On the coronary heart of the Montagne de Reims, La Masion Penet is a beacon of modernity and innovation with 4 centuries of winemaking, exemplified by fourth-generation winemaker Alexandre Penet. An engineer by coaching, educated on the prestigious Ecole des Arts et Métiers and the College of Chicago, Alexandre’s return to Verzy in 2009 marked a shift from car mechanics to oenology. With an oenology diploma in hand, he launched into the mission of preserving custom whereas introducing fashionable precision to the winemaking course of. Supported by his spouse Martine, Alexandre carries ahead the household’s dedication to their 6ha of multi-faceted terroir, crafting champagne that marries custom with the exacting requirements of in the present day. Right here he shares a few of his improvements, the specificity of his terroir and imaginative and prescient for tomorrow.
Do you bear in mind your first glass of champagne?
No, I’ve no recollection in any respect, as a result of it was throughout my baptism. It’s common follow in champagne for the infants to be baptised with the dip of a finger in a glass, and that is what I additionally did with my two daughters.
Verzy and Verzenay are a number of the most identified villages of the Montagne de Reims. Are you able to inform us concerning the terroir of your vineyards, how they evaluate to their neighbouring vines, an what makes them so particular?
The villages of Verzy and Verzenay neighbouring villages and are sometimes lumped collectively. Despite the fact that there are very comparable soil varieties, Verzenay is North going through so fruit has the luxurious of longer cling time and ripening. In Verzy our grapes make wines that aren’t as spherical, and subsequently non-malolactic wines are much less forgiving. The soil is kind of chalky relying on the slope, which signifies that vines produce very completely different wines from one plot to the following, akin to the terroirs of Burgundy.
Once I began 14 years in the past, individuals didn’t perceive the parcellaire strategy. Many Champenois had been confused as to why I didn’t mix all my wines right into a traditional assemblage. However I endured and even claimed that sooner or later all nice winemakers will make single winery wines. And possibly 6 or 7 years in the past, we hit tipping level: the market had seen sufficient examples of nice parcellaire wines, and winemakers actually began paying consideration.
Immediately, I’m able to create vintages from our lieu-dit vineyards yearly. The high-quality grapes from these chosen terroirs retain water because of ample chalk which acts as a sponge, making certain we will produce a classic yearly.
What are your ideas on grape high quality and decreasing dosage?
I used to be an early advocate of the additional brut class, a follow that’s now widespread.
This isn’t essentially due to the standard of the grapes, however extra the shoppers’ palate.
And maybe local weather change has made it simpler to ripen grapes, as 20 years in the past if you weren’t within the grand crus, you struggled to get correct maturity most years. However this isn’t the rationale for decreasing dosage.
I feel our wines are wealthy sufficient to precise their complexity and purity with out having so as to add a lot dosage. The thought is to maintain the id of the plot, and this can’t be obtained with a excessive dosage. For my wines, stability is good between 0 to 4g/l dosage. Any extra would overpower the wine.
And as I actually imagine in transparency, I’ve all the time added all of the technical particulars on the again labels, as early as 2010.
A few of the biggest growers of Champagne have experimented with Perpetual reserves over the previous a long time, and now that is changing into widespread follow with maisons similar to Roederer and Palmer. Are you able to inform us about your transition to solera?
Once I took over 2009, considered one of my most necessary investments was introducing oak. After a bit little bit of experimentation, I found that Solera could be a wonderful addition to my wines. Now I age my vins clairs for 1 to five years in oak earlier than it goes into stainless-steel vats for additional getting old as “perpetual reserve” wines (solera model).
This provides me a lot of flexibility with my multi vintages and I add as much as 50% of reserve. It provides a lot of richness and means I do not essentially should age them for too lengthy.
Despite the fact that a few of my wines might solely have 2 or 3 years on lees, they find yourself being no less than 4 years within the making, from harvest to disgorgement.
What can we count on from Champagne Penet Chardonnet sooner or later?
Some new thrilling vintages, and who is aware of maybe some extra single winery champagnes!
Additionally, since we had been the primary to suggest augmented actuality on our labels two years in the past, innovation is in our blood, and we are going to in all probability proceed to innovate sooner or later on many points.
If you want to hunt out Alexandre’s wines, and observe his journey, yow will discover extra info right here:
