NV Céline & Laurent Tripoz Crémant de Bourgogne Prestige

WINEMAKER: Céline & Laurent Tripoz
REGION: Burgundy, FR
VARIETAL: Chardonnay
VITICULTURE: Certified Organic/Biodynamic

"Laurent makes a small amount of Prestige which is essentially the same as the wine above except that some parts have been matured in seasoned oak barrels to impart more complexity and texture. It also spends 6 more months on lees. The result is something brinier, more vinous and serious. The Nature is the choice for aperitif 'par excellence' and this is the one that you can enjoy throughput the meal. It's a superb example of Cremant." - Andrew Guard

Céline and Laurent, started their estate in 1986 by acquiring vines in and around the small village of Loché, where their home and cellar are located. At first they were selling grapes to the local coop, but quickly decided that they could produce higher quality wines from their fruit, and so they released their first vintage in 1990. All of their 11.5 hectares of vines are planted in clay soils rich with limestone and have been farmed organically and biodynamically since the late 1990s (they are certified by Agriculture Biologique and Demeter); some of the newer parcels have never been treated with herbicides or pesticides at all.

As you can imagine, this means meticulous work in the vines with severe pruning, de-budding, and leaf pulling to achieve concentrated, healthy fruit that will be harvested at optimum maturity. In the cellar, Céline and Laurent believe that working the natural way is crucial to obtaining the maximum amount of quality from terroir that they see as being less prestigious than parts of Burgundy further north meaning that all fermentations occur naturally with the only addition being a touch of SO2 for some cuvées.