Bernard Remy Grand Cru NV

We packed Matt off to Prowein and Champagne again this year to hunt down some quality reds from Europe and perhaps another Champagne producer or 2 to add to the 3 awesome producers we already import... Click here to see the Champagne houses we currently import and you can check out some articles on our previous expeditions via this search query. Prowein was especially nuts this year, with 6,500 exhibitors from over 60 countries showing their wares (that’s around 4,000 more producers than there are in Australia) and about 60,000 trade visitors tasting and buying.

On the road in Champers Matt spent a fair whack of time at Bernard Remy. Here’s Matt having a glass with winemaker Rudy and Rudy filling a glass... even winemakers can’t pour straight! Check out the vid too as Remy and Virginie explain riddling, disgorgement and adding the secret Liqueur d’expedition. Champagne starts its life as a normal, still wine but the ageing on lees (dead yeast cells) and the final addition of liqueur, generally made from a blend of aged reserve wines and a little sugar transform it from the ordinary into something special. Wineries like Bernard Remy who start with much higher than average quality fruit start at special and work their way into magical territory.

[caption align="aligncenter" width="420"]Even winemakers have trouble pouring wine...[/caption]

After

The Côte des Blancs, or ‘hillside of the whites’ is named for its predominance of white grape vineyards. It is one of 5 wine producing districts within Champagne and is planted primarily to Chardonnay. Along with the Montagne de Reims, the Côte des Blancs is considered to produce the best Champagne grapes and these 2 areas have the highest concentration of vineyards designated Premier Cru and Grand Cru. The Côte des Blancs has a reputation for producing the best Chardonnay in Champagne, allowing wines of great complexity, finesse and age worthiness. It provides the Chardonnay for many vintage Champagnes and prestigious bottling from the larger houses. The slopes of the Côte des Blancs face south east and east, situated on a bed of chalk which is very close to the surface, covered generally by just a little soil. Topsoils are generally only 30 centimetres deep so the vine roots into chalk at less depth than almost anywhere else in Champagne. This allows