Champagne Dhondt-Grellet Les Terres Fines 1er Cru
Vineyards
Flavigny, Champagne
Adrien Dhondt uses organic & biodynamic practices. Enriching his soils with homemade compost and, as of Spring 2021, ploughing each plot with his horse, Thor. His philosophy is to have a living soil with a healthy balance between microbial life and the vine. He does a lot of manual work on the vines: He prunes short and debuts severely to limit yields and produce ripe, concentrated fruit at harvest time. He often cites inspiration from great Burgundy estates by practising plot selection.
Winemaking and Maturation
In the cellar, Dhondt has moved almost completely to barrel fermentation with ambient yeasts, filling his fûts after a very short six hours’ settling (or débourbage) and adding minimal sulfur. The vins clairs spend eight months on the lees before tirage without cold stabilization, filtering or fining.
During those eight months of élevage, the wines are topped up when Dhondt deems it is appropriate judicious, “about every month and a half, I’d say, but I decide whether to top up—and whether to perform bâtonnage—by tasting.”
Again, the influence of Burgundy is evident in the texture and vinosity. Adrien cites Coche-Dury, Vincent Dancer, and Jean-Yves Bizot as among his inspirations.
Tasting Notes
100% Chardonnay from a number of small parcels scattered around the villages of Cuis and Chouilly. It is vinified in stainless steel and is 70% of the base vintage, with the remainder being a perpetual reserve that started in 1986. Dosage is under 1g/l. It’s his most fine-boned cuvée.
Technical Details
CUVÉE: Les Terres Fines 1er Cru Extra Brut
SOIL: Clay and limestone soils over a chalk subsoil.
BLEND: 100% Chardonnay,
DOSAGE REGIME: 1g/L
