Alcohol: 12.5 %
Grape(s): 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay
Location: Essoyes, Côte des Bar, Champagne, France
Tasting Notes: Very round on the palate, with notes of citrus, quetsch plum and vine peach, with hints of fennel, mint and liquorice. A generous attack with subtle bitterness leads to a long finish marked by minerality.
Notes: Fosse-Grely is the estate's largest parcel, a selection massale planting of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the early 1980s on clay-limestone soils with mostly red clay. Fermented with native yeast and aged on fine lees in 225L barrels and 500L demi-muids for nine months, with natural malolactic fermentation, then 18 to 20 months on the lees in bottle. Disgorged à la volée and bottled as a Brut Nature with no dosage and no added sulfur.
Food Pairing: Oysters, crab, lobster, sushi, fried chicken and soft cheeses.
Winery Story: Ruppert-Leroy is a small biodynamic Champagne estate in Essoyes, in the Aube's Côte des Bar, farming about four hectares. Bénédicte Leroy took over the family vineyards in 2009 with her husband Manu, on the condition that they could farm organically and make their own wines. The estate has been certified organic since 2013 and biodynamic (Demeter, Biodyvin) since 2014, and no sulfur has been used in the winery since the 2013 vintage. Every cuvée is made with native yeasts, without fining, filtering or dosage.
