Grower Champagne

Just 5,200 bottles were produced of this delicious rosé, which has peachy red berry, raspberry aromas, and an arrestingly taut and incisive palate. The Bérêche family own 11 hectares of vines, most of which are in the village of Ludes on the Montagne de Reims. In recent years they have gone from strength to strength, and their wines are snapped up with speed. They block malolactic fermentation so the wines have a tensile, chalky line running through them. The extended oak ageing they practice adds depth and power to the wines.

Vilmart is a Champagne house prized by connoisseurs, and their rosé cuvée shimmers with elegance. Laurent Champs is the fifth generation of his family to make these wines, and he’s a man of passion and skill. His exacting standards in his vineyards and winery ensure exceptional wines every vintage.

This is a fairly recent addition to the Laherte stable: a fresh, spicy, and lightly fruity style of rosé. Its production is tightly limited. Aurélien Laherte is the seventh generation of his family to grow vines in the village of Chavot-Courcourt, just to the south of Epernay in between the Côte des Blancs and Vallée de la Marne in a sub-region known as Côteaux Sud d’Épernay. He and his family work 10 hectares across 75 parcels here and his distinctive wines have earned him a strong following. Aurélien is one of a group of dynamic young growers, along with his friend Raphaël Bérèche, who are bent on natural methods and achieving excquisite terroir expression.

Eric and Isabelle Coulon are the eighth generation of the family to make wines here, from their 10.8 hectare estate in Vrigny, on the Montagne de Reims. They farm with an uncommon closeness to the land, ploughing the soils and eschewing chemical intervention in both the vineyard and cellar. They favour long ageing and slightly lower pressure than the norm in Champagne (5 bars as opposed to 6), so the wines have a creamy, moussy texture. This rosé is 100% Pinot Meunier from old vines planted in Vrigny and Gueux. They use a short maceration to extract a pretty copper hue and the wine has a peppery, red fruit character which marries well with the creamy style.