"Les Vignes de Mon Oncle" Cumières Premier Cru V21/22

A rosé Champagne whose appeal lies in its precision: a cool feel, fine definition, plenty of expression within a restrained frame. Even on the nose, finesse and elegance come through.

Cumières lies on the right bank of the Marne, a few kilometres northwest of Épernay; the south-facing slopes above the river are classified Premier Cru. The Laval family has lived in the village since 1694 and today farms 2.5 hectares across seven parcels, each with its own name: Les Chênes, Les Hautes Chèvres, Les Longues Violes. The average vine age exceeds 30 years, with the oldest vines over seventy years old.

A cuvée of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Pressing takes place in a Coquard vertical press with a capacity of 2,000 kilograms, the legal minimum for Champagne houses: the grapes are crushed slowly, and the juice flows without pressure. Fermentation then follows with wild yeasts in used barrels, bottling after ten months, without fining, filtration or cold stabilisation. Sulphur content is usually below 20 milligrams per litre, and most of the house's bottles leave the cellar without dosage.

Crystal-clear, precise minerality with an exact perlage. The delicate red-berry fruit stays lean, joined by subtle peach notes. On the nose beforehand, pale red berries, blossom, grapefruit, sugared rhubarb, meringue and wild herbs.

Georges Laval switched to organic farming in 1971, after reading about pesticide traces found in Arctic ice; at the time, fewer than ten winegrowers in Champagne farmed organically. Vincent Laval has run the cellar since 1996, with annual production fluctuating between 8,000 and 10,000 bottles.