MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES The Côte des Blancs:

The Côte des Blancs runs from , on the outskirts of Épernay, south to Vertus. The geological profile is very similar to the Montagne de ; i.e., chalk slopes that are low and mid-slope and then woodland areas on top of the slopes, much like that of Burgundy. There is a bit of clay and sand in the Côte des Blancs too, but overwhelmingly, the soil is chalk, which is ideal for plantings. The majority of the vineyards in the Côte des Blancs face east or southeast, as with the Côte d’Or in Burgundy.

 Grape Varieties: 96% Chardonnay, 3% Pinot Noir, 1% Meunier  Soil: Cretaceous chalk  Grand Cru Villages: , Chouilly, , le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger,  Premier Cru Villages: , Vertus, Bergères-les-Vertus, Voipreux, Etréchy, Coligny and Villeneuve-Renneville Chevigny

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES Pierre Péters

While having been in since 1840 it was Camille Péters who first began to produce estate-bottled in 1919. Using a press that is still in use by the house today, beginning in 1929 Camille Péters began producing wine as a full-time récoltant-manipulant. Of the estate’s 18 hectares 17 are used for the estate's own production, with the remaining grapes being sold to the négoce. 90% of the estate's holdings are in the grand cru villages of Le Mesnil-sur -Oger, Oger, Avize and Cramant, with 45 of Péters’ 63 total parcels lying in Le Mesnil. Viticulture is environmentally conscious without being dogmatic. Péters eschews the use of insecticides and places focus on cover crops in the right parcels to manage the vines yields. The pressing of the grapes is seen as a key factor in achieving quality at Péters – and while the estate’s 100-year old press is still in use, a modern pneumatic press is also in play to provide a slow, gentle pressing. Special attention is also paid to the settling of the must, as Péters believes that this is directly tied to the quality of the mousse, and all of the wines are fermented in stainless steel.

Pierre Péters Cuvée Réserve, NV * WA:92/W&S:92 * 100% Chardonnay, based on 2008 vintage with a solera reserve. Produced in tank and concrete after a 95% malolactic fermentation, followed by 24 months en tirage and 6.7 g/l dosage. ______

Pierre Péters Cuvée Spéciale, 'Les Chétillons,' 2004 * WA:96 * 100% Chardonnay, sourced entirely from the Les Mesnil cru 'Les Chetillons'. The wine undergoes full malolactic fermentation before 6 years en tirage, finished with a modest 4.7 g/l dosage. ______

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES Pierre Gimonnet

Family Gimonnet has been growing vines in Champagne since 1750, but it was in 1935 when Pierre Gimonnet began making wine in the village of Cuis in 1935. Today Pierre’s grandsons Didier and Olivier are in charge of the estate managing 28 hectares of vines, 11 of which are in the grand cru villages of Cramant and Chouilly, with another hectare of grand cru vines in Oger. The remaining 16 hectares are all in the premier cru village of Cuis, save for two hectares in Vertus, and half a hectare divided between Aÿ and Mareuil-sur -Aÿ in the Vallée de la district. Didier Gimonnet believes that the preservation of old vines is crucial to maintaining high quality in his wines. The average age of the Gimonnet vineyards is 35 years. In the grand cru parcels, 70% of the vines are over 40 years old, and there are two parcels of significantly older vines in Cramant: one in Fond du Bâteau, planted in 19 11, and the other in Buissons, planted in 1913. Gimonnet’s focus in wine production is an aim for balance, finesse and elegance. For this very reason Didier eschews the production of exclusive grand cru cuvées. The freshness and bright acidity of premier cru Cuis is utilized as the perfect ingredient for balance, which is why one will see Cuis used in some proportion with all of Gimonnet’s vintage blanc de blancs. For the same reason Gimonnet also eschews the use of wood in his cellar. Each parcel is vinified separately in stainless steel tanks to preserve the individuality and freshness of each.

Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Brut 'Selection Belles Années', NV * WA:91 * A non-vintage version of the cuvée Gastronome, similarly produced with a lower than traditional atmospheric pressure for expanded versatility with food. ______

Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Brut Blanc de Blancs, 'Fleuron', 2005 * WS:91 * 100% Chardonnay - 23% Cramant grand cru, 45% Chouilly grand cru, 8% Oger grand cru, 24% Cuis 1er cru. This cuvée is only 5 years en tirage and a dosage of 6 g/l. ______

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES Varnier-Fannière

The Fannière family has been growing vines in the Côte des Blancs since 1860, and producing estate-bottled champagnes since the 1950s. And while small in size the estate today is very impressive in pedigree, as all four hectares of vines lie in the grand cru villages of Avize, Oiry, Oger and Cramant. Currently at the helm, Denis Varnier manages his vineyards with a strong focus on the preservation of old vines. Currently the average age of the estate’s vines is between 30 and 50 years old. Vinification takes place in stainless steel tank, and the wines are bottled relatively early as Varnier prefers the effects of bottle evolution more than the influence of elevage.

Varnier –Fannière Brut, 'Grand Cru', NV * WA:91 * 100% Chardonnay sourced equally from grand cru villages Cramant, Oger, and Avize. Based on 2008 with 30% reserve wine from 2007, 2 years en tirage, 10 g/l dosage. ______

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES Vallée de la Marne:

The Vallée de la Marne runs from west of Château-Thierry to Épernay. The eastern border, near Épernay, divides the Montagne de Reims from the Côte des Blancs and it is debatable whether the Grand Cru Village of Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, the top Premier Cru Village at 99%, are really part of the Vallée de la Marne or part of the Montagne de Reims. Certainly, these two villages produce extraordinary Pinot Noir which has more in common with and than with the predominately Meunier based wines from the rest of the valley. The best vineyards not in dispute in the Vallée de la Marne are Dizy, Cumières and which overlook Épernay to the south. West of these three villages the quality is less even, with the exception of Ste-Gemme and . Muenier dominates this frost prone region because it is a late budding and early ripening.

 Grape Varieties: 10% Chardonnay, 27% Pinot Noir, 63% Meunier  Soil: Sub-soil is Cretaceous chalk; Top-soil is limestone, clay, marl, sand, flint  Grand Cru Villages: Aÿ, Tours-sur-Marne  Premier Cru Villages: Hautvillers, Cumières, Dizy, , , Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Bisseuil

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES René Geoffroy

The Geoffroy family has winegrowing roots in Cumières dating back to the 17th century. Of the 14 hectares of vines Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy farms today 11 are in Cumières and a few parcels are located in the neighboring village of Damery, with a small amount of Meunier also planted in the nearby village of Fleury-la-Rivière. Geoffroy’s vines average roughly 20 years old, with the oldest having been planted in 1926. Viticulture at the estate is lutte intégrée, or 'integrated pest control'—it is heavily aimed at sustainability, eschewing all chemical weed killers and employing methods such as the planting of cover crops, tilling of the soil and the encouraged habitation of predatory insects to combat vine pests. Vinification at Geoffroy is completely gravity controlled and done with the help of enameled-steel fermentation tanks and wooden foudres. For the top cuvées (Empreinte, Volupté and vintage dated wines) only the coeur de cuvée, or the middle 1,800 liters from a standard 2,550-liter pressing, is used. As one may assume, Geoffroy vinifies all of his parcels separately in order to retain their individual character and to provide as diverse and acute a palette to draw from when blending his various champagnes.

René Geoffroy Cuvée Volupté, 2006 * WS:91 * 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir produced without maloalctic and raised predominately in foudre, with roughly 6% raised in enameled tanks. The wine is all from Cumières, sees 48 months en tirage and receives a dosage of 2 g/l. ______

René Geoffroy Rosé de Saignée Brut, NV * WA:94 * Produced as a saignée entirely from Pinot Noir destined for Geoffroy's famed Coteaux Champenois still wine. All from 2008, raised in neautral wood and stainless steel and receiving a 10 g/l dosage after 18 months en tirage. ______

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES Gaston Chiquet

While the Chiquet family has been growing vines since 1746, the production of champagne began in 1919 when Gaston Chiquet and his brother Fernand began bottling wine under the label Chiquet Frères. Gaston left the company in 1935 to star t his own label, expand his vineyard holdings and produce estate-bottled champagne. Today the estate is run by Gaston’s grandson Nicolas, who began in 1991. The vineyards are largely in the villages of Aÿ, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Dizy and Hautvillers, in the Vallée de la Marne, and planted with roughly 40% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Meunier and 20% Pinot Noir. Chiquet always seems to harvest slightly less grapes than their neighbors. Nicolas attributes this to the high proportion of old vines, old soils and the lack of the lesser, high-production clones - almost all of the Chiquet vineyards are still sélection massale (this more closely mimics the original method of propagation pre-phylloxera, when vines were trailed along the ground to root, thus perpetuating the same variety in the vineyard). The cellars at Chiquet contain no wood and malolactic fermentation is always allowed – which Chiquet believes pleasantly decreases the harsher malic acidity as well as allows for a lower dosage at disgorgement.

Gaston Chiquet Brut, 'Tradition', NV * WS:92 * 35% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir, 45% Pinot Meunier from 1er cru villages Dizy, Hautvillers and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ with a 2007 vintage base. 3 yeasr en tirage and an 8 g/l dosage. ______

Gaston Chiquet Cuvée de Réserve, NV * WA:91/WS:92 * A similar cuvée to the brut tradition including the same cépage, however the Réserve is based on 2004 and received additional time on the lees for a total time of 5 years en tirage. ______

Gaston Chiquet Vintage Champagne Brut, 2003

60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay from 1er cr villages Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Dizy and Hautvillers, as well as grand cru village Aÿ. 6 years en tirage and an 8 g/l dosage. ______

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES Henri Goutorbe

The Goutorbe family began as a vine nursery just after World War I, operated by Emile Goutorbe while he simultaneously acted as vineyard manager for Perrier -Jouët. By the 1940s Goutorbe began producing his own estate-bottled champagne in Aÿ, and shortly after his son Henri created the label we know today. Today Henri’s son René owns and operates 25 hectares planted with 70% Pinot Noir, 27% Chardonnay and 3% Meunier. The hear t of the Goutorbe estate is their 6 hectares of Aÿ grand cru vines, in addition to their holdings in several other neighboring villages - Mareuil-sur -Aÿ, Bisseuil, Avenay Val d’Or and Hautvillers. All parcels are vinified separately, wines are fermented in stainless steel, and malolactic is performed for all of the wines. Today René Goutorbe is assisted at the estate by his wife Nicole, along with their son Etienne and daughter Elisabeth.

Henri Goutorbe Cuvée 'Prestige', NV * WS:90/IWC:90 * 70% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Meunier sourced from 1er cru villages Cumières, Hautvillers, Bisseuil and Mutigny, as well as grand cru village Aÿ. The cépage is based on the 2005 vintage with 4 years en tirage and a final dosage of 9.6 g/l. ______

Henri Goutorbe Special Club, 2002 * WA:92/WS:93 * 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay grown entirely in grand cru Aÿ. After 8 years en tirage the wine received a 9.6 g/l dosage. ______

Henri Goutorbe Rosé, NV * WA:91/WS:91 * 25% Chardonnay and 75% Pinot Noir from 2007 blended with a small amount of Pinot Noir vin rouge from 2006. This cuvée is also sourced entirely from grand cru Aÿ, sees 3 years en tirage and a dosage of 9.6 g/l. ______

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES Montagne de Reims:

The Montagne de Reims is a large horseshoe shaped region north of the Côte des Blancs and the Vallée de la Marne starting at Aÿ in the south facing Épernay, and going up and around to the north, bending under Reims to Jouy les Reims in the west. Whereas the best vineyards in the Vallée de la Marne all face south and the vineyards of the Côte des Blancs all face east and south-east, the Montagne de Reims vineyards have a variety of orientations (northeast, west, southeast and southwest). Above the chalk, at heights too cool for viticulture, lie deposits of lignite that have been used to nourish the impoverished chalk soils below.

 Grape Varieties: 28% Chardonnay, 56% Pinot Noir, 16% Meunier  Soil: Cretaceous chalk with some mixture of clay and sand.  Grand Cru: Bouzy, Ambonnay, Louvois, , , Mailly-Champagne, Sillery, , Beaumont-sur-Vesle  Premier Cru: Tauxières-Mutry, Trépail, Villiers Marmery, , Chigny-les-Roses, Rilly-la- Montagne, Pargny les Reims, Jouy les Reims, Ville-Dommange, Sacy, Eceuil, , , , Villier-aux-Noeuds, Villiers-Allernad, Troi Puits, Montbré, , Billy-la- Grand, Vaudemanges

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES A. Margaine

The Margaine family has produced wine in the village of Villers- Marmery since the 1920s, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that André Margaine increased production of champagne and created the A. Margaine estate known today. Later Bernard Margaine expanded the estate and joined the Club Trésors de Champagne (or, ‘Special Club’) in 1977. Since taking over in 1989, Bernard’s son Arnaud has focused heavily on improving vineyard quality. Chemical herbicides have been eliminated and an increasing amount of cover crop is being planted. Vine age is relatively old at this 6.5 ha estate, averaging roughly 32 years. Margaine has a large press-house for an estate of this size, and to this day Arnaud still presses grapes for other, larger houses, including , Roederer and Lanson. In the cellar, no vinification recipe is strictly obliged. The policies for the application of reserve wines, malolactic fermentation or blending of parcels may change from vintage to vintage depending on what is seen to be best for quality and balance. Over the past decade Margaine has been slowly introducing 3 and 4 year old barriques, also utilized according to no specific recipe but blended per cuvée according to balance and taste. Margaine also keeps an unusually high quantity of reserve wines for a grower -estate, currently dating back to 1994, giving him more flexibility with his non-vintage brut.

A. Margaine Extra-Brut, NV * WA:91 * 100% Chardonnay, entirely from the 2001 harvest and the village of Villers-Marmery. 25% of the final blend was raised in neutral barrel. ______

Continued with Arnaud Margaine’s Demi-Sec at the end of this tasting…

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES Chartogne-Taillet

The first document showing vinegrowing by the Taillet family in the village of dates from 1683. Today Chartogne-Taillet is the only récoltant-manipulant in the village. Since 1978 the estate has been managed by Philippe Chartogne and his wife Élisabeth, and their son Alexandre is now in charge of the cellars and the vineyards. Alexandre Char togne worked a stage with Anselme Selosse, who greatly influenced his ideas on viticulture. Today, all of Char togne's parcels are plowed by horse where possible, and numerous cover crops are grown between the rows of vines, fed upon by the estate’s sheep that live amongst the vines for integrated agriculture. Above all, the viticulture is focused on preserving and expressing the distinct characters of Merfy's various terroirs. The uniqueness of Merfy’s soils is that they contain clay and sand soils over a dense chalk subsoil. Here, vines have the opportunity to live in two distinct environments. Chartogne-Taillet possesses some of the oldest vines in their village with rootstocks that grow deeper than 20 meters in many cases. Each parcel is vinified separately, and fermentation is largely in stainless steel tanks, although more and more wines are being made in used barriques and cement eggs.

Chartogne-Taillet Brut, 'Cuvée Ste.-Anne', NV * WS:91/WA:90 * 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir based on the 2007 vintage with 20% from '06 and '05. 10 months sur lie in stainless steel, 3 years en tirage, followed by a 4.5 g/l dosage. ______

Chartogne-Taillet ‘Cuvée Fiacre’, 2004 * WA:93 * 60% Chardonnay from the famed vineyard Chemin de Reims and 40% Pinot Noir from 50+ year old vines in the parcel Les Orizeaux. ______

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES Aubry

The 15 hectare Aubry estate, located in the village of Jouy-lès-Reims, is one of the most unique estates in all of Champagne. The Aubry brothers are perhaps best known for their revitalization of old, 'forgotten' varieties arbanne, petit meslier and fromenteau. Plantings of these varieties began to celebrate the estates bi-centennial in 1989. Today the Aubrys have half a hectare each of arbanne, fromenteau and petit meslier, which represents roughly one-third of the total plantings of these varieties in Champagne. Aubry’s vinification is all in stainless steel tank, except for cuvée Ivoire et Ébène which is fermented and aged for nine months in used barriques. Due to the uniquely expressive terroir of Jouy, the Aubry brothers feel their wines are never for want of acidity, and therefore encourage malolactic at all times.

Aubry Brut, NV * WA:90 * 45% Pinot Meunier, 25% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonny, 5% ancient varieties. 45% 2008 and 55% reserve wine from a solera composed of 1999 through 2007 vintages with 24 months en tirage. ______

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES Henri Billiot

As far back as the beginning of the 20th century Louis Billiot maintained a business pressing grapes for Mumm and Moët & Chandon. However, it was Louis’ grandson Henri who created the estate that lies in the center of the village today and began producing exclusively grand cru, estate-bottled champagne from the family’s vines in Ambonnay. Henri’s son Serge took the helm in 1954 and eventually established the reputation the estate is currently renowned for. The estate has a mere 5 hectares of vines, all in Ambonnay, spread amongst 18 parcels. Most noteworthy about their holdings is that all but one of their parcels lie on the mid-slope, the most favored portion of the village for growing vines due to its consistently classical expression of the grand cru village. All of the Billiot wines are fermented in enameled steel tanks, without malolactic fermentation, and bottled without fining or filtration.

H. Billiot Cuvée Laetitia, MV * WA:92/WS:92 * A perpetual solera composed of vintages 1983 through 2007 with a céepage that is difficult to accurately distinguish but is predominately Pinot Noir with Chardonnay. 30 months en tirage before a final dosage of 8 g/l. ______

H. Billiot Rosé, NV * WA:92/WS:92 * Based on the 'Brut Réserve' cuvee of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay with the addition of Pinot Noir vin rouge from the vintages 2005 and 2004. ______

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES Vilmart & Cie

Vilmart & Cie. was founded in 1890 by Désiré Vilmart, and is one of the rare estates in the region that can claim to have been a récoltant-manipulant from their beginning. Laurent Champs has been in charge of the estate since 1989, being the fifth generation of the family to operate the house. Vilmar t, along with Geoffoy, is a member of Ampelos, an organization that surveys and promotes organic and sustainable viticulture. Champs has used no herbicides or chemical fertilizers since taking over the 11 hectare estate and maintains plowing and cover crops in all vineyards. Laurent has a particular advantage in this venture, in that of his 11 hectares he farms only 12 different parcels – giving added protection of potential contamination from neighbors. All of Vilmart's wines are fermented and aged in oak. The non-vintage wines are treated with foudres; neutral oak casks ranging from 2,200 to 5,500 liters, and combination of 225-liter and 600-liter barrels are used in differing combination for vintage-dated wines. Malolactic Fermentation is strictly avoided at the estate, and all cuvées are composed from limited individual parcels.

Vilmart & Cie Grand Cellier, NV * WA:92/IWC:92 * 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir sourced from a mere two parcels - les Hautes Grèvesand Basses Grèves. Based on the 2008 vintage with reserve wine from '07 and '06. After 10 months in large oak cask the wine spent 2 years en tirage and received a dosage of 10 g/l. ______

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES A. Margaine (cont.)

A. Margaine Traditionelle Demi-Sec, NV * WA:90 * This cuvée is based on the same cépage as Margaine’s introductory NV cuvée. The blend is 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir sourced from chalky Villers-Marmery. The base vintage is 2008 with 48% of the blend composed from an impressive blend of reserve wine from vintages '07, '05, '04 and 2000. This wine is vinified in stainless steel, with only partial malolactic fermentation. After a tirage of 27 months the Demi-Sec received 33 g/l dosage. This creates a delicately fruity champagne, with a brush of sweetness, offering a perfect pairing for richer dishes such as foie gras or fine cheese courses.

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MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES

MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES