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RP97
The 2016 Extra Brut Les Béguines IOTA is a one-off experimental cuvée that saw Prévost add some 2% still red wine to a barrel of Les Béguines during fermentation. Wafting from the glass with scents of pear, warm biscuits, exotic fruits, orange oil, licorice and red berries, it's medium to full-bodied, lively and precise, with delicate phenolic structure and a long, saline finish. Of course, given the tiny production, it will be almost unobtainable. (RobertParker .com)
Champagne Les Béguines
- 94% Pinot Meunier Massal selection Planted in 1964
- 2% Pinot Gris Massal selection Planted in 2000
- 2% Chardonnay Massal selection Planted in 2000
- Dosage : 2.5g/btl
Jérôme Prévost's 2ha of vineyard of Les Béguines (La Closerie is the name of the estate) were inherited from his grandmother, who didn’t cultivate them herself, but rather rented them out en mettayage to be worked by others. Jérôme took over the vineyards in 1987, and sold his grapes to the négoce.
He had begun to consider to make wine by himself several years later, and he visited many producers such as Leflaive, Humbrecht etc, and finally he arrived at Anselme Selosse. He worked for Selosse at Jacques Selosse as a trainee.
Anselme Selosse encouraged Jérôme, then he started making his own Champagnes in 1998(harvest 1998, released in 2001). As Jérôme had no cellar facilities of his own, Anselme Selosse offered to share a corner of his cellars in Avize. Since 2002, Jérôme has his own cellar in Gueux, Montaigne de Reims.
Like a Burgundy "Les Béguines Extra Brut" is made from a single cépage(Pinot Meunier), single vineyard and a single vintage. Over 50 years old Vieilles Vignes Pinot-Meuniers are planted on sandy and chalky Les Béguines, and the vineyard is managed by biodynamic. The wine-making is processed by non-intervention manner in the cellar. The grapes are pressed and the must is never chaptalized. Fermentation takes place in barrels of different sizes, ranging from 228L to 600L. There has been no bâttonage and no filtration, minimum sulfer is used. The dosage is 2.5g/bottle.
The wine has soft creamy form, it is complex, delicate and refined. This is the champagne which serious drinkers must experience.
Jérôme Prévost’s wine is not always easy to obtain. Annual production of only about 13,000 bottles against such a strong demand from highly sophisticated restaurant/bar in Paris and wine enthusiasts.
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