From our Importer: Brochet’s champagnes are sleek and finely-poised, showing a vinosity and ripeness derived from viticulture while maintaining a delicate freshness and balanced weight. They are marked by a distinctive minerality, one influenced by chalk yet somehow broader and earthier, more akin to the minerality found in the wines of Jérôme Prévost or Aubry to the west, or even Chartogne-Taillet to the north, rather than the overtly incisive chalkiness of the eastern Montagne de Reims.

The main cuvée of the estate is Le Mont Benoit, named for the parcel in which it is grown. It’s a blend of all three varieties, although the proportions can change considerably from one year to the next, depending on the conditions of the vintage. A portion of the blend is kept as reserve wine, and each release is generally composed of two vintages, incorporating a small portion of the previous year’s blend. While most of the wines for Le Mont Benoit go through malolactic, some of the non-malo wines that aren’t used for the vintage blends are also included in this cuvée.

In the past Brochet released Le Mont Benoit in two versions: brut (or later, extra brut) and non-dosé. Since the 2009-based version, though, he has decided to release it solely as an extra brut, as two different versions was "too complicated". Brochet prefers concentrated must (MCR) for dosage rather than sugar, “in order to be as neutral as possible,” he says.

He made a vintage champagne in 2005, blended from all three varieties, and repeated it in 2006. However, in 2006 he also made a pure chardonnay for the first time, exclusively from the coeur de cuvée and made entirely without malolactic. Following this, he has decided that all of his vintage champagnes will be made from a single variety: he followed up his outstanding 2006 Haut Chardonnay with an equally expressive 2009, and he also bottles a pure meunier called Les Hauts Meuniers, which, like the chardonnay, is made from vines planted in 1962.

When you meet with Emmanuel, you quickly realize that he chose the right path. Emmanuel is a passionate man about his craft. In 1997, he became a first generation Champagne grower.

Emmauel's vineyards are located in the little village of Villers-Aux-Noeux in the Montagne de Reims on the lieu-dit “Le Mont Benoit”. The single vineyard of 2.5ha is planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and situated on a slope divided in two parts; on the upper level the oldest vines were planted in 1962, on the lower level the youngest in 1984.

The soil is made of silt, clay and chalk. Emmanuel's approach is artisanal in the vineyards and in the cellar, all the work is done by him and almost entirely by hand. In 2011, the estate was certified organic though Emmanuel has farmed for the last 10 years without any chemicals. As he says the main goal is for the plant to find its balance without stressing it.

In the cellar, he uses a traditional vertical press. It allows him to press with precision some small batches. Only the cuvee is selected and brought to barrique for fermentation which is carried naturally, a small amount of SO2 is added after the malo ends.

In the last few years, Emmanuel was able to select his own ambient yeasts to start the second fermentation with success. All the wines are Extra-Brut and the production is around 7,000 to 8,000 bottles. His main cuvee called Le Mont Benoit Extra Brut is an assemblage of 2 vintages. His wines are really pure, precise and showing minerality combined with ripeness and great pleasure.

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