old vine chardonnay at tbe Clos St Sophie
The Clos St Sophie is the only Clos in Montgueux and one of only 3 Clos in the Aube. Since 1913 it belongs to the Valton family. Etienne Valton, founder of the Petit Bateau brand, bought it after Marcrl Dupont passed away; Dupont, a professor in Agriculture, had founded the property as a plant nursery in 1860 and had planted 1,8 hectares of vines.
La Coline Inspirée from Magnum next to Emmanuel’s press
Emmanuel was contacted by Etienne Valton, grandson of the founder in 2009, after he tasted La Coline Inspirée of Emmanuels in Paris. Eventhough there was a long family history between the Lassaignes and the Valtons, Emmanuel had never visited the Clos. When he finally did he was in awe with the beauty and energy of the place so he suggested to buy some grapes to make a specific cuvée. Etienne took a few months to get used to the idea but agreed to sell 0,40 hectares of the oldest vines (about 45 years old) to Emmanuel from 2010 onward. A single vineyard cuvée is currently sleeping in the cellar :-)
Régis Camus, Cyril Brun, François et Bertand Valton and Emmanuel Laissaigne at the Clos
The rest of the Clos St Sophie is sold to Charles Heidsieck and whilst visiting I ran into Régis Camus ( for the first time!!!) and Cyril Brun who came to see their grapes at the same time. The Clos is still 1,8 hectares of which 0,5 hectares is Pinot Noir.
Emmanuel looks after his part of the Clos,all year round and his part was harvested by his team. When the grapes came in they were are at 20, 7 % alcohol, which is ideal according to Emmanuel.
Emmanuel doing the first retrousse
Emanuel started harvest on Thursday and expects to continue to Wednesfay or Thursday next week. He is very happy about the harvest quality up till now.
“It’s a wonderful year, everything is beautiful, we have the sugar, acidity and flavours to make great wines” concludes Emmanuel.
