This month the French Winophiles are exploring “Unexpected Pleasures In Champagne”. Our event is being hosted by Gwendolyn of Wine Predator . And what are the “unexpected pleasures of Champagne”? In my case, it’s a “two-fer”. I’m sharing a wine made from unexpected heirloom grapes from a producer in an unexpected region in Champagne.

The Aube – An Unexpected Pleasure A World Apart the North

Let’s begin with the region. I first visited The Aube on a media trip to Champagne in 2014 (click on link for details on our day in The Aube).

The Aube department of the Champagne region home to the Côte des Bar, which if is one of five growing regions of Champagne (with the three most well known being, Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs, and Vallée de la Marne).

It’s located about a two-hour drive south of main of Champagne towns of Reims, Epernay, and Aÿ in the northern part of Champagne. When one think of Champagne it’s likely one of these three towns, which are home to the big, top of mind Champagne brands and their opulent “houses” such as Veuve Clicquot, Louis Roederer, Ruinart, Mumm, and Bollinger.

The region is closer to Chablis than to Épernay, and its limestone and clay soils are more like those of Chablis than the chalky soils to the north. 

About 50% of the Pinot Noir in Champagne is grown in Côte des Bar, and many of the big houses in the north like Moët & Chandon, and Veuve Clicquot source grapes from the region.

It’s well worth the two-hour drive. The country side is breathtakingly beautiful, and the many of the quaint villages have an almost medieval feel with cobblestone streets.

Unexpected Heirloom Grapes

Champagne’s three primary grape varieties – two red wine grapes Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay comprise 99.7% of Champagne’s plantings.

It’s a little known fact that there are four other permitted grapes varieties that comprise that scant 0.3% of plantings in Champagne; Fromenteau, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier and Arbane. Here’s an article that profiles the aforementioned “forgotten” grapes of Champagne for my wine geek friends. Seeing that these four “heirloom” grape survive has been a labor of love for a small number of growers who make wines from them including L Aubry Fils, Tarlant, Laherte Frères, René Geoffroy, Drappier and Agrapart.

In My Glass

The Drappier Champagne Quattuor IV – Blanc de Quatre Blancs is composed of Petit Meslier, Arbane, Pinot Blanc (a.k.a. in Champagne as “Blanc Vrai”) and Chardonnay in equal amounts. It is an assemblage of four white grape varieties of Champagne. The grapes are farmed with “sustainable and organic ethos”. As of January 2016, Champagne Drappier is the first Champagne House in the World to have reduced their carbon emissions to a net zero carbon footprint.

Only first press juice is used, and the wine undergoes total and natural malolactic fermentation. The wine is unfiltered with minimal sulphur, and a low dosage of 4.2g/L. It was aged sur lie for 36 months.   I purchased the last bottle in stock from K&L Wine Merchants.

My Tasting Notes follow: Pale gold with aromatic green apple, slightly underripe white peach, yellow apple, French Vanilla toast, carnation, lemon curd and a hint of honey aromas. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, dry, elegant and persistent with a delicate, very creamy mousse and mouth watering acidity. It shows candied green apple, quince, white peach, yellow apple, and Meyer lemon flavors underpinned with a very appealing minerality and a long finish. 12% abv|SRP – $99|91pts

On My Plate

Drappier notes the wine is the ideal aperitif, but also suggestion “seafood blanquette” (Yes, I had to look that up!). As seen below, my version featured sea scallops and shrimp. And Drappier was right – It was a fantastic pairing!

Here are some more unexpected pleasures of Champagne from my fellow Winophiles:

• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Pour un Pique-Nique Sur le Patio: Roasted Citrus Tart + Jacquart Brut Mosaique
• Cindy of Grape Experiences: A Stroke of Serendipity – Discovering Champagne Louis Brochet Brut 1er Cru in London
• Jeff of Food Wine Click!: The Polar Opposite of House Style at Champagne Coessens
• Katrina of Corkscrew Concierge: Seven is a Charm with Laherte Freres Les 7 Champagne
• Martin of ENOFYLZ Wine Blog: Champagne Drappier’s Blanc de Quatre Blancs; A Taste of Champagne’s White Heirloom Grape Varieties
• Nicole of Somm’s Table: A Super Fancy Pants Grilled Cheese Pairing: Salmon Caviar Croque-Monsieur with Charles Dufour Bulles de Comptoir 6 La Benjamine 2.0 Champagne
• Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles: Champagne & BBQ, Chartogne-Taillet meets Rollin’ Smoke
• Sue and Gwendolyn of Wine Predator: 10 of Champagne’s Unexpected Pleasures: 24 Hours In and Around Reims, France.
• Susannah of Avvinare: Falling In Love with Champagne: My First Visit to a Wine region
• Terri of Our Good Life: Champagne and Sticky Asian Chicken Thighs: Whoa!

If you are reading this early enough, please join us on a live Twitter chat on Saturday, June 20th at 8am Pacific time. You can follow along by searching for the hashtag #Winophiles. We love guests, so if you want to chime in, be sure to add that same hashtag to your tweet so we can see it.

The French Winophiles will be back in July with a focus on the White Wines of Roussillon with Lynn of Savor the Harvest leading the discussion. Cheers!