La Pythie is indeed a barrel of Pinot Meunier taille from Rue de Noyers. Sometimes it could go into the Rue de Noyers blend, but in years where it is very distinct and possibly hard to blend, it gets consideration for its own bottling. 2012 is the only release to date and 2016 will be released soon. ~300 bottles (1 barrel) are made for each vintage.
The three rootstock wines are very interesting. They do indeed all taste different, but I also wonder if it is not only the rootstock, but the section of the parcel that they are planted in. The soil and exposition is slightly different across the vineyard. Essentially, you can divide the Rue des Noyers vineyard up into a northern, eastern, and western section and I believe each of these sections is planted to one of the three rootstocks (41B, SO4, 161/49). I can’t recall which rootstock matches to each section, but they are very different. I find the western side of the vineyard to be fruity, the eastern side full of green apple and minerality, and the northern section to be a mix of each. Like the Pythie, the quantities are going to be a barrel of each so 300 bottles of each. They will be sold as a box set.
We went over the wines very quickly during the visit and it would have been nice to spend more time on them, but we ran out of time and Benoit was going to run out of battery.
I also found it interesting that he uses the cellar/winery yeast for his fermentation. A lot of folks will bring in a native yeast from one of their plots and use it, but they rarely actually check to see if it is really doing the work. What happens in many cases is that the cellar/winery yeast takes control and does most of the work, but no one ever checks so the native yeast selected from the vineyard gets credit it doesn’t deserve. To get native yeasts that you select to actually do the work takes quite a bit of research/trial/error. Benoit just lets the winery do its thing unless he needs a kickstarter like he mentioned he needed in 2017 when he used an commercial organic yeast. It was refershing to hear him talk about this. No BS - just honesty, passion, and hard work.
Thanks all for attending, I hope you all learned something.
Appreciate all the energy and effort from Brad, Todd and Frank for making this happen as well as Benoit`s. I found the rose for $128 from Vinopolis, as Frank stated, and see that is made in the saignee method FWIIW which if mentioned on the Zoom call, I missed.
Also, for anyone who is interested and want to know more as I have, here’s some info re Coteaux Champenois
https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-coteaux+champenois
Blake,
Benoit’s Rose is actually done via the maceration method. I know that lots of folks use maceration and saignee interchangeably for Champagne to let people know that it isn’t a blended Rose, but this is why Benoit consistently pointed out that he makes a Rose of maceration.
Brad, I failed to search further beyond the name which was shown as BENOIT DEHU ROSE DE SAIGNEE NV (2015). I just now read Galloni`s writeup which states the maceration process- thanks for clarifying it.
"92 POINTS ANTONIO GALLONI “Déhu’s NV (2015) Extra Brut Rosé Saignée de Cuvée La Rue des Noyers is a stunning wine. Deep, powerful and structured, the Rose exudes class from start to finish. There is a real sense of gravitas that runs through the Rosé. Blood orange, rose petal, star anise and cinnamon add a distinctly exotic quality. This release is 100% Meunier from the 2015 vintage, macerated on the skins for eight hours, and bottled with no dosage. The slightly savory quality that is found in so many 2015-base Champagnes is present, but not overwhelming. Disgorged: February 28, 2018.”
Winery note “82% Pinot Meunier, 18% Chardonnay + 17% red wine (mainly Pinot Meunier); aged for three years on the lees. On the palate, it is an explosion of crushed raspberry, wild strawberry and fresh mango. It is broad in the mouth and surprisingly smooth and fresh. As it warms, its aromas open into notes of pear and quince.”
Another incredible session, and I am amazed by the fact that Benoit uses his own oak from his own forest for his barrels!
I completely agree Todd. Talk about terroir. From a vibration/ frequency standpoint, he really keeps it all in the same vacuum.
Good stuff, guys. I applaud your efforts to communicate Benoît’s vision/work to a broader audience, as more mainstream recognition is quite merited.
As one of his chosen US importers, it miffs me as usual that the gray marketers are the ones being directly promoted here, but c’est la vie.
Fwiw, I have all of his new releases in stock. '15 Orme, '15 Rue de Noyers, and '17 Initiation.
They’re plain terrific.
Santé
