cuvée by blind tasting with a broker, the family will purchase the entire lot of Champagne from the producer. Juliette will then proceed with a series of disgorgement and liqueur de tirage trials in the cellar using Rectified Concentrated Must (RCM) for its homogenous and neutral flavors, in order to highlight the terroir. Once the dosage has been made, the samples will return to the cellar for 6 months before being released to the market.

The fruit is omnipresent, with fine notes of wild strawberry and blackcurrant. The Pinots are fully mature, which is reflected in their incomparable richness of fruit. The 2013 print brings its autumnal universe with a hint of straw. The palate continues with notes of blood orange and even pepper, delivering the freshness that is the signature of the Verzy terroir in this 2013 vintage. The length on the palate confirms the exceptional terroir and vintage of this Verzy 2013. The balance is greedy and intense.