Dhondt-Grellet Brut Dans un Premier Temps NV, Champagne, France
Regular price $88.00
Unit price per
50% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier
In 1986, Eric Dhondt and Edith Grellet decided to stop selling off grapes to negociants and started Dhondt-Grellet. Their focus on farming translated into honest Champagnes from great holdings across the Côte des Blancs. Starting with two hectares, the domaine has now tripled in size and starting gaining real attention when Adrien took over winemaking in 2012 at age 22. Today, joined by his sister Alice, he has slowly increased the range of Champagnes produced by isolating their holdings across the villages of Cramant and Cuis and bottling pure expressions of Chardonnay.
This the first cuvée of Adrien's range and the largest; he intends it to be an expression of all 6 hectares of his holdings spread across Sezanne, Cuis, and Avenay val d'Or. Vines are an average of 45 years old.
Adrien uses organic & biodynamic practices but he is not seeking certification, preferring to work in the spirit of what he calls “peasant viticulture,” using no synthetic products, no herbicides or insecticides, enriching his soils with homemade compost and, as of Spring 2021, plowing each plot with his horse, Thor. His philosophy is to have a living soil with a healthy balance between microbial life and the vine.