View 2013 Champagne Catalog - Michael Skurnik Wines

Chartogne-Taillet Montagne de Reims // Merfy
vineyard area // 11.5 hectares
annual production // 7,500 cases
villages & soil types // Merfy (sand, clay with chalk and limestone)
grape varieties // 40% Chardonnay, 38% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier,
2% Arbanne
Introduction
A few recollections…
Elisabeth Chartogne went far out of her way to help
launch this portfolio in its inception, by being my liaison
on the ground in Champagne, and refusing to take any
money for it. Yes it was self-interested, but not directly,
and it couldn’t have happened without her.
At first all I knew was there was a son. Then I learned
he was interested in wine. Then one day, as we sat under a
blossoming early-Spring tree in their garden, schmoozing
with Phillipe Chartogne (and drinking some urgently
needed caffeinated beverages…) I learned that Alexandre
was stage-ing at Selosse. “That’s all I need; now he’s going
to want us to buy three dozen wooden barrels…”
Sometime in those years Elisabeth brought her (then)
young son to meet my wife and me at L’Arnsbourg, a
remote 3-star in the northern Vosges National Park.
I’d been singing its praises to her, that it was stellar and
affordable, and she wanted it to be junior’s first 3-star
meal. Awwww!
So I wasn’t surprised when Alexandre assumed the
estate, and I wasn’t surprised that he was ambitious.
What did surprise me, and continues to surprise me, is
that he is the most passionately curious vigneron I know,
not only in Champagne, but just maybe anywhere. He
is pursuing something that doesn’t take the form of
accolades—though these will surely come—and hardly
even asks for answers. It’s a quest for a kind of immersion,
an unquenchable desire to experience.
Please note; to experience, not to “know.” This year
it was just him and me, tasting and talking; we did
dosage trials of several wines, and this takes a person
to the essence of tasting. The more we tasted the more
wonderfully unknowable things seemed to be. Yes, it was
possible to establish where the wines were most delicious
and expressive, and the two of us agreed almost eerily. But
even then, it was impossible to predict what would work,
and each formulation you tried to make was smashed by
the next sequence of wines.
I believe that Alexandre Chartogne is the most
exciting young producer in Champagne. And I also
believe he drank from the fountain of wisdom when
he said to me, “I do not feel good when I’m sure about
something.” Because that’s how you measure the hunger
in a man’s soul.
It begins with a new/old approach to vineyard
work, bio-dynam-ish, one might say. Critters (sheeps and
horses), soil analyses of remarkable detail, each aspect of
viticulture challenged and changed as necessary. Cellarwork
is also excitingly new. Indeed there’s almost too
much information to give here. Alexander’s blog is a lovely
source for info and updates, and the estate’s website gives
all the basics. Suffice to say there’s a vivid spirit of inquiry
here, the likes of which I have never seen in this habitriven
region.
Here’s an example. Alexander has installed two
fermentation/storage “eggs” in the cuverie. He had an
exchange last year with Kevin Pike, parts of which I
reproduce (having edited misspellings etc.).
Dear Kevin,
Concerning those eggs, there is a huge vinification
difference between the eggs, the barrels, the vats
(inox or enamel).
- In the barrels, the lees from the fermentations
are moving casually. The winegrower decides
Chartogne-Taillet
Montagne de Reims
Chartogne-Taillet at a glance // 12 hectare estate which occasionally supplements (legally!) with up to 5%
Chardonnay from a friend in Avize. Racy, spicy Champagnes at the low end; sumptuous, brioche-y Champagnes
at the top.
how the wines taste // Extremely spritzy and highly leesy—one wine made me think of Gimonnet’s Cuvée
Gastronome! At their best they show a force of expressiveness bordering on the supernatural.
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