2013 Suenen La Grande Vigne Pinot Meunier Champagne

When Aurélien Suenen took the keys at his family Domaine, it owned two hectares in the far north of the region in a village called Montigny-sur-Vesle, positioned northwest of Reims in the Massif de Saint-Thierry subzone. Early in the piece Aurélian sold off most of this land (which was removed from his base in Cramant), as he realised he could not maintain this quality of vines, so far away, to the standards he was setting himself. That he kept hold of this tiny parcel in La Grande Vigne speaks volumes to the quality and rarity of this type of site in Champagne.

La Grande Vigne is a 0.21-hectare plot of ungrafted Meunier in a stunning terroir in Montigny-sur-Vesle (ungrafted vines in Europe are obviously extremely rare, another feature that makes this wine so unique). The vines here are now 50 years old, and are planted in the deep, sandy Thanetian era soils of the area. The terrain is flat, with a slight north-western tilt. It’s a fascinating and complex terroir that elevates this unique, unfiltered Champagne to the top of the Meunier pile. Raised in a single 500-litre demi-muid for 10 months, the 2013 spent 60 months on lees until disgorgement, with 1 g/L, in June 2019.

Other Reviews....
Disgorged in October 2019 after tirage under cork, the 2013 Extra-Brut Montigny-sur-Vesle La Grande Vigne is a small cuvée, produced from the same parcel of ungrafted vines in the same lieu-dit and fermented in the same 500-liter barrel every year. Offering up aromas of crisp green apple and pear complemented by hints of honeycomb, toast and white flowers, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, with chalky structuring extract, racy acids and a delicately vanillin-inflected finish.
94 points
William Kelley - Wine Advocate (Apr 2021)