Fournaise Dubois | Blanc de Blancs Millésimé 2016

This extraordinary champagne is made with 100% chardonnay from the lands of the Ardre Valley. These chardonnays come from the best grapes selected during the harvest.

• Pressed with pneumatic membrane - using juice produced solely from first press (tête de cuvée) 
• Dosage - Brut - 6.5 g/l (home-made liqueur : still wine aged in oak barrels, blended with beet sugar) 
• Vinification - 70 % oak barrels / 30 % thermo-controlled vat
• Malolactic fermentation

The visual:

A robe of pale gold perfected with brilliant reflections. A generous foam with light fine bubbles

The nose:  

Opens with a delicate scent of candiedfruits, pear and acacia– maturity is expressed through aromas of honey and almond, followed by light notes of toast and flint

The mouth:  

Generous with warm round toasted notes of honey and aromas of butter and brioche, with a long elegant slightly lemony finish

Food pairing:

Perfect for a refined aperitif or to go with millefeuille of salmon, scallops, shellfish or fish

Characteristics of 2016 

A mild and rainy winter. Warm dry weather finally arrived in July and temperatures continued to creep up, with August reaching blistering highs. It was a scorching summer. There was a lot of precipitation from January to June, 300 to 380 mm depending on the Champagne sectors against 130 mm usually, which favoured mildew attacks, which were particularly virulent, worse than 1997 and 2012, which were the 2 reference years for mildew.  Just before the harvest, rain fell again which caused various issues, especially within the Côtes de Blancs. In Crugny, harvest then began on 19 September for pinot noir and pinot meunier, followed by chardonnay on 24 September. The CIVC estimates that 15% of the harvest was destroyed by mildew. There was also a lot of spring frost, 4000 HA 100% destroyed.  The commercial yield in 2016 was 11 000kg per hectare.

3000 sqm monoparcellaire nicknamed 'Brouillet' by the grower. 

This top-of-the-range cuvée comes from old vines aged 38 years growing on a 'coteau', which has a south east inclination. These vines have an average yield and very good maturity. A very good degree, well coloured bunches, and above all a very good sanitary condition.  

This 100% Pinot Noir vintage comes from 38 year old vines selected by Fournaise Dubois

• Pressed with pneumatic membrane - using juice produced solely from first press (tête de cuvée)
• Dosage - Extra Brut - 4.8 g/l (home-made liqueur : still wine aged in oak barrels, blended with beet sugar)
• Vinification - 100 % oak barrels 
• No  malolactic fermentation

 The visual:  This champagne has a golden amber colour, accompanied by a fine and delicate effervescence

The nose:  Powerful with aromas of quince and grape jams, slightly spicy which then opens with notes of chalk and blackberries 

The mouth:  The attack is straightforward, it reveals a structured palate with notes of blackcurrant and lemon.

Food pairing:  Invigorating and structured, it will go perfectly with fish, shellfish and grilled meats.

Characteristics of 2013

The harvest in Crugny began on October 3 and ended on October 17. The winter and spring of this year 2013 were cold, from this point of view, 2013 looks like 1987, harsh, with temperatures over the first 6 months well below the ten-year average.There was a much higher rainfall than 2012, some areas had in 6 months the rainfall of a year. There were no winter frosts, even spring frosts. It has hail on some villages, in particular Riceys, all the south Barsecanais, Mareuil the port and Châtillon-sur-Marne. The average alcoholic degree, all grape varieties combined, was 10% with an average acidity of 8.3 grams H2 So4. The commercial yield was 10 500 kg per hectare.