Champagne Jérôme Prévost (La Closerie)

Champagne Jérôme Prévost (La Closerie)

Jérôme Prévost, who bottles under the name La Closerie, is one of the most influential winemakers of modern Champagne. His tiny estate in Gueux on the Petite Montagne de Reims has brought prestige to the often underestimated Pinot Meunier by showing that this grape variety can single-handedly carry champagnes of great complexity.

Vineyard & Style

Prévost farms around two hectares, exclusively Pinot Meunier, in the single vineyard Les Béguines, which he inherited from his grandmother in 1987. The soil is unique: a thick layer of fossilized shell sand and limestone over pure chalk bedrock. Fermentation is with indigenous yeasts in 450- to 600-liter barrels, then around ten months on the lees, bottled without fining, without filtration, without cold stabilization and with minimal sulfur.

The Cuvées

The iconic Cuvée is La Closerie "Les Béguines," a single-variety Meunier that is numbered according to the base vintage (LC19, LC21 …). There's also the Rosé Fac-simile, a small, equally sought-after rarity.

Facts

Informative producer portrait based on public sources. My own tasting to follow.