& Frere

Whilst selecting the bottles for this month, I noticed we’d been featuring a lot of Meunier dominant bubbly lately. So for October we are instead celebrating Chardonnay, with one 100% Chardonnay  Blanc de Blancs bottling, and another Chard dominant blend. Both, as is so often the case in Champagne, are the products of long extant family labels; a set of brothers in each case here, ably stewarding - or reviving -  their inheritance(s) into heirlooms we can all  enjoy for generations to come. 

The first, Veuve Fourny et Fils, has  been a family domain since 1856. The estate is located in the prestigious Côte des Blancs, in the premier cru village of Vertus, an appellation that gives them the rare opportunity to grow Pinot Noir as well as Chardonnay. Brothers Charles-Henry and Emmanuel Fourny sustainably farm nearly nine hectares of vineyards and have been carrying on the family winegrowing tradition since 1993. 

Veuve Fourny produces classic grower Champagne, raising pedigreed fruit, adhering to high standards, and hand-crafting wines that showcase the chalky terroir of Vertus. All of the Fournys’ vineyards are farmed according to the same meticulous practices and principles, and each parcel is vinified individually. The Brut ages in their cellars for two and a half years before release, the vintage Champagne for five years, and the Clos for nine years. The house style at Veuve Fourny is best characterized as classic Côte des Blancs: a fine bead, rich, deep aromatics, and a complex minerality emphasizing freshness and purity. The Fournys believe in minimal dosage for all of their Champagnes, preferring to let the individual terroirs express themselves more clearly. This technique, in addition to their dedication to partial malolactic fermentations in their overall blends, impeccable vineyard management, and their decision to age most base wine partially in barrel, all contribute to their unique style.

As for Tellier, although the family’s history as vineyard owners dates back to 1938, it was only in 2016 that brothers Quentin and Alexandre took 3 hectares of family vines to vinify their own micro cuvées. They are emblematic of the new wave of young vignerons transforming the model of the family business from the traditional focus of growing grapes for large brand producers to one more terroir based, or as the Tellier’s prefer to call it, Vigneron Paysan (Peasant Winegrower). Located in the Côteaux sud d’Epernay in the village of Moussy, their vineyard parcels are located primarily in two zones with different soil profiles and thus different varietals. Moussy & Pierry are Pinot Meunier dominant villages with (59%) followed by Chardonnay (35%) and Pinot Noir (6%). Chavot, Fontaine-sur-Ay & Cramant are villages where Chardonnay is king due to the relatively shallow clay surface over a similar chalky limestone bedrock. Our selection this month, the Les Massales Extra Brut 2022, a Chard/Meunier/Pinot Noir blend taken from all their holdings, represents the best of both worlds. 

Cheers, 

The PlumpJack Wine Team