Guy Charlemagne & Louise Brison 

     Close your eyes, count to Champagne and you might picture two figures right away: Dom Perignon and Veuve Clicquot. You could call them the First Couple of Bubbly or whatever, except for the fact that they were born a century apart, never met, and are both framed for posterity by honorifics outlining solitude.

     Dom Pierre Perignon is of course the 17th century Benedictine monk and winemaker famously - and falsely - celebrated for inventing sparkling wine as we know it. You may recognize him from the prestige bottling that bears his name, or the statue of his likeness that graces the entrance to Moet & Chandon, the largest Champagne house in the world. 

     Veuve (Widow) Clicquot, is the namesake of the 2nd largest Champagne house in the world - hardly unheralded - but the contrast with #1’s mascot here is instructive. The woman born Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin is known to the world by two titles detailing her relationship to a man, despite the fact that he died at 30 and never made wine. She actually played a role in all the Champagne innovations for which she is credited, such as the creation of vintage and rosé champagne and the invention of the ubiquitous riddling process, by which sediment is removed from champagne before disgorgement.

     Which is to say: Dom Perignon undoubtedly made important contributions to codification of Champagne, but it is impossible to imagine wine full stop as we know it today without the efforts of the woman whose full name I just had to look up. Obviously not shocking or unusual in the wine world or anywhere else, but I mention it because when people (rightly) herald the increased presence and visibility of women in vineyards and cellars, it’s important to remember they aren’t so much registering a change in terms of who does the work as the recognition of a long standing reality. Our bi-monthly schedule means we missed Women’s History Month in March, so here in April we have two great selections made by women that toast this essential fact. 

     In the tiny village of Le Mesnil sur Oger, in the heart of the Cotes de Blancs, alongside such famous names as Salon and Delamotte, the small family operation called Guy Charlemagne has been operating in some form since 1892, passed down father to son until Phillipe Charlemange handed over the reins to his daughters Maree and Justine, who now handle the winemaking and sales and marketing, respectively. The sisters have taken a measured approach to change since taking over, which is understandable given the quality of the operation they have inherited: 15 hectares of mostly Grand Cru vines, 87% of which are planted to Chardonnay averaging 42 years of age. The chalky terroir of Côte des Blancs is particularly well-suited to the cultivation of the Chardonnay, as the Blanc de Blancs Brut Reserve bottling we are featuring here illustrates in spades. 

     Starting in 1910, before the appellation system, before mechanization, and before the possibility of easy travel, Louise Brison eked out a modest living from a few hectares of vines in her home village of Noe-les-Mallets in the Cote des Bar. Her daughter Antoinette and her husband Germain Brulez took over in the 1950s, expanding the estate. Francis Brulez, their son, replanted many parcels and laid the foundation for today's style. He made the champagnes internationally famous and created an impressive treasure trove of matured vintages. In 2006, his daughter Delphine took over and led the winery towards organic cultivation with biodynamic elements. Louise's tenacity definitely lives on in Delphine, who produces astonishingly vibrant wines with a total absence of ornamentation. All her Champagnes are single-vintage and zero dosage, and she ages all her vin clair in used barrels for nine months before bottling for secondary fermentation. Delphine has no patience for the fanciful nomenclature either, so all her cuvees come with straightforward names: "Chardonnay de la Cote des Bar”, rather than “Blanc de Blancs”, for example, which is the one we have this month. 

Sante!

 The PlumpJack Wine Team