In the tiny village of Bonneil, set within the awe-inspiring Marne Valley, Champagne Marteaux Guillaume resides, with its vineyards mostly resting on a steep slope that horseshoes around the village, opposite to the Marne River. Our visit almost didn’t happen due to roaring winds that almost took out our meek rental car (and that did take out the winery’s power, we realized upon arrival). Yet, even without electricity, Guillaume led us through his grounds with a flashlight, and it immediately grew apparent that this space was no-frills, efficient, and effective – and perfect for his tiny and passionate production efforts.

Guillaume works all of his vineyards following the strictest of organic and biodynamic methods, following the lead of the seasons and the moon, and speaking of his vines as though they are his friends. If they’re stressed or overworked, he offers them hand-crafted natural elixirs to heal. He listens to them with painstaking precision in order to understand the best time for harvest. During our tour of his property, Guillaume showed us his apothecary, where he stores foraged roots, dried herbs, and minerals to be turned into tinctures for the individual needs of his vines, rather than applying commonplace chemical treatments that other producers might employ to stave off infection or insects. His practices toe the line between standard natural winemaking processes and some kind of black-magic wizardry – though, the results showcase that whatever he’s doing, it’s thoroughly working.

Predominantly from the 2018 vintage, with an addition of 14% of his perpetual reserves, the wine takes an Extra Brut dosage of 3.5 grams/liter following disgorgement after some 4.5 years on the lees. The fruit hails from nearly 60-year-old vines, grown on steeply sloping hillsides of clay, marl, and limestone just a short drive from the winery. It’s a powerful and welcoming Champagne, with aromas of lemongrass, ginger, and green herbs. Flavors follow of sweet but tart lemon drops, then minerals like chalk and river rocks, joined lastly by a panoply of key limes, Korean pears, sweetgrass, sour cherries, and white grapefruits.

This is incredibly complex, and perhaps cleaner and purer than my early bias to unknown biodynamic producers was expecting to find. We couldn’t be more ecstatic to continue sharing Marteaux Guillaume’s portfolio with you –  fantastic stuff, to be certain, from one of Champagne’s most passionate biodynamic growers! Only one other shop in the USA has this – but at nowhere near our spectacular price! Get a couple and I promise, you’ll be as enamored as I am!