Champagne Drémont-Marroy Village: Charly-sur-Marne (Vallée de la Marne Ouest) Appellation: 7.5 ha Champagne Grower: Jean-Rémi and Melanie Drémont Website: https://www.champagnedremontmarroy.com/ Downloadable PDF The brother and sister team of Jean-Rémi and Melanie Drémont came on the scene in 2016 and they are creating some waves along the Marne river’s “grand meandre.” Jean-Rémi and Melanie are the fourth generation to work the family farm in Charly-sur-Marne, and although their grandmother planted a hectare of vines in 1945, it was their parents who patiently over the last 25 years increased the vineyards from 1 hectare to 7.5 hectares. During this period, they sold their fruit to negociants. Jean-Rémi and Melanie produced the family’s first wine in 2018 and released their first Champagne in 2021. The estate was certified organic in 2022. Jean-Rémi and Melanie bring a lot of thoughtfulness and energy to everything they do. In the vineyard, they use a variety of cover crops to re-balance the soil, they partner with bee-keepers who install hives in the vineyards and they bring in local flocks of sheep to graze in the vineyards. They do a lot of vineyard work manually and work some plots with their Boulonnais draft horse. In the cellar, they vinify individual parcels separately using a variety of containers including stainless steel, cement eggs and foudres. They take only the juice from the first press known as “la cuvée” and vinification is with indigenous yeasts. The wines stay “sur lie” for ten months before bottling. Le Triau Extra-Brut The cuvée name “Le Triau” is a local term for wild or abandoned land and makes reference to all the work that the parents of Jean-Rémi and Melanie did to clear land and plant vineyards. The cuvee’s blend is 55% Pinot Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir, and 15% Chardonnay. It offers a representative cross-section of the varieties and terroirs in the Dremont’s 7.5 hectares. The base vintage is currently 2019 with 30% of reserve wine in the blend. The wine was fermented (without malolactic) and matured for 10 months on its lees, 80% in stainless steel and 20% in barrels of 220L and 600L. After bottling, the Champagne matures “sur lattes” for three years before being disgorged at 0g (without a “liqueur d’expedition.”) La Lierie Extra-Brut The cuvée name “La Lierie” is a local term referencing the tying of young vine shoots on to wires. It signifies the vine’s need of support in order to grow. The cuvee’s blend is 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay. The base vintage is currently 2019 with 30% of reserve wine in the blend. 80% of the wine was fermented (no malolactic) and matured for 10 months in stainless steel and 20% in barrels of 220L and 600L. After bottling, the Champagne matures “sur lattes” for three years before being disgorged at 0g (without a “liqueur d’expedition.”) In this sector of the Marne Valley, Chardonnay gets very ripe and exhibits an aroma and a richness that can mimic Pinot Noir. The cuvee “La Lierie offers a vinous and concentrated style of Champagne. Noir de Méandre Extra-Brut 2018 The cuvée name “Noirs de Méandre” refers to the large meander in the course of the Marne river at the village of Charly-sur-Marne as well as the fact that the cuvee is a Blanc de Noir. The “Noir de Méandre” is 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Pinot Meunier. The cuvee blends parcels with different soil compositions typical of Charly and neighboring villages which include erosional and alluvial soils along with a “tuffeau” limestone. The Champagne is vintage 2018. 50% of the wine was fermented and matured in stainless steel and 50% in barrels of 220L and 600L. After bottling, the Champagne matures “sur lattes” for four years before being disgorged at 0g (without a “liqueur d’expedition.”) Production is a single bottling of 821 bottles. Bottled on 04/08/20 Les Éclosions Éclosion means “hatching” or “blooming”. Les Éclosions is the namesake of Jean-Rémi and Melanie’s single-varietal vintage cuvées vinified in concrete eggs. In their “Eggs” they consider the wines to “live, breathe, and develop before being born”. The porosity of the tanks, which are made of the same limestone clay soils in which the grapes are grown, “mirroring” the vineyard soils, allows minute amounts of oxygen to penetrate the tank, where the wine breathes, and the ovoid shape enables a constant circular motion during fermentation, a natural stirring of the lees. This ageing process preserves the terroir and the fruit, resulting in authentic expressions of variety, vineyard and vintage. Éclosion Meunier 100% Meunier, Vintage 2019. Village :Nanteuil-Sur-Marne, from 2 parcels « Les Biens Aimés » and « Les Luxembourg » The wine is aged for 11 months in 60% ovoid concrete tanks and 40% wood barrels The neutrality of the concrete preserves the authenticity of the fruit, terroir and vintage with precision. Four years maturing sur lattes, with the bottles horizontally stacked, results in a rich aroma and a long palate, a crisp, yet full bodied Champagne. It is disgorged at 0 dosage (without a “liqueur d’expedition). Production is a single bottling of 821 bottles. Bottled on 04/08/20 Éclosion Pinot Noir 100% Pinot-Noir, Vintage 2019. Village : Pavant, from a single parcel « Au dessus de la Croix » The wine is vinified in 60% ovoid concrete tanks and 40% wood barrels for 11 months. The wood brings a patina that blends perfectly with the Pinot Noir’s vinous character, the neutrality of the concrete preserves it’s freshness and fruity aromas. Three years and six months aging sur lattes enhances the aromatic profile and length on the palate. There is no dosage at disgorgement, so that nothing interferes with the singularity of this single vineyard cuvée. Production is a single bottling of 844 bottles. Bottled on 04/08/20 Éclosion Chardonnay 100% Chardonnay, Vintage 2019. Village : Pavant, Lieu dit : « Saint Thierry » and Village Porteron, lieu dit « Conges du Couchant » The wine is vinified in 65% ovoid concrete tanks and 35% wood barrel. Chardonnay is rare in the Marne Valley, and requires special aging to fully reveal is potential. The neutrality of the concrete preserves freshness and lemony aromas of Chardonnay, while the wool provides ideal support for the development of more evolved and yeast-driven aromas. Three years and six months aging sur lattes intensifies the aromas and mouthfeel. Disgorged on March 13, 2024, with 0 dosage so that nothing interferes with the singularity of this blanc de blancs. There are 2 bottlings with a total production of 908 bottles. Bottled on 04/08/2020