Dehours & Fils NV Grande Reserve Brut
Dehours & Fils NV Grande Reserve Brut – alternate view 2
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Dehours & Fils NV Grande Reserve Brut

Dehours & Fils
$58.00

Grape: Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
Vintage: NV
Type: Sparkling

This grower Champagne highlights the varietal character of pinot meunier, co-fermented alongside smaller portions of pinot noir and chardonnay from Marne Valley clay soils. Winemaker Jérôme Dehours blends the base harvest with reserve wines from a perpetual cuvée initiated in 1998. The winemaking involves spontaneous native fermentation, utilizing a low dosage of one gram per liter to let terroir express itself clearly. Maturing for twenty-seven months in bottle, it delivers a harmonious regional identity.

It pours a pale gold color, opening with expressive aromas of pear, peach, orange zest, and elderflower. On the palate, the fleshy, medium-bodied frame balances ripe orchard fruit with a sharp line of natural acidity. Savory flavors of dried cherry, raspberry, and salted almond wrap around a dense mouthfeel. A bracing wave of limestone acidity runs through the center, keeping the texture refreshed. It finishes long, dry, and persistent with a subtle mineral impression.

Jérôme Dehours took over the domaine in 1999 and started a conversion to organic viticulture, which is now complete. The domaine consists of 42 parcels, all within close reach of the winery. Dehours was the first producer in Champagne to offer “vins parcellaires” emanating from their lieux dits – a now commonplace practice. Total production is typically 70 -80,000 bottles a year, all of which are held back for an above-average period before release.

The wines are not filtered or fined, all enjoy a passage through wood, and they go through malolactic fermentation naturally in the spring. The yeasts used are indigenous, but Dehours makes their own cocktail of the best. Jérôme likes to employ the tailles, so often sold off by other producers, feeling that they impart useful and attractive qualities to the finished wines. The wines are fully aged on lees, and clarified by natural decanting, without filtration or fining.