Geoffrey Expression Brut Champagne

The nose shows yellow cherry, plum, marzipan, cherry pit, and light citrus notes. The palate has a moderate presence to it with citrus, marzipan, yellow plum, violets, lemon curd, and a light fig note. We think the Expression would be best enjoyed in the next three to five years. For this Champagne, get out the sweatpants and make yourselves a bowl of Creamy Polenta topped with Pork Ragu. D&M Tasting Notes

This Grower Producer comes from the Valley of the Marne, the house that Geoffroy now calls home is on a prominent street in Äy amongst the likes of Deutz and Ayala, but this is a producer very much tied to the land and the soils of Cumières, a premier cru village alongside the Marne river. The family can trace its history in the village back to the 17th century. While the Geoffroy family long grew grapes and sold the result to the houses, this began to change in the years following WWII when the large houses began to purchase less. This came to a head in the 1970s when Rene Geoffroy decided to keep all the grapes in house and focus on being a Grower/ Producer.

Today his son Jean-Baptiste represents the fifth generation to work the land. The Geoffroys have a total of 37 acres they own, of which 27 are in Cumières. In terms of farming the Geoffroy’s engage in integrated pest control-- they avoid all chemical weedkillers, plant cover crops, till the soils, and encourage predatory insects that go after vine pests. All the work in the fields leads to healthier fruit that comes into the cellar.This cuvee, the Geoffroy Expression MV , a blend of 28% Chardonnay, 31% Pinot Noir, and 41% Pinot Meunier from Cumières and the neighboring village of Hautvillers. After an initial fermentation in enameled tank and some neutral oak with malolactic blocked, it was assembled from 53% 2015 and 47% 2014, before being aged on its lees for 42 months. Michael Kennel, D&M