Charles Dufour Bistrotage Champagne
$131.99
Based in Landreville in the Aube, Champagne vigneron Charles Dufour began his career in 2006 with a more conventional approach to Champagne, but not long after made the switch to organic viticulture (conversion of his six hectares was completed in 2010). Dufour’s are Champagnes of authenticity, reflecting, along with many other sensitive vignerons in his young cohort, the potential of the terroir of the Côte des Bars. Dufour only ever employs spontaneous ferments for vin clairs, and the wines are free of added sulfur. He’s also taken an interest in employing Pinot Blanc in his cuvées, with this variety figuring strongly in the domaine’s Bulles de Comptoir bottling. All primary ferments are conducted in old tanks and burgundy pièces with native yeast, no so2, and full malolactic completed. Dosage is very low; liqueur de tirage is a blend of Dufour’s own wine and cane sugar; the yeasts used in the secondary fermentation are derived from his own vineyards. None of his wines are ever fined or filtered.
Dufour has also expanded his Champagne range in recent years by making new wines from vineyards of his mother Françoise Martinot’s side of the family in a nearby village.
Piollot Colas Robin Champagne
$129.99
In 1986, Roland, Piollot left school to move back to the domaine. He decided to convert 100% of the domaine's production to Champagne production, which is the beginning of Piollot's wines sales.His father Robert, close to nature, left to his son the legacy of working the land and carefully observing the progression of the plants. In 2009, they began converting to organic viticulture, with a total certification in 2014. And recently, we’ve got the DEMETER certification (biodynamie).
Piollot Colas Mepetit Meunier Champagne
$146.99
In 1986, Roland, Piollot left school to move back to the domaine. He decided to convert 100% of the domaine's production to Champagne production, which is the beginning of Piollot's wines sales.His father Robert, close to nature, left to his son the legacy of working the land and carefully observing the progression of the plants. In 2009, they began converting to organic viticulture, with a total certification in 2014. And recently, we’ve got the DEMETER certification (biodynamie).
A. Margaine Rose de Saignee
$147.99
The Champagnes from father-daughter duo Arnaud & Mathilde Margaine are a KWM exclusive, and they are exceptional. With vineyards based in Montagne de Reims, they specialize in Chardonnay (90%) although they also have a small plot of Pinot Noir. This small estate (7 hectares) was started by Arnaud's father (Bernard) in the 1950s and is organically farmed. The vines average 35 years of age and the Chardonnay is produced from a clone unique to the area.
A. Margaine Le Brut 375ml
$52.99
The Champagnes from father-daughter duo Arnaud & Mathilde Margaine are a KWM exclusive, and they are exceptional. With vineyards based in Montagne de Reims, they specialize in Chardonnay (90%) although they also have a small plot of Pinot Noir. This small estate (7 hectares) was started by Arnaud's father (Bernard) in the 1950s and is organically farmed. The vines average 35 years of age and the Chardonnay is produced from a clone unique to the area.
Anselmo Mendes Espumante Rose
$56.99
Alvarelhão Espumante is a sparkling rosé made from the Alvarelhão grape variety. Alvarelhão is a very old variety (classified in 1790), which today is planted mainly in the north of the Vinho Verde region, especially in the sub-region of Monção and Melgaço, where it has always been part of the red wine scene. The grapes used for this sparkling wine come from small plots of vines in Monção and Melgaço. They are rooted in granite soils, and are grapes that reach a perfect balance with the help of the mountainous group that surrounds this sub-region. The harmony between the sugar content and the acidity necessary for the production of a high-quality sparkling wine.
JL Denois Brut Rose
$34.99
Nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees in Southwest France is the coolest climate and highest elevation appellation in the Languedoc: Limoux. There, outside the lofty Medieval village of Roquetaillade, lives Limoux's most famous vigneron, Jean-Louis Denois, the gentleman responsible for bringing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to this ideal terroir in the 80’s. His eponymous domaine, founded after he sold his first Limoux project Domaine de l’Aigle to Gerard Bertrand twenty years back, includes 15 hectares of vines at 400-500 meters above sea level on limestone and clay soils. Denois quickly rose to prominence in France for offering incredible bubbles at incredible prices. His crémants used the finest techniques and clones of Champagne without the same price tag, earning the regard of leading Champagne experts like Jancis Robinson who deemed the wines “a little fruitier, more opulent, and less obviously lees-aged than the best champagnes but infinitely better than cheap champagne” by the turn of the millennium. The wines have only continued on their path to terroir singularity and deliciousness over these last twenty years.
Peter Lauer Riesling Sekt Brut
$59.99
This esteemed wine estate in Ayl has among the best steep slopes on the Saar. In addition to the famous Ayler Kupp, they cultivate two other important vineyards in the Mosel region: the Saar Feilser directly above the river and the steeply sloping vineyard Schonfels, a little farther upstream. They recently replanted and recultivated the now forgotten Lambertskirch, just a stone’s throw from Schonfels.
Their white wines have been among the best in the Saar for many years. Since 2013,they have been a member of the VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates). Their wines from VDP GROSSEN LAGEN in the dry and off-dry styles are particularly special. This is a pure, bone-dry Sekt that expresses the transparency of Riesling in these cool, southerly vineyards of the Mosel valley. Although this is bottle fermented like Champagne, it is a world away from the toasty richness of that wine. Instead it's properly dry, chalky and bracing, the ultimate appetite-whetter.
Delamotte Blanc de Blanc
$143.99
Founded in 1760 in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, a grand cru village located in la Côte des Blancs, Champagne Delamotte works this enchanting terroir to grow chardonnay, the dominant white grape variety used to make Champagne. Well-reputed among sommeliers and wine enthusiasts, their champagnes are known for their consistency, delicacy and exceptional character. For over 260 years, we have been developing four different cuvées, a small range that gives amateurs and experts alike a clear understanding of the art of champagne. Our Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Blancs vintage, Brut and Rosé are quintessential Champagne wines. Their top luxury wine is Salon, very expensive and hard to find, but it's worth knowing that in the years when they don't make Salon (exceptional vintages only) those grapes get declassified into the Delamotte label at a fraction of the price.