Champagne Benoît Déhu Initiation Blanc de Noir Brut Nature NV [Base 2020, Disgorged July 2023]

After a defining period working nigh on six-years at Bollinger, eighth generation grower, Benoit Déhu returned to the family Maison at the western edge of the Vallée de la Marne. The estate pre-dates the French Revolution, founded in 1787. Obsessed with the Meunier grape, in 2011 Benoit cordoned off an idyllic 1.7 ha. plot known as the 'La Rue des Noyers', which he immediately committed to biodynamic viticulture and began to work by horse. Idiosyncratically, the wines are fermented in oak hewn of the local Fossoy forest. The results are rapier-like wines, tensile, fierce and effusively energetic, with the eponymous La Rue des Noyers bottling, exemplary Meunier.

This extremely focused micro-project allows Benoit to gain a better understanding of the Meunier grape via three distinct expressions from the same terroir.

In the 2015 vintage, Benoit introduced two new Champagnes to his arsenal: "Initiation" and "L'Orme". Initiation is a blend of Meunier from La Rue des Noyers, and Pinot Noir from a small parcel dominated by clay and sand at the bottom of the hill, which Benoit planted using massale selection Pommard clone from Burgundy! Think power and finesse, dichotomies that amount to a vibrant complexity! L'Orme, meanwhile, is made of 100% Pinot Noir from a tiny parcel previously planted with elm trees (Orme), and captures the attributes of complexity, personality and class that make Déhu Champagnes so alluring.

The style of Benoit's low- and zero-dosage wines is intense, urgent and energetic, with beautiful tension and fine minerality. Though production is minuscule - less than 4,000 bottles - fellow vignerons and wine professional are taking note of Benoit's work, earning him an enthusiastic underground following. He has quickly established himself as a vigneron to watch in one of France's most dynamic and progressive wine growing regions.

Country: France
Region: Champagne