Drappier Grande Sendree 2009

Champagne Drappier is neither a Grande Marque nor strictly a grower, they have 60 hectares of vineyards in the Aube, the southern area of Champagne around its winery in the village of Urville. It also buys in two thirds of its supply from vineyard owners in the appellation to craft around 1.8 million bottles annually. Drappier's focus is on sustainability and is Champagne’s first carbon-neutral producer, with an increasing number of its vineyards certified organic, currently 15 ha are certified organic. They are also well known for lower sulphur dioxide additions and low dosage and because of this my suggestion is to enjoy the champagnes at their freshest consume them in the first few years after release.

The Grande Sendrée Cuvée takes its name from a parcel of land covered by cinders after the fire which ravaged Urville in 1838. A spelling error having slipped through in a new version of the land register, it is with an “s” that this cuvée is designated today. A reproduction of an 18th century bottle found in the Urville cellars is used and the Grande Sendrée undergoes remuage entirely by hand.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Aube
Grape Varieties: 55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay
Dosage: 5.5 g/l
Malolactic: completed
Barrel Maturation: 35% of wines aged in barrel
Drink: Now to 2025

Tasting Note: A yellow hue with hints of acacia honey, beeswax and marizpan, given time in the glass quince jelly combines with raspberry jam and warm brioche. The strawberry notes on the finish subtlely combine with ripe blood orange.

The history of the walls today inhabited by the DRAPPIER Family goes back to the 12th century when Saint Bernard had an annex to Clairvaux Abbey built in Urville. Once occupied by Cistercian monks from Clairvaux Abbey, the seat of the House includes some magnificent 12th-century vaulted cellars. In 1803 one of the ancestors of the House, François moved to Urville and begin working a vineyard which today extends over 55 hectares, plus a dozen contractual arrangements with other growers in the Côte des Bar, the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs.

In Urville, at the beginning of the 1930’s, the grandfather of Michel, the present head of the House, was the first to decide to plant Pinot Noir in the region and was nicknamed “Father Pinot”. In the meantime this grape variety is grown in 70% of Drappier’s vineyards and almost three quarters of grape production in the local area.

Since 1979 Michel Drappier has been controlling the wine-making process while André, with a lifetime’s experience of harvests behind him, keeps a watchful eye over the vineyards which today cover 53 hectares of land owned by the domaine and 50 hectares in contractual arrangements with other growers. In 1988 deep cellars dug out of the Reims limestone in the reign of Napoleon III become part of the family ownership to house the prestigious cuvées.

Drappier are fiercely opposed to excessive use of sulphur and they use some of the lowest doses in Champagne. The Champagnes thus derived therefore have more natural colours with rich, coppery golds and more expansive aromas.
While the vintage varieties age in the cool darkness of the Reims cellars, dug out of the limestone in 1870, the large-sized bottles are prudently lined up in the 12th century cellar, constructed in Urville by Cistercian monks from Clairvaux Abbey.