Mouzon Leroux Champagne L'Incandescent Rose de Saignee 2018 (Disg Oct 2022)

Mouzon-Leroux is a dynamic, ninth-generation grower producing exciting, terroir-driven Champagnes from eight hectares of biodynamically cultivated vines in Verzy. This underexposed village is home to some of the most diverse terroirs in northern Montagne du Reims, including some rare silex soils. While the fruit of this subregion has traditionally been blended to add tension to other wines of the Montagne, Sébastien Mouzon crafts impressively original and incisive wines that speak of Verzy like few have before him.

Verzy is a Grand Cru village with three hills and valleys offering a variety of expositions (mostly north-facing) and soil types. Plots to the east are dense with chalk and rock, with thin topsoils and plantings heavily skewed towards Chardonnay. The vines on the western side (near Verzenay) are on harder clay-rich soils, in which Pinot thrives. This cool region allows for long, slow growing seasons, which in turn allow for the development of complex layers of flavour. And, while the wines can be concentrated, they are rarely heavy; even in the warmest of vintages they retain high acidity, aromatic precision and tight structures.

The domaine farms 60 different plots across eight hectares in Verzy. While most of the estate plantings are Pinot Noir, there are some small holdings of Chardonnay, Arbane, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier and Petit Meslier. In his quest to peel back the layers of his terroirs, Sébastien Mouzon works biodynamically, and yields are kept very low. In the cellar, his approach is suitably artisanal: wood maturation, extended lees aging and very low sulphur are the keys to the quality and style of the wines crafted here. Sébastien has a beautiful touch! The resulting wines are lovely expressions of their origins, full of purity and mineral intensity that keeps you coming back, sip after sip.