【Premium Champagne from Verzy Grand Cru】
【Crafted entirely to the highest standards of Burgundy】
【Over 300 years of heritage in cultivation and winemaking】
【Vinous: 91 pts】
【Wine Advocate: 90 pts】
【Vivino: 4.1】
ZTF216 - Mouzon Leroux Champagne L'Atavique Extra Brut Grand Cru Blanc NV
Price：$495/Bottle
種類Type：Champagne
原材料 ingredient：60% Pinot Noir、40% Chardonnay
產區 / 級別 Region：Champagne
酒精度 ABV：12%
容量Volume：750ml
The grapes come from the Grand Cru village of Verzy. The name of this champagne comes from Atavism, which means "return to one's ancestors". Atavism in sociology refers to a cultural trend that describes modern people's return to their previous behavior and way of thinking. Sébastien named it as a symbol that since he took over, the vineyard has returned to its most primitive ecosystem; the brewing has also returned to the practice of minimal human intervention, with a slow primary fermentation through native yeast for up to 6 months, and a secondary fermentation in the bottle for about 30 months, without clarification or filtration. Helping nature to show its original appearance.
Winery
The history of Mouzon-Leroux Winery can be traced back to 1778. The Mouzon family began to grow grapes in the Reims Mountains. The current owner, Sébastien Mouzon, is the ninth generation. He has inherited more than 300 years of planting and brewing techniques from the family tradition. Sébastien, who obtained a degree in winemaking in Burgundy, has completely absorbed the vineyard philosophy of many famous wineries in Burgundy and has an obsessive persistence in terroir. He gradually transformed his own vineyard into organic, and officially converted to biodynamics in 2008, and officially obtained organic certification in 2011.
In Sébastien's vineyard, a diverse ecosystem is particularly important. There are dozens of plants growing in the field in all seasons. A cherry tree between the rows of grapes will provide a habitat for birds in the future, so as to solve pests through nature.
Regarding the selection of vineyard varieties, Chardonnay is planted in the shallower topsoil and more exposed chalky areas in Verzy Village; Pinot Noir is suitable for areas with higher clay. In addition, the flint scattered in the village provides the wine of Verzy Village with an extremely excellent mineral feel and a hint of smoke. In Sébastien's hands, a style and characteristics very similar to the Burgundy Grand Cru Cordon Charlemagne were born.
Region
The winery has a total of 10 hectares of vineyards, all of which are less than 10 kilometers away from the winery. Among them, 7.5 hectares are in Verzy, and the remaining 2.5 hectares are scattered in the neighboring Grand Cru village of Verzenay, as well as the first-class villages of Ludes and Villers-Marmery, and are divided into 100 different districts.
Among the 319 villages in Champagne, only 17 are classified as Grand Cru, and the village of Verzy, where the winery is located, is one of the Grand Cru villages in the Reims Mountains. Like Bouzy and Ambonnay, both are located at the southeast end of the Reims Mountains and belong to the sub-region Grande Montagne de Reims, but Verzy has a unique northeastward slope, combined with the chalk rock layer under the topsoil, making it the most elegant and balanced representative of the Reims Grand Cru villages. It is also an important source of grapes for Veuve Clicquot.
Winemaking
For the winery, the fruit must be fully mature before it is harvested, and no sugar is added. Only native yeast fermentation is used, lactic acid fermentation is not stopped, the use of sulfide is controlled to the minimum, and the dosage of sugar is also controlled to the minimum, all in order to allow the carefully cared grapes to clearly present the characteristics of the terroir. During the secondary fermentation in the bottle, the low temperature environment of 14 degrees C is deliberately used to allow the fermentation to proceed as slowly as possible, brewing an elegant texture with extremely delicate bubbles. The oak barrels used are from the famous white wine estate Domaine Leflaive in Burgundy.
