Domaine Les Monts Fournois
Côte Cramant Grand Cru Chardonnay
Champagne, France
@Delectable Wine : This is Domaine Les Monts Fournois’s Vallée 75 Mois de Cave - Premier Cru NV de Luxe. I didn’t see it in the database.
From winemaker Juliette Alips (Louis Latour, GD Vajra, Louis Roederer), cousin of the Bereche brothers (who are helping consult).
I love any and all things by Bereche, so when this new producer became available to try, I bought this as well as the vintage Grand Cru Cramant (which I posted a month or two ago).
As the name suggests, this receives 75 months on the lees. Base 2015, disgorged Sept ‘22. Blend of Pinot Noir (70%), Chardonnay (20%), and Pinot Meunier (10%). What I enjoyed about this over the Cramant was how Bereche-like it was. Powerful, beautifully ripe, textural as expected from the extended lees contact. Spiced golden apple, Mirabelle, layers of ripe and exotic yellow fruit before channeling the darker red berry fruit. Kiss of toast and sea spray at the finish. Wears its 5.5g/l dosage really well. I enjoyed this quite a bit. 93+
@Delectable Wine : This is Domaine Les Monts Fournois’s Vallée 75 Mois de Cave - Premier Cru NV de Luxe. I didn’t see it in the database.
From winemaker Juliette Alips (Louis Latour, GD Vajra, Louis Roederer), cousin of the Bereche brothers (who are helping consult).
I love any and all things by Bereche, so when this new producer became available to try, I bought this as well as the vintage Grand Cru Cramant (which I posted a month or two ago).
As the name suggests, this receives 75 months on the lees. Base 2015, disgorged Sept ‘22. Blend of Pinot Noir (70%), Chardonnay (20%), and Pinot Meunier (10%). What I enjoyed about this over the Cramant was how Bereche-like it was. Powerful, beautifully ripe, textural as expected from the extended lees contact. Spiced golden apple, Mirabelle, layers of ripe and exotic yellow fruit before channeling the darker red berry fruit. Kiss of toast and sea spray at the finish. Wears its 5.5g/l dosage really well. I enjoyed this quite a bit. 93+
@Delectable Wine : This is a new producer, Domaine Les Monts Fournois, and the cuvée is the “Cote” Cramant Grand Cru.
Had the opportunity to purchase a bottle from this new producer. For context, Juliette had the mentorship of her close cousins, Raphaël and Vincent Bérêche, when beginning this project. Her previous experience was with producers like Louis Latour, G.D. Vajra and Louis Roederer Champagne.
Consumed half from bottle over the course of two hours, then corked and consumed the rest later in the evening.
2015 was the first vintage, so this is second release. Would have loved to try this side by side with Bereche’s Cramant offering. Naturally I wanted to find a Bereche vibe to this, yet this was mostly its own style. For the first half, this was fairly gnarly. Not ripping acid, but not for the faint of heart either. Bright lemon zest, sea spray, faint orchard fruit, and white flowers. As it warms, it’s expansive and powerful on the palate. Limestone, minerals, lemon confit too. When I revisited later in the evening after setting aside for a few hours, it channeled a Bereche flair with a deeper/more rich mid-palate with gold/yellow fruit, and spiced cider. Very intriguing. Obviously young, this producer is worth following.
@Delectable Wine : This is a new producer, Domaine Les Monts Fournois, and the cuvée is the “Cote” Cramant Grand Cru.
Had the opportunity to purchase a bottle from this new producer. For context, Juliette had the mentorship of her close cousins, Raphaël and Vincent Bérêche, when beginning this project. Her previous experience was with producers like Louis Latour, G.D. Vajra and Louis Roederer Champagne.
Consumed half from bottle over the course of two hours, then corked and consumed the rest later in the evening.
2015 was the first vintage, so this is second release. Would have loved to try this side by side with Bereche’s Cramant offering. Naturally I wanted to find a Bereche vibe to this, yet this was mostly its own style. For the first half, this was fairly gnarly. Not ripping acid, but not for the faint of heart either. Bright lemon zest, sea spray, faint orchard fruit, and white flowers. As it warms, it’s expansive and powerful on the palate. Limestone, minerals, lemon confit too. When I revisited later in the evening after setting aside for a few hours, it channeled a Bereche flair with a deeper/more rich mid-palate with gold/yellow fruit, and spiced cider. Very intriguing. Obviously young, this producer is worth following.