Champagne Offering.pdf - Tenzing Wine and Spirits

CHAMPAGNE FLEURYCôte des Bar- Courteronwww.champagne-fleury.frHistory & PhilosophyThe Fleury family has run Champagne Fleury for over a century. Each generation has respected prior traditions while also maintainingthe family’s reputation for innovation. In 1904, following the Phylloxera infestation in France, Emile Fleury made the risky decision tobe the first grower in Champagne to replant his vineyards to Pinot Noir. In 1929, grape prices collapsed due to the Great Depression,and his son, Robert, made the then unusual decision to bottle his own Champagne at the domaine. In the 1970’s, Jean-Pierre, concernedabout the environmental impact of chemicals, began experimenting with manual tilling (instead of herbicides) and composting (insteadof fertilizers). Beginning in 1989, Jean-Pierre Fleury practiced biodynamy, making him the first grower in Champagne to do so. By1992, the entire estate was biodynamic (Demeter certified too), and in 1993, Gault-Millau (an influential French restaurant guide)elected Jean-Pierre winemaker of the year. Jean-Pierre, a pioneer of biodynamics, has passed his passion onto his children, the fourthgeneration, who now are involved in continuing this legacy.Village:CourteronRegion:Côte des BarFounded: 1895Proprietor & Winemaker: Jean-Pierre FleuryViticulture & VinificationCultivated Area:Topography:Soil Type:Annual Production:A winegrowing family since 1895, their 15 hectares of vineyards are locatedin the village of Courteron, on the clay and chalky slopes of the Côte des Barin the Southern part of the Champagne region, at a place where the SeineRiver begins. This village is closer to Chablis in Northern Burgundy than toReims in Champagne, which is why, more Kimmeridgian clay and Portlandianlimestone soils are found. The 15 hectare estate is comprised of 85% PinotNoir, 10% Chardonnay, 3% Pinot Blanc, and 2% Pinot Gris. In additionto estate fruit, they also produce wine from eight hectares of sites owned byneighbors who they have taught to farm biodynamically. Of the 200 hectaresof biodynamically farmed vineyards in all of Champagne, 100 are in the Aube- 22 of these managed by the Fleury family, 15 of them estate owned. Fleurytakes the same natural, minimalistic approaches in the cellar that they do in thevineyard, producing firmly structured Champagnes with outstanding freshnessand longevity. The wines are made in a combination of large oak casks (since1997) and enammelled temperature controlled tanks.15 hectares20% flatland, 80% slopesKimmeridgian andPortlandian limestone200,000 bottles“We must keep the earth healthy. The strutctureof the soil provides the essence of the terroir.”- Jean-Sébastien FleuryFleur de L’Europe Brut92 WS (A. Napjus) (12/2012)90 Antonio Galloni (11/2012)Cépages Blancs93 (‘04) Antonio Galloni (11/2012)92+ (‘04) Antonio Galloni (12/2010)Fleur de L’Europe Brut NVThe first wine made by the Fleury family is a blend of 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay blended from two - threeharvests from vines that are 18 - 23 years old. Vinification occurs in large, oak casks and in enamelled, temperaturecontrolledvats. Aged sur lie for five years.Cépages Blancs 2005Made of pure Chardonnay from the clay and limestone soils known in the Côtes des Bar. 20% of the cuvée undergoesmalolactic fermentation in large oak casks and 80% went into enameled, temperature-controlled tanks.Millésimé Extra Brut 2000This cuvée is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay which does not undergo malolactic fermentation while in enameled,temperature-controlled tanks.4Sonate No. 9 ‘2009’The Sonate No. 9, 100% Pinot Noir, is the embodiment of the Fleury families commitment to the ultimate expressionof their terroir. It is produced from a single vineyard that was the first to be converted to biodynamic cultivation in 1989and is vinified with native yeast strains without any sulfites in accordance with the biodynamic calendar.