NV Yann Alexandre Brut Noir, Champagne – buy online

WHO?

Yann Alexandre is the eighth generation of his family to grow vines in the Petite Montagne de Reims, the third to make Champagne there. He and his wife, Séverine, share a passion for horticulture that directly informs their viticulture. Their moto is to grow the vineyard like a garden..

WHERE?

In Courmas, 180-inhabitant village, 10 km (6 miles) southwest from Reims ,Yann has 14 parcels, predominantly planted to meunier. Courmas takes its place within the Montagne de Reims, a sweep of low plateau. It  belongs to the Petite Montagne, separated from the Grand Montagne by a main north-south road, the name a reference to the rather lower elevation of the vineyards here. The Alexandre vineyards span 6.3 hectares of parcels with varying soil compositions all carefully matched to their varieties: 55% meunier, 30% chardonnay, 15% pinot noir. The primarily southwest-facing hillside sites encompass yellow tuffe, white marl, calcareous clay, white stone (“pierreux”) with flint.

WHY?

This is Yann’s extended-aging cuvée, receiving an additional year en tirage than the Brut Noir and zero dosage. The blend is composed of the same 50% pinot meunier, 35% chardonnay and 15% pinot noir from 20 different organically farmed plots spread across the communes of Courmas, Bouilly, Merfy, Chenay and Saint-Lumier-en-Champagne, all in the Montagne de Reims.