We—the wine community—continue to learn about Champagne. We are starting to get pretty comfortable with the sub-regions (Côte des Blancs versus Montagne de Reims, say), and we are even starting to recognize the more important... Read More

We—the wine community—continue to learn about Champagne. We are starting to get pretty comfortable with the sub-regions (Côte des Blancs versus Montagne de Reims, say), and we are even starting to recognize the more important villages, like Aÿ.

Now, increasingly, we have producers of Champagne who want to teach us about individual vineyards within villages. To cite an analogy that may be more familiar to many of us, it's no longer Gevrey-Chambertin versus Chambolle-Musigny, but rather Bonne Mares versus Amoureuses.

The process has begun only relatively recently (it's a fairly new focus even in Champagne itself) and we are all learning together. Roger Pouillon is a great producer to learn with, as the domaine recently started producing single-vineyard bottlings ("parcellaires") from biodynamically farmed vines.