Bolieu’s Pepin de Vigne Extra Brut Champagne

Based on the 2016 vintage and is made up of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Meunier. (When asked the percentage of reserve, Charles responded by email that information was a family secret.) It was aged on its lees for 50+ months before being disgorged with a dosage of 4.5 grams per liter. The nose shows a light bit of cream and lemon oil with nectarine and rounded minerality. The palate has a good texture to it and zippy acidity with flavors of lemon oil, stone fruits, cream, & almost an earthiness from the Pinot Meunier. This will deliver joy through 2028. D&M Tasting Notes

 The family behind Bolieu got their start following the Second World War when in 1945, André and Léone Beaulieu started to add to their family’s small land holdings. They did well and in 1965 their daughter Lydia married Serge Ortillon. With the generational change the winery was renamed Ortillon Beaulieu. Lydia and Serge underwent a set of replanting to match their grapevines to the chalky soils present in Bassuet (Chardonnay replaced Pinot Noir). Time marched on and in 1998 it was time for their daughter Laurence to join the estate. She had met her husband Charles Baffard at the viticulture school in Avize, and when they joined the family business his name was also added to the label. This is how this small producer came to the name of Charles Baffard Ortillon Beaulieu around the new millennium. It didn’t exactly roll off the tongue and they were convinced to refocus the name away from a breakdown of their family tree, so they combined parts of their family names to form Bolieu.

As stated above, Bolieu is located in Bassuet, which is in the valley of the Marne 53 miles southeast of Reims and 30 miles west of the Cote des Blancs. While not nearly as famous as their neighbors to the east, here the soil is mostly chalk with some clay. The land holdings totaling 16 acres are spread across 11 plots in a two mile radius of their village on South to Southwest slopes. They are Chardonnay specialists with 90% of their plantings dedicated to that varietal and the remainder to Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Laurence and Charles farm using the Lutte raisonnée approach (organic adjacent) with the help of four full time staff that swells to 12 during harvest. The winery was modernized in 2008 with a focus on parcel based winemaking so that the various sites that they work with can be aged separately. They utilize stainless steel for the fermentation in the cellar with the oak aged reserve coming from a solera that stretches back two decades. They will keep their vin clairs for around 7 months in Stainless Steel before going through the Champagne Process. Michael Kennel, D&M