Back in 1955, a young Maurice Veselle, the fourth generation in a large family of winemakers in Bouzy, first branched out on his own and put his name on a Champagne label. The Vesselle family is one of Champagne's most prodigious and respected lines, and the stakes were high. Now, nearly seven decades of success later, the Maurice Vesselle house rests in the capable hands of his two sons, Didier and Thierry. If you’ve had the opportunity to taste any of the recent releases from these brothers, you know, the house’s future is as bright as it has ever been.

Didier and Thierry are proudly known as the “Vesselles who plow”. And plow they do – often, and deeply. “Maintaining the vineyard in this traditional manner is ecologically sound; it pollutes less than herbicides and helps to balance variations in humidity. Yesterday we were called old-fashioned, today we're avant-garde”, Didier explains. Think of it as a way to stress the vines – but one beyond mere neglect or torture – rather a way to educate the vines, to train them, and make them healthier and more robust over time. 

There is little doubting the brother’s results. This remarkable 2013 vintage Champagne is fantastic, serious stuff – worthy to challenge any number of Champagnes that would fetch two or three times the price! The wine opens with rich, toasty, and minerally aromas. The effect conveys the presence of a serious and brooding wine – powerful, but thoughtful, and unwilling to reveal its hand too early. After a brief settling in the glass, bountiful chestnuts, and macadamia nuts waft upward, followed by warm and ripe flavors of red apples, baked pears, and plum tarts – all nicely spiced and accented by notes of lemongrass, ginger, and Japanese salted plums…oh yes, umeboshi. The wine is perfumed and balanced, with uplifting acidity, tremendous depth, and an incredibly long finish. This is the height of a vinous, food-worthy style of champagne – able to stand next to a ribeye, but with the acidity and brightness to pair equally well with some spicy Thai curries too! I’m going with the latter here, but truly, either shall work exceptionally well.

Didier and Thierry actively block malolactic fermentation in the winery, preserving the brightness and freshness that malic acid maintains. They seek out minerality – a quality abundant in the wines of the Côte des Blancs, but somewhat more elusive in this portion of the Montagne de Reims, as powerful pinot fruit-driven backbones define the style of Bouzy. For this reason, they vinify plot by plot in temperature-controlled stainless steel, allowing them to highlight and preserve those lots that achieve the qualities they seek and build out their final blends from there. And finally, they show the necessary patience to allow it all to come together– Et voilà! The 80% dominant pinot noir overpowers the slight 20% chardonnay early on in the fashioning of this cuvee, but the freshness and brightness work their magic over time, creating a wine of seamless balance. At over 40% below retail – this is a rare steal on pristinely aged Grower Champagne. The 2008 moved rather quickly, and again, as great as that was…this takes things a full step up in my opinion. Make a couple yours while we have them is my recommendation – and you can’t find these beauties anywhere else in the entire USA!