Caze Thibaut 2020 Naturellment Extra Brut Champagne

This Grower Champagne is from a tiny 2.66ha holding in the Valley of the Marne, and made entirely Pinot Meunier. The nose shows clotted cream, brown baking spices, yellow plum, baked golden apple, clay like minerality and a hit of chalk. The palate is crystalline with yellow plum, just there cream, yeast and mineral notes. Gorgeous!! D&M Tasting Notes

The man of the moment at the estate is Fabien Cazé. The family has been in the Champagne region for 10 generations. Most of those generations worked for others until Roger Cazé struck out and began to sell Champagne under his own name in 1953. A handful of generations later and Fabien is ready and willing to take on the leadership and direction of the estate. Before coming back to the family holdings Fabien worked with Alexandre Chartogne, and has adopted the new French wave of winemaking as his own. He is also a part of the up and coming grower society Terre et Vins de Champagne, being welcomed into the select few after only a handful of compelling vintages. He and the family holdings are in the Chatillon Sur Marne with some plantings in the neighboring village of Vandieres. Like Alexandre at Chartogne-Taillet, Fabien’s aim as he grows as a winemaker is to focus on and promote the terroir of his single plots as distinctive wines. Most growers that we bring to you are small: Fabien is positively tiny. He has six parcels total to draw from that only cover 5.5 acres. In the vineyard they promote ground cover with some tilling and hoeing to promote vine growth. Fabien does not use herbicides or insecticides on any of his plots. Michael Kennel, D&M  Organically and biodynamically farmed 1 gram disgorged January 2023