Champagne is produced under strict regulations which uphold its authenticity, quality and style. The grapes must be grown within a precisely delimited appellation which has that special combination of harsh climate and exceptional soil. Champagne’s unique flavour is derived from these remarkable grapes.
Jean Marc and Nadine Vigreux-Frere’s generation have produced grapes on the family vineyard since 1981, supplying their juice on contract to the volume Champagne houses.
In 1986 they started adding value to their crop by selling some as the finished product. By 1995, all production was then being sold as Champagne.
In France, just as in New Zealand, some of the best wines are produced by the smaller vineyards that customers have discovered themselves or heard of by word of mouth from a friend or business contact.
Because of their size, these small often family-owned producers seldom venture beyond their own local market, let alone export to distant countries. Champagne Direct owner, Don McLean, is sole agent for the Jean Marc range in New Zealand and the person responsible for bringing this delicious boutique Champagne to this part of the world.
The Jean Marc vineyard is located in the little village of Cauroy-Lès-Hermonville near Reims.
If you are in France, visitors are welcome for tastings and Jean Marc and Nadine also have accommodation available for two in their gorgeous restored Bed and Breakfast room across the courtyard. This enables true French rural lifestyle to be sampled by guests. If this sounds like something you would like experience, please drop us a line and we would be only too happy to contact them on your behalf.
Despite being a small operation, Jean Marc Vigreux-Frere grapes are grown - and the Champagne produced - in accordance with same strict regulations that apply to the large Champagne houses.
This is truly a family business. Jean Marc, his father and son Dimitri painstakingly tend the vines by hand.
The result is a Champagne which is a blend of the three famous Champagne grapes:
Pinot Noir – with a powerful red berry nose and redcurrant taste
Pinot Meunier – scents of red fruits and citrus, balance freshness and smoothness
Chardonnay – contributes freshness and elegance
Soils and climate help to make Champagne unique. Limestone over chalk sub soils provide the vines with minerals and nutrition. Moisture is preserved in the soil yet excess water can drain away, and heat from the sun is stored and transferred to the roots. An average year round temperature of 10 degrees (9 degrees is the minimum to ripen) means the vines have to adapt to the dangers of frost in spring and poor weather during flowering, but these harsh conditions yield grapes of real quality. Jean Marc's vines are spread in small clusters of rows in various locations around the region. This is their risk management strategy to avoid damage from a freak hailstorm or frost.
Cultivating the vines is very labour intensive and requires skill and experience. Pruning is a particularly difficult operation and is governed by the rules which limit the yield of grapes. Fertilising is important, but unlike New Zealand, irrigation is not permitted at all.
Towards the end of September (about 100 days after the flowering of the vine) the vendage (harvest) commences. Picking is carried out by hand only, with each bunch being carefully examined. A maximum yield per hectare is fixed by regulation, making Champagne grapes so special. It is difficult to overstate the fact that the quality of the Champagne is firmly established by the grower in the vineyard. The winemaker subsequently reveals this quality in the bottle.
The grapes are transported with great care to the press 3 kms away at Comicy. This is a state-of –the-art facility with very high quality pressing equipment, made available to smaller growers through its co-operative network.
The juice is then delivered to the large Center Vinicole de la Champagne cooperative at Chouilly near Epernay. Specially accredited scientists then assist the winemakers in producing the Champagne within strict quality procedures.
First fermentation occurs in vats where the grape juice turns into still wine. Consistency in style and yearly harvests is achieved by the traditional art of blending, where wines from black and white grapes are carefully assembled together to make the cuvee. A little cane sugar and yeast is then added before it is bottled. Bubbles form during secondary fermentation in the bottle for 24 months. Riddling and disgorging is practiced to clarify the wine and remove the residual solids, before a special dosage of wine and sugar is added to replace the amount lost. The sugar content is varied according to the type of wine desired - more sugar is added for the Demi Sec Dessert Champagne, for example.
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$39.95*
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$25.95*
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For corporate or personal gifts, purchase online, by email, phone or fax and we’ll do the rest. We print your personalised message, logo or photo onto a stylish gift card, package in a luxury gift box and send on your behalf.
* case price per bottle including GST. Delivery is extra.
0800 24 26 72 or 04 479 0013
