Bereche et Fils Millesime Extra Brut Une Champagne 2015
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Champagne Bérêche et Fils, founded in 1847 and led by brothers Raphaël and Vincent Bérêche, is one of Champagne’s most acclaimed grower producers. Bérêche & Fils Millésime Extra Brut Une Champagne 2015 is a blend that includes some of every wine in their cellars, 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay including Avize and Ambonnay. Eight years on lees and ath a low 4 g/l dosage, giving a refined expression of the vintage.
Bérêche & Fils, based in the village of Ludes, just 15 kilometers south of Reims, stands as the premier grower-producer in this hidden gem of the Champagne region. The estate meticulously tends to 26 plots spread across 11.5 hectares, while also sourcing fruit from an additional two hectares in Ambonnay, Cramant and Trépail. Raphaël Bérêche joined his father, Jean-Pierre, at the estate in 2004, and in 2009, Raphaël and his brother, Vincent Bereche, fully assumed control of both the farming and winemaking operations. Their father officially retired in 2012. Although the family initially experimented with organic farming, they found it challenging to maintain consistent yields due to persistent mildew pressure. Today, the estate largely adheres to organic practices, with the exception of mildew control treatments.
The Bérêche family has employed sustainable agricultural methods for over two decades, utilizing lightweight tractors to prevent soil compaction and eliminating herbicides from their practices since 2002. In the cellar, fermentation occurs naturally, progressing slowly at cool temperatures. While some 30% of the vins clairs for their non-vintage Champagnes are vinified in tanks, the rest of their wines are aged in 350-liter barrels for eight to nine months. Before utilizing new barrels (as they do not purchase second-hand ones), they rinse them with tailles, which are subsequently sold off. Their winemaking approach eschews filtration, and racking is conducted by gravity. After barrel aging, the wines spend an additional two months in tanks, with minimal solids during this phase. For all cuvées, except the Brut Réserve, tirage is done using cork instead of a crown cap.
The 2015 Extra-Brut Une Champagne is a blend of all the 1er and Grand Crus in the cellar. With this wine, Raphaël is creating a new direction for future generations when they eventually take over from him and his brother Vincent. Their children may choose to continue producing wines that express a “single wine, single terroir” philosophy, or embrace the more traditional approach of Champagne’s great houses by blending the finest sites into one exceptional cuvée. The first release of UNE brings together the best barrels from Beaux Regards, Le Cran, Avize, Cramant, Ambonnay, Mailly, and Aÿ.
Weather: A wet winter and mild spring gave way to an exceptionally dry summer from mid-May onwards. Hot weather prevailed until mid-August, when the skies opened again. Rains gave way to fine, cool, yet sunny weather for the first two weeks of harvest, which commenced on August 29th. The 2015 vintage has a lot of common denominators with the 2003 vintage but the 2015s are showing a better balance of weight and freshness with their average potential alcohol level of 10.5% and total acidity of 6.9 g/l. The quality and ageing capacity of the vintage has been questioned because of the low acidity, but to me the structure of the wine is not the problem. An average vintage and we need to see more releases before we will know for sure how good the big names will be in 2015.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grands & Premier Cru - Beaux Regards, Le Cran, Avize, Cramant, Ambonnay, Mailly, & Aÿ.
Grape Varieties: 50% Pinot Noir & 50% Chardonnay
Lees Ageing: 8 years
Disgorged: December 2024
Dosage: 4 g/l
Drink: Now for 10 years
Tasting Note: Explosive in the glass, the 2015 possesses tremendous textural richness from start to finish. Orchard fruit, slate, chalk, mint, white flowers and a kiss of toasty brioche saturate the palate. Blending is such a central part of the identity of Champagne. Bérêche's Extra-Brut Une Champagne makes that point loud and clear.- Tasted by Antonio Galloni
Bérêche & Fils, based in the village of Ludes, just 15 kilometers south of Reims, stands as the premier grower-producer in this hidden gem of the Champagne region. The estate meticulously tends to 26 plots spread across 11.5 hectares, while also sourcing fruit from an additional two hectares in Ambonnay, Cramant and Trépail. Raphaël Bérêche joined his father, Jean-Pierre, at the estate in 2004, and in 2009, Raphaël and his brother, Vincent Bereche, fully assumed control of both the farming and winemaking operations. Their father officially retired in 2012. Although the family initially experimented with organic farming, they found it challenging to maintain consistent yields due to persistent mildew pressure. Today, the estate largely adheres to organic practices, with the exception of mildew control treatments.
The Bérêche family has employed sustainable agricultural methods for over two decades, utilizing lightweight tractors to prevent soil compaction and eliminating herbicides from their practices since 2002. In the cellar, fermentation occurs naturally, progressing slowly at cool temperatures. While some 30% of the vins clairs for their non-vintage Champagnes are vinified in tanks, the rest of their wines are aged in 350-liter barrels for eight to nine months. Before utilizing new barrels (as they do not purchase second-hand ones), they rinse them with tailles, which are subsequently sold off. Their winemaking approach eschews filtration, and racking is conducted by gravity. After barrel aging, the wines spend an additional two months in tanks, with minimal solids during this phase. For all cuvées, except the Brut Réserve, tirage is done using cork instead of a crown cap.
The 2015 Extra-Brut Une Champagne is a blend of all the 1er and Grand Crus in the cellar. With this wine, Raphaël is creating a new direction for future generations when they eventually take over from him and his brother Vincent. Their children may choose to continue producing wines that express a “single wine, single terroir” philosophy, or embrace the more traditional approach of Champagne’s great houses by blending the finest sites into one exceptional cuvée. The first release of UNE brings together the best barrels from Beaux Regards, Le Cran, Avize, Cramant, Ambonnay, Mailly, and Aÿ.
Weather: A wet winter and mild spring gave way to an exceptionally dry summer from mid-May onwards. Hot weather prevailed until mid-August, when the skies opened again. Rains gave way to fine, cool, yet sunny weather for the first two weeks of harvest, which commenced on August 29th. The 2015 vintage has a lot of common denominators with the 2003 vintage but the 2015s are showing a better balance of weight and freshness with their average potential alcohol level of 10.5% and total acidity of 6.9 g/l. The quality and ageing capacity of the vintage has been questioned because of the low acidity, but to me the structure of the wine is not the problem. An average vintage and we need to see more releases before we will know for sure how good the big names will be in 2015.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grands & Premier Cru - Beaux Regards, Le Cran, Avize, Cramant, Ambonnay, Mailly, & Aÿ.
Grape Varieties: 50% Pinot Noir & 50% Chardonnay
Lees Ageing: 8 years
Disgorged: December 2024
Dosage: 4 g/l
Drink: Now for 10 years
Tasting Note: Explosive in the glass, the 2015 possesses tremendous textural richness from start to finish. Orchard fruit, slate, chalk, mint, white flowers and a kiss of toasty brioche saturate the palate. Blending is such a central part of the identity of Champagne. Bérêche's Extra-Brut Une Champagne makes that point loud and clear.- Tasted by Antonio Galloni
