Grapes: Pinot Noir + Meunier
Region: 1er cru Les Mesneux, Montagne de Reims, Champagne, France
Vintage: NV
Viticulture: Organic + Biodynamic
Soils: Limestone, chalk, clay
Vinification: Direct press, aged 7 months in foudre, 2nd ferm in bottle
Aging: 23 months
Fining or Filtering: Disgorged
Sulfur: minimal
Notes from the Importer:
Elise Bougy is part of a new wave of Champagne growers rethinking the region from the ground up. After returning to her native Les Mesneux in 2016 to take over her family’s estate, she transitioned the vineyards to organic and biodynamic farming, earning certification in 2022. Her three hectares span 1er Cru parcels in the Montagne de Reims and a prized Grand Cru plot in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, including a cherished family holding on pure chalk soils. With minimal intervention in the cellar and a fierce devotion to site expression, Bougy crafts Champagnes that are vibrant, tense, and resolutely alive.
Le Mont Chainqueux is Elise Bougy’s home turf of a tiny, southeast-facing slope in Les Mesneux planted by her grandparents in 1965. Co-planted to pinot noir and pinot meunier, the parcel spans silt over chalk at the base and clay over sand higher up, yielding a blanc de noirs with both aromatic lift and textural depth. Fermented with native yeasts and aged in a mix of foudre and barrel, the wine spent 20 months on lees in bottle before being disgorged without dosage or added sulfur. Just 1,500 bottles were produced, offering a rare chance to experience this site in its purest form: red berries, citrus oil, and chalk-driven structure wrapped in a fine, energetic mousse. This is a tactile and precise wine, resolutely expressive of place.
