Tom, thanks for pinging me on this!
David, thanks for posting.
I have imported these Champagnes and their predecessors (with a hiatus) for 40 years.
It’s a long story and it means a lot to me, so I am going to tell it. Settle in.
For almost a decade, before Terry Thiese made farmer fizz cool, I represented 4-5 growers. Every year I’d cull one or two and add others. Finally one year, at our national sales meeting, Peter Sloan put a machete to my throat and said “Dan, pick just one and let us build a market”. I picked Jean Laurent. I left behind Pierre Moncuit and (what was then) Gilbert Bertrand. When I told Gilbert that I would not be buying for a while, I promised I would be back.
When I first met Gilbert Bertrand I was impressed. He was a small man, in his late fifties, but he looked older. He talked with a rasp that made him difficult to understand.
In WWII, his parents hid Jews in their cellar. They were caught. His parents and the Jews were shot. Gilbert was about 15. He was stomped by the Nazis, his larynx crushed. His health never fully recovered, but he did. He married and had two sons. Almost two decades later, he and his wife had a big surprise, aka a daughter.
In 1986 my wife was ill. A year later she recovered enough that I could take a much-needed business trip to France. She didn’t feel well enough to care for Matt, our 10 year old son, so I took him with me. We had lunch with Gilbert Bertrand and his family. At the end of lunch, Gilbert’s daughter stood up and said “I’m first for Show and Tell at school this afternoon and I don’t have anything.” She pointed at Matt, and said “I’m taking him.”
Everybody laughed, but I made a few phone calls and told Matt: “You’re going to school this afternoon, I’ll pick you up later.”
Fast-forward:
Son Didier Bertrand marries Chantal Delespierre, the families combining 1er Cru vineyards totaling ~25 acres, almost equally split between Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. They know that quality and character are necessary to build a sustainable Champagne business.
Pinot Meunier is the most widely planted grape in Champagne. It has a bad reputation. Most of it is in the Marne valley and the outskirts of Champagne. Few know that it reaches its apogee on the western slope of the Montagne de Reims, otherwise famous for Pinot Noir. There are also some odd chalky patches in this 1er Cru but little-known part of the Montagne. The original Bertrand family vineyards in Chamery were mostly Meunier with equal quantities of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Delespierre family vineyards, a little to the north in Ecueil and Villedommange are mostly Pinot Noir.
The entry level wine, Enfant de la Montagne, is an almost equal blend of the three grapes; the vintage blend, now labled ‘L’Âme’ is similar but from older vines. Finally, despite their love of Meunier, the top bottlings are ‘Origines Croisees’, usually about 60/40 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. There are both vintage and non-vintage offerings. Blanc de Blancs and saignee Rose complete the lineup.
IMO this is an outstanding Estate, not pushing the envelope but carefully growing wines from limited (by Champagne standards) yields and amazing attention to detail in the cellar. 2008 was an excellent vintage. I’m guessing this was disgorged 8 - 10 years ago and I’m not surprised that David found it drinking well. I wish I had a bottle (only basic NV left… sob).
