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Magnum Grande Sendrée 2008

At a comparative tasting of in bottles and magnums, the Grande Sendrée 2008 in magnum was ranked one of the best by the jury, with a score of 92 points, and the mention, DRAPPIER Highly Recommended, awarded to only 8 out of 134 Champagnes tasted. Fall/Winter 2019

N°56

In search of the lost variety "Focarena" , a restaurant on the paradisiac island of Okinawa, off the coast of Japan, has come Just like the lives of people, the life of a grape variety is the result of countless chance encounters and events. And these potentially up with the creative concept of a transformative moments may cause it to stray from its initial path, as a happy (and sometime arranged) marriage may lead us to new adventures. meal featuring the duo, Avocado and Champagne. The menu is simple and delicious with chilled For thousands of years, Champagne grape varieties In the 12th century, the Aube was enriched marriage between and Gouais. Born bottles as far as the eye can see! have migrated, lived, survived, disappeared with the coming of the Burgundian monk, Saint in Burgundy, it arrived in Champagne before the Last June, Jancis Robinson presented her new line or been strengthened through crossbreeding, Bernard. He left the Abbey of Cîteaux to establish phylloxera blight, at the end of the 19th century, with of glasses at the Lavinia showroom in Madrid. She chose Champagne Drappier Brut Nature for transformations and climatic conditions. Today, the Clarevallis (Clairvaux). With him, he brought a new wave of immigration.. her demonstration. result is an incredible diversity of varieties that we Morillon Noir, the ancestor of Pinot Noir, from are committed to preserving to keep alive tomorrow’s which the great family of Champagnois Pinots have Over the centuries, Humans have engaged in natural heritage. descended. The first ampelographic writings date to selection to satisfy their taste preferences, but also The first known trace of Vinifera in Champagne the 16th century. La Maison Rustique, an agricultural depending on the capacity of grape varieties to adapt is a fossilized leaf dating from the Paleocene era, encyclopedia, listed the grape varieties present at to health and climatic conditions at a given period You can now cross Paris by 60,000 million years ago. But it was the Romans who the time. Among the best were: Morillon, Gouais, of time. Hence, the range of really used in water in style, with a glass began cultivating grapes in the 2nd century providing and Fromenteau. Champagne was reduced to three main varieties of Drappier Brut Nature Champagne in hand, on the their own plants. This marked the birth of crossbred The evolution of the Morillon grape in Champagne including Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and . very chic and electric Ducasse varieties such as , or Arbanne, endemic is marked with genetic mutations which gave rise The four other varieties account for only 0.31% of sur Seine riverboat. to la Côte des Bar and the origin of which remains to three new varieties: Blanc Vrai (), the appellation. So why were they put aside? What a mystery. Fromenteau (Pinot Gris) and Pinot Meunier. Champagne are they used to make? And why Chardonnay, for its part, is the product of the should they be brought back?

The arrival of André Father Pinot: the pinot man Drappier junior on The « Histoire de Famille » gift box featuring our August 3rd, 2019 three new cuvées is the fruit of collaboration between delighted the entire It all started with an idea: Champagne made from Pinot grapes, all Pinot grapes. It was 2016, the year that three generations of our family. A unique discovery for family. His parents, the most adventurous Champagne lovers, it contains: Antoine and Camille, Hugo and Charline joined the estate, and the first of Fromenteau grapes. It is a year that we would Trop m'en Faut, Père Pinot and Clarevallis. Only his uncles and aunts, like to record in the “enological book” of our House, in homage to our grandfather, Georges, le Père Pinot, or one hundred examples of the Histoire de Famille gift his grand-parents and Father Pinot who worked all his life to replant our historic grape variety, Pinot Noir. box have been produced, and they will be available at his great grandfather selected wine shops for the end of the year. after whom he was In this modern, expanded interpretation of Champagne Pinots, Hugo has paved the way for four Pinots in the named are overjoyed. appellation, with an equal blend (25% of each) of Pinot noir, Meunier, Blanc Vrai (Pinot Blanc) and Fromenteau (Pinot Gris). The , in particular Les Truchots, are already partly horse-ploughed by Antoine, who is still in training. Charline drew the label, imagining the silhouette of an ancestor who is incarnated in the grape Domaine : Champagne DRAPPIER – Rue des Vignes – 10200 Urville that he so fervently defended. Vinified without sulphites and with a very low dosage, it is as free spirited as www.champagne-drappier.com – [email protected] – (+33) 3 25 27 40 15 the blend is original. It is our “first trial” comprised of 1200 hand-numbered bottles. This Letter n°56 was printed on recycled paper from FSC forests. It was written and illustrated by Charline and Michel Drappier. Charline, Hugo & Antoine Drappier. CHAMPAGNE DRAPPIER, the first Ecoact carbon neutral house. The Fromenteau grape Clarevallis, a modern interpretation This grape variety was named, Le Fromenteau, by peasants of the Cistercian heritage in the Middle Ages because once it reaches maturity it has a Clarevallis is the name given by Saint Bernard to the Abbey that he founded in powdery appearance that looks something like wheat flour. In 1115 a few kilometers from Urville. The hillside was planted with Morillon Noir to the 19th century, it became one of the main grape varieties used produce wine for the Mass. In 1152, he had vaulted cellars built, today owned by the in Champagne. It is found in other appellations under the name Drappier family. Saint Bernard came to this isolated region in search of the beauty Pinot Gris. This adjective is incomplete to describe a grape with and simplicity of nature that he cherished in his work, La Grande Bible de Clairvaux; a white flesh, the nuanced skin of which has both purple shades the latter is the inspiration for the label of the Clarevallis wine. and golden highlights. Fromenteau, as it is grown in our organic vineyard, les Truchots, In homage to his hymn to nature, Clarevallis is an extra-brut non-filtered cuvée has a high potential alcoholic content (13° volume) producing with very little sulphites. The blend is dominated by Pinot Noir (75%) to which rich juices with suave mirabelle plum and acacia honey notes. Charline and Hugo Drappier, the first vinification of Aster, Antoine, Michel and André Drappier, La Fourtelle, Fromenteau, September 2016 March 2019 Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Blanc Vrai is added. The grapes are selected from the 16 hectare organically certified vineyard. Clarevallis embodies the landscape and the land that Men and Women have been cultivating there since the 12th century. This wine will be available starting in end of October.

« Trop m’en Faut » is an experimental project carried out by Hugo, to determine the potential Arbanne, Petit Meslier & Bla nc Vrai of Fromenteau when it is separately vinified under two forms: Coteaux-Champenois (a still The Grande Sendrée, the vinosity of wine) and Champagne. These two 100% Fromenteau expressions are a first in the region. The Arbanne is a mysterious white grape variety, the origin of which While Chardonnay is the fruit of the union of Gouais and Pinot Noir, Blanc Vrai is the product of the 2015 harvest vinified in barrels, they were bottled in May 2016. No dosage has is still unknown. Its lacy leaves and many tendrils make one result of a genetic mutation of exclusively Pinot. Blanc Vrai gives wines with fruity white Pinot noir and the delicacy of Chardonnay think of Virginia creeper. The Arbanne could be a cross between peach notes. been added to the Champagne (brut nature). And 375 bottles of each were produced. On the clay limestone of Grande Sendrée, the two great Champagne grape varieties are a local Vitis and a grape brought by the Romans. expressed. They owe their longevity to the delicacy and complexity of their aromatic range, Like Arbanne, Blanc Vrai reaches maturity late and with difficulty, which is why it has The name of this wine with two distinctive personalities is a spoonerism of Fromenteau, in old especially suited to aging. This grape ripens late and with difficulty, it has a high acidity nearly disappeared. However, climatic changes and the resulting current conditions French: “never enough”. As the legislation does not authorize us to feature the grape variety on La Grande Sendrée 2009 was partially aged under barrels, and then bottle aged for 8 and gives juice with mirabelle plum notes. have inspired us to rediscover these grapes. the label, Michel Drappier imagined this play on words with a double meaning. years. The 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay blend combines structure and elegance, with notes Petit Meslier is a white variety, whose parents are believed to be Added to the classic Chardonnay, these non-conformist grapes come together in Preview tasted by Tim Hall MW, the Champagne « Trop m’en faut » was named « Best of dried fruit and lovely bitter mandarin orange flavors. the and Gouais . a unique Quattuor. The only white Champagne made from four different white grape Champagne 2019 » on Jancis Robinson’s website. la mandarine. varieties, Quattuor is a rare wine which exudes the fresh notes of a stream running over Harvested at ideal maturity thanks to sunny years, these grape the limestone rocks of our small valley. Its aromatic complexity and elegant freshness La cuvée Grande Sendrée 2009 has been voted le „Coup de cœur“ or a Favorite by Cuisine et varieties today produce expressive, accomplished wines. contrast with the rustic reputation of forgotten grape varieties. Vins de (October 2019).