Quentin Beaufort La Grande Charme Brut 2010

Quentin Beaufort La Grande Charme Brut 2010

Quentin Beaufort
$54.00

Grape: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
Vintage: 2010
Type: Sparkling

Crafted by Quentin Beaufort from organically farmed vineyards in the unique clay-limestone slopes of Pothières near the Champagne-Burgundy border, this sparkling cuvée reflects an uncompromised commitment to natural ancestral winemaking. The Pinot Noir-dominant blend ferments spontaneously with native yeasts in neutral wooden barrels before undergoing its secondary bottle fermentation using concentrated organic grape must rather than commercial sugar. Aged extensively on the fine lees and disgorged manually, without added sulfur or dosage, the liquid preserves the pristine energy of the 2010 vintage. This is a raw, electric vintage sparkler that marries Burgundian depth with chiseled natural tension.

It pours a pale gold with a fine, persistent effervescence. Aromas of baked brioche, orchard fruit, white flowers, and damp stone shift into a focused palate brimming with sour lemon, dried herbs, and a subtle touch of natural yeastiness. The mouthfeel is driving and taut, fueled by 2010's high natural acidity and a firm, chalky mineral streak. It finishes long, dry, and savory, leaving a mouthwatering impression of grapefruit pith and crushed sea salt.

Winery

Quentin Beaufort—son of organic Champagne pioneer Jacques Beaufort (of Maison André et Jacques Beaufort)—established his independent project in 2007 alongside his wife, Alice. Raised under strict organic and natural winemaking principles, Quentin crafts ultra-small allocations of Champagne in the Aube village of Polisy using a parcel of his family’s oldest vines planted in 1969. To expand outside the financial and regulatory constraints of the Champagne AOC, Quentin and Alice also acquired 8.5 hectares of high-elevation, clay-limestone vineyards in Prusly-sur-Ource, located in Northern Burgundy just three kilometers past the Champagne border. Trading under the Domaine Alice Beaufort and "Le Petit Beaufort" labels, the estate works predominantly with pinot noir and chardonnay across both regional sites.

In the vineyard and cellar, Beaufort adheres to an uncompromised, low-intervention approach honed over generations. Soils are farmed organically with natural cover crops to preserve freshness and prevent erosion on steep slopes. In the winery, hand-harvested fruit undergoes spontaneous native yeast fermentations in oak barrels, followed by extended maturation on fine lees to build deep textural richness and savory complexity. Sparklings are produced using the traditional method with minimal sulfur additions and traditional manual disgorgement (à la volée). Whether bottling micro-cuvée Aube Champagne or high-tension Burgundian sparkling and still wines, Quentin Beaufort yields deeply tactile, vinosity-driven wines marked by notes of bruised apple, brioche, dried herbs, and chalky mineral energy.