CRÉTÉ CHAMBERLIN

Located in Moussy, just west of Épernay, the siblings Blandine and Mathieu have taken over the family estate formerly named Dominique Crété & fils with around 8 ha of vineyards. This young, charismatic duo are now in the process of building their portfolio of terroir wines and transforming the vineyards with sustainable farming. You will find both of them amongst the vines, but Blandine also takes care of business, whereas Mathieu is chef du cave with a special passion for Chardonnay. The family holdings are spread in Côte des Blancs and Coteaux sud d'Épernay, with around equal amounts of Chardonnay and Meunier and a mere 2 percent of Pinot noir. Some of the plots are as old as 120 years, and with separately vinified parcels there is ample choice for blending besides being able to showcase some of the lieu dits in monocru bottlings.

The cellar is modern with a pneumatic press and juices are run by gravity, with only a minimum of sulphite added to the wines. First fermentation is done with wild yeast and malolactic conversion sometimes occur, but is not explicitly sought. All the champagnes are left on the lees at least 2,5 years, with vintage bottlings around the double amount of time. The first releases are all fermented in steel tanks, but Mathieu has recently bought a few large oak casks, which will be used for some of the future vintage wines. 

With several collections, the variety of the champagnes offers something suitable to every taste. The nonvintage line 1683 offers classical crisp and clean, somewhat smoky wines whereas the vintage lines are more complex and grippy on the palate.