£69.55
Champagne Stéphane Regnault, Grand Cru 'Dorien' No 45
Country: France
Region: Champagne
Grape: Chardonnay
Colour: Traditional Method
Bottle Size: 75cl
Bottle Weight: 1606g
Alcohol: 12%
Vintage: NV
Organic
"Smells a little riper and more orangey than the Lydien No 29, which was more stony citrus. A little more intense but equally crisp. Deep sour-citrus purity. Bone dry, very long. Appetite-whetting in the extreme." 17.5 points, Julia Harding MW
- PRODUCER NOTES
- FARMING & WINEMAKING NOTES
Stéphane Regnault returned to his family domaine in the Côte des Blancs in 2007, after already having two careers. Most recently he had been working as a sommelier in London at Le Pont de la Tour, and before that he was an aerospace engineer.
Inspired by conversations with many of the young winemakers in Champagne, Stéphane’s first decision upon returning was to stop using herbicides in the vineyards and convert to organic farming.
Stéphane released his first wines in 2018, a single vineyard terroir from the two Grand Cru villages he farms in Oger and Le Mesnil. The vines are between 40 and 60 years old. From these two plots, Stéphane has selected three parcels for his cuvées: Chemin de Flavigny in Oger; Moulin, on the border between Oger and Le Mesnil; and Hautes- Mottes in Le Mesnil. These plots were selected to best show the terroir within a multivintage Champenois tradition, and with vinification and elevage the same for each parcel you are able to get the true identity of the site. Fermentation is 2/3 in stainless steel, and 1/3 in used barrels. Malolactic is left to either take place or not. Finally, when the time is right, the year’s wine is blended into one of three perpetual solera that each cuvée eventually is bottled from.
Each cuvée is named after a different jazz mode, a nod to Stéphane’s passion for playing the jazz saxophone.
'Dorien 45' is 100% Chardonnay, from vines planted between 1950 and 1980. This is the third release of Dorien, from three vintages, 2014, 2015 and 2016 disgorged in 2022. All future bottlings will come from the solera started in 2014. 4000 bottles produced.
PRODUCER NOTES
Stéphane Regnault returned to his family domaine in the Côte des Blancs in 2007, after already having two careers. Most recently he had been working as a sommelier in London at Le Pont de la Tour, and before that he was an aerospace engineer.
Inspired by conversations with many of the young winemakers in Champagne, Stéphane’s first decision upon returning was to stop using herbicides in the vineyards and convert to organic farming.
Stéphane released his first wines in 2018, a single vineyard terroir from the two Grand Cru villages he farms in Oger and Le Mesnil. The vines are between 40 and 60 years old. From these two plots, Stéphane has selected three parcels for his cuvées: Chemin de Flavigny in Oger; Moulin, on the border between Oger and Le Mesnil; and Hautes- Mottes in Le Mesnil. These plots were selected to best show the terroir within a multivintage Champenois tradition, and with vinification and elevage the same for each parcel you are able to get the true identity of the site. Fermentation is 2/3 in stainless steel, and 1/3 in used barrels. Malolactic is left to either take place or not. Finally, when the time is right, the year’s wine is blended into one of three perpetual solera that each cuvée eventually is bottled from.
Each cuvée is named after a different jazz mode, a nod to Stéphane’s passion for playing the jazz saxophone.
FARMING & WINEMAKING NOTES
'Dorien 45' is 100% Chardonnay, from vines planted between 1950 and 1980. This is the third release of Dorien, from three vintages, 2014, 2015 and 2016 disgorged in 2022. All future bottlings will come from the solera started in 2014. 4000 bottles produced.