Her philosophy is in stark contrast with the predominant mindset in Champagne which has historically focused on blending grapes, vineyards and vintages to achieve a consistent product or "house style", and with a tendency towards very high yields and full-on chemical treatments. For Dominique Moreau and likeminded growers, their house style is their terroirs, and is influenced by important factors such as massale selection clones and the ecoysystem of which their vines are a part.
Most of Dominique's wines come from a hillside vineyard of 40-45 year old, massale-selection Pinot Noir in Polisot. The combination of low yields, clay-limestone soils with bands of Kimmeridgian, and an east/southeast exposure gives the wines both power and cut, with an intense brininess and minerality at their core."
- hand harvested grapes
- fermented with natural yeasts that have been selected from their vineyards and cultivated separately used for both the primary and secondary fermentations.
- no dosage added upon disgorgement.
Dominique makes several cuvées, but the bulk of her small production is split between her cuvées Résonance and Éfflorescence, the former fermented in stainless steel and aged sur lattes for 24 months, and the latter is fermented and aged in used barriques, followed by 36 months sur lattes. The grapes for Resonance are from the top of the slope, whereas Efflorescence fruit comes from the bottom of the hill, which she says “has greater power and potential”.
Efflorescence means "to evolves in perpetuity”. Starting with the evolution encouraged by the small oxygen exchange in barrel, she feels that this wine in particular will show a very different face at each stage of its development in bottle. She recommends that both wines be served in traditional white wine glasses to allow for their development through increased aeration. This barrel fermented vintage cuvee is made from grapes from the bottom of the hill, which Dominique believes results in greater power and aging potential. Zero dosage."
