Yann Alexandre is the eighth generation of his family to grow vines in the Petite Montagne de Reims, the third to make Champagne there. He and his wife, Severine, share a passion for horticulture that directly informs their viticulture. "We grow the vineyard like a garden," Yann explains. This is a high bar for two farmers working 6.3 hectares spread over 30 plots in nine villages. But is also essential to their philosophy: "I always try to put forward the characteristics of each plot of land and to reach perfect grape maturity and health." Vitality is achieved through intensive hand work and regenerative practices to which the Alexandres have been dedicated since 1999. Throughout the Petite Montagne, Meunier is the star grape, supported by Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the grapes matched to soils of calcareous clay, white marls, stones, and flint. Yann declares his aim is "as natural a Champagne as possible," made from vital grapes, with minimal added sulfites, up to seven years lees aging, hand riddling and disgorgement, and "no detail left to chance." Certified HVE since 2015 (High Environment Value)

This rosé is a composition of Chardonnay from the lieu-dit Les Blanches Terres in Coulommes-la-Montagne and Pinot Noir from the lieu-dit Saint Lié in the village Villedommange. 92% of the final blend is Chardonnay which is primarily fermented in stainless steel where it is allowed to go through full malolactic conversion, while 15% is vinified in oak without malolactic. The wine is aged approximately 4 months in stainless and blended with 60% reserve wine and combined with 6% Pinot Noir as red wine. The wine then spends 20 months on lees before being disgorged. Pretty much a "Blanc de Blancs Rose!"

Weather: 2014 was characterised by mild temperatures and frequent rainfall and a few weeks of high temperatures, a very solid vintage with good ripeness and acidity. Flowering began in June and summer was a combination of dry, wet and cold spells. Some regions saw some disease and Meunier in the Marne Valley didn’t have a great year and some of the Pinot Noir with its thinner skin made it more difficult for the red grapes. Harvest took place from 8th to 20th September. A year where it was necessary to select the red grapes carefully to maintain high quality. In general Chardonnay is the star of the vintage.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: Montagne de Reims 100% Premier Cru from two Single vineyards: Chardonnay Les Blanches Terres & Pinot Noir Saint Lié
Grape Varieties: Chardonnay 92% & 8% Pinot Noir as red wine
Fermentation: 15% barrel fermented and no malolactic fermentation
Base Vintage: 2014
Lees Ageing: 5 years
Disgorged: 30th January 2020
Dosage: 4 g/l
Production: 3,664 bottles
Reserve wines: 15%
Drink: Now to 2025

Tasting Note: The aromatics leap out the glass with some very pretty fruits like redcurrant and dried raspberry, beautiful. In the mouth you see more with peach and apricot and just a hint of pineapple and blackcurrant with underlying spice. Good weight of fruit and finishes fresh and light. After several minutes in the glass you see the chalky and mineral character coming forward; the soils personality influencing what we taste. Tasted by Nick Feb 2021 and rated 17.5+/20

Courmas and Environs
This 180-inhabitant village, 10 km (6 miles) southwest from Reims, takes its place within the Montagne de Reims, a sweep of low plateau, much of it forested, with vines covering its gentle slopes. Courmas belongs to the Petite Montagne, separated from the Grand Montagne by a main north-south road, the name a reference to the rather lower elevation of the vineyards here. The calcareous clay and stony-flinty soils tend to be shallow and well draining. In Courmas, Yann has 14 parcels, predominantly planted to meunier. These are matched by an equal number scattered to the north in Bouilly, in the 1er Cru villages Villedommange, Coulommes de Montagnes, and Vrigny, and in the sandier soils of Chenay and Merfy in the Massif de Saint Thierry and, to the south, in the stony, calcareous earth of Marfaux and, down in the Vitryat, St.-Lumier-en-Champagne. These sites have been selected for their advantageous "late climate" as Yann calls it, and their soils, both of which serve to retain acidity and freshness in the wines.

Yann and Severine Alexandre
Yann can trace his ancestry in the region back to 1690. Desire Alexandre, Yann's great-grandfather, vinified still wines and sold them to the big champagne houses. In 1933, Marcel, Yann's grandfather, and his brother, Gaston, decided to keep the still wines and in 1966, Yann's father, Yves, started an eponymous label. Yann follows very much in this tradition, albeit with impressive education to back it up. After studying agronomics, viticulture, and oenology in Beaune, Rouffach, and Avize. In 1999, he returned to Courmas. Meanwhile, in 1995, he had met Severine, who was then working in a different field. As Yann says, I have been sharing my passion for wine with her ever since.

Vineyards and Farming
The vineyards span 6.3 hectares split over 27 parcels within 9 Cruxand hence varying soil compositions all carefully matched to their varieties: 55% Meunier, 30% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Noir. The primarily southwest-facing hillside sites encompass yellow tuffe, white marl, calcareous clay, white stone (pierreux) with flint. The vines, which are on average 25 years old, are a mix of clonal and massal selections. Yann's farming is pioneering. His stated goal is to make as natural a champagne as possible achieved through careful plant health strategy, respect for biodiversity, water resource management, cover crops, and ploughing. In this way, he says, the vine deepens its roots and becomes self-sufficient, erosion is stopped and the inputs are held back and made available for the next crop. The reappearance of the tulipe de vigne, a delicate flower once present everywhere in the region but wiped out by chemical farming, is an encouraging confirmation of yanns approach, echoed by a level three high-value environmental certification from the french ministry of agriculture earned since 2015. The thorough maintenance of the soil allows for the self-development of the vine, which takes everything it needs, Yann notes. Vine training, green pruning and shearing of lateral shoots to thin the vine and ensure the ripening of the grapes are all done by hand. Likewise, sequential, selective harvesting of the various plots to ensure perfect grape ripeness.