Yes, even Champagne with its long tradition still writes its small, but all the more remarkable success stories today. One of these is that of the mini-boutique winery La Closerie, which has managed the feat of becoming a cult Champagne producer in less than 20 years.
Jérôme Prévost, owner of the highly exclusive house, inherited a small vineyard in 1987 where he grew grapes as a pastime, but sold them to the Laurent-Perrier Champagne house. In 1998, the representative of another highly renowned Champagne house, none other than Anselme Selosse, persuaded him to turn the precious grapes into Champagne himself. For years, Jérôme Prévost worked in Selosse's cellars until the early 2000s, when he found shelter for his small, modest quantities in a former bomb shelter.
In 2002, his first Champagne came on the market, and it immediately caused a sensation. Nothing has changed to this day. The grapes still come from his vineyard, which covers just two hectares and which, uniquely for Champagne, is planted exclusively with Pinot Meunier. His Champagne La Closerie "&" consists almost exclusively of this variety. He buys a few grapes of the other Champagne varieties from friendly winemakers, about whose qualities he knows very well.
His winemaking is simple, without any chemicals and with as little intervention as possible. This also means renouncing many operations popular elsewhere, such as filtration. His grapes, harvested at the peak ripeness, do not need any dosage as the base wines are allowed to mature in larger wooden barrels.
Only four Champagnes are produced, all from the same vintage. And they send critics and aficionados into raptures, but with these minute quantities are allocated only to selected dealers.
Unfortunately, many connoisseurs are left empty-handed. But those who can get hold of one or the other bottle can enjoy one of the best and most original Champagnes ever.
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