{"title":"Charles Ellner","description":"\u003cp\u003eCharles Ellner is a Champagne “house”. This is a term we use to describe Champagne producers that buy grapes from the many growers that dot the landscape. But Ellner is not one of the dominant giants, producing only around 5% of the wine of a producer like Veuve Clicquot. It's a company that is still held closely by its founding family — yes, the Ellners — and it continues to grow their own grapes in vineyards they hold around Epernay and beyond. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt this size and scale, you might place Ellner in an important category of Champagne producer that we like to call “boutique”. Other names that we would place here are Drappier, Jacquesson and Billecart – all favorites at Flatiron Wines. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe like exploring at the boutique level because of the range of personalities they present, often taking us outside of the more classic styles imposed by the big boys. Ellner is definitely unique. They are in some ways similar to Billecart, in that they are aiming principally for a fresh fruity, round style. Like Billecart, they do not allow their wines to undergo malolactic fermentation (a secondary fermentation in which malic (hard) acid is transformed into lactic (softer) acid), and they generally do not barrel age their wines, preferring steel tanks. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut Ellner departs from the Billecart recipe in one important way: they rely heavily on reserve wines (wines from older vintages) and these are wines that they do allow to age in oak barrels (giant, neutral barrels). This gives their Champagnes an extra dose of complexity and helps soften its steely profile.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/sf.flatiron-wines.com\/collections\/charles-ellner.oembed","provider":"Flatiron SF","version":"1.0","type":"link"}