R. Pouillon & Fils Champagne Extra Brut Methode Fabrice Pouillon Chemin du Bois 2018 750ml

Pouillon’s 2018 Blanc de Noirs Mareuil-sur-Aÿ Chemin du Bois is sourced from a single parcel of old massal-selection Pinot Noir planted in 1962 at the bottom of the slope in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, where approximately 60 centimeters of clay overlay chalk. Disgorged in October 2024 with a dosage of three grams per liter, it is vinified without sulfites, and its second fermentation is initiated by a liqueur de tirage composed of the same vineyard and vintage juice and yeast from his own vineyards propagated in laboratory. It offers up discreetly high-toned aromas of red apple, toasted nuts, acacia honey and clementine zest. Medium- to full-bodied, broad and demonstrative, it features ripe yet vibrant acidity and finishes long with assertive phenolic grip. Slightly more precocious than its peers, this cuvée is best approached in its youth.

This is Fabrice's most daring wine. Conceived as a Champagne that shows how farming can affect ripeness and ultimately influence the Champagne Method, which is highly interventionist, this Champagne is made only with grapes and grape sugar without any other sugar added. It is legal to add sugar in three steps in making Champagne: chaptalization, prise de mousse, and dosage. Fabrice sources this 100% pinot noir from a single parcel in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ called "Chemin du Bois." Here, he can achieve 12° Baumé at harvest. He then separates 15% of the pressed juice and holds it in steel until spring. The rest is fermented in neutral barrels with ambient yeast. After 12 months he blends the vin claire with the grape juice and the fermentation starts again with ambient yeast. When the remaining sugar reaches 24 grams/Liter, he bottles the wine under cork for the secondary fermentation. If dosage is used, it is made with grape juice. There is no other Champagne like this one.