Doyard - 'En Vieux Fombres', Coteaux Champenios, Champagne, France (2017)
Doyard - 'En Vieux Fombres', Coteaux Champenios, Champagne, France (2017)
TASTING NOTES
Still wine from Champagne (Côteaux Champenois) but tastes more like a rich, high octane Savennières from the Loire! Pear, walnuts, lemon, nutmeg and spices. Rich, fleshy but with incisive acidity. Chalky, mineral and delicately oaked. An absolute knock out wine.
REGION | France > Champagne > Côteaux Champenois |
GRAPE(S) | 100% Chardonnay |
VINTAGE | 2017 |
FORMAT | 750ml Bottle |
ABV | 12.5% |
FEATURES | Organic, Vegan-Friendly |
SCALE | Dry |
The champagne region is being adversely affected by Fan Roll Leaf Virus, and the vineyards were affected. Further study on the impacts on the grapes is ongoing, but it is for sure causing Chardonnay to ripen and retain much higher levels of acidity than the norm. As a result, at this time, it is happily enabling the vinificaiton of some thrilling, against the grain styles that in the deft hands of Doyar, might just be one of our favourite wines of 2024.
The Doyard family is based in Vertus in the Côte des Blancs, with winemaking roots in Champagne trace back to 1677 when a marriage license of Jean-Baptiste Doyard listed “winegrower” as the occupation. In 1927 they released their first wines under the Doyard and in 1979, Yannick Doyard took over, turning it into a beacon for precise, vinous, mineral-etched Champagne in the Côtes des Blancs. Today, Yannick’s son Guillaume is at the helm, farming 10 ha of prime vineyards in the Premier Cru village of Vertus and the Grand Cru villages of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cramant, Oger, Avize (combined 9 hectares of Chardonnay) and Aÿ (1 hectare of Pinot Noir).
The domaine employs organic farming, with most of the vineyards worked by horse to protect the soils. They do not replant any vineyards, but replace individual vines only if absolutely necessary to continuously increase the average age of their vines. Yields are kept very low to promote root depth, adding to the concentrated intensity that defines the estate’s style.
In the cellar, all wines undergo long lees aging: a minimum of 48 months for all cuvées, and much longer for some wines.