2015 Remi Leroy - Champagne Blanc de Quatre Cepages Mer Sur Mont Extra Brut (750ml)

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Two hours south of Reims by car, the Aube has become a transformative region for Champagne. A younger generation of growers are showing just how much finesse can be coaxed from these Kimmeridgian soils, invigorating the region with a new sense of awe with what’s possible in the outer limits of Champagne.

Remi Leroy’s up-and-coming estate is based in Meurville, with a majority of his vines in that same village. His 9.5ha of vines also reach into the neighboring villages of Fontaine and Bergères. Laser-focused on quality, Remi chooses to sell off around half of his fruit each year to négociants in order to leave only the finest fruit for his personal estate.

He began a solera of reserve wine (key to both depth and consistency for any champagne producer across vintages) in 2009. Remi vinifies in a mixture of stainless steel or old barrels purchased from Hubert Lamy or Thomas Pico (of Pattes Loup, in Chablis).

This old vine cuvee is a very special one among Remi’s offerings, from a single 1.03ha plateau in Meurville on Portlandian soils. Literally named 'The Sea on the Slope', the wine hails from limestone soils. Not unlike in Chablis, Kimmeridgian limestone gets the marquee treatment, whereas younger Portlandian soils are forever playing second fiddle—but there are a great deal of exquisite Petit Chablis growing in Portlandian soils! Mer Sur Mont comes from incredibly poor Portlandian soils atop a hillside, from old vines planted in 1960; massale selections of Pinot Noir (60%), Meunier (20%) Chardonnay (15%) and Pinot Blanc (5%) that ferment in wood and age 6 years under cork before disgorgement.