Tasting Notes
Champagne nerds might recognise this lieu-dit as one of the sources of Pascal Agrapart’s renowned Avizoise cuvée. Suenen’s vines lie just across the border in the Cramant section of this vineyard, at the top of a small hill. Originally planted in 1952—with further plantings in 1978, 1984 and 2005—the average age of Suenen’s vines is now almost 40 years. The planting contains a large portion of mass-selection vines.
The 2016 was aged in a single Rousseau foudre for nine months before bottling. As with all the single-site wines, this spent a minimum of five years on lees before disgorgement (with 3 g/L in this case) in June 2022.
Suenen describes this terroir—30 cm of silty clay over degraded, upper Campanian chalk—as combining the tension and salinity of Oiry with the concentration of Chouilly. It is often the most textural of Suenen’s four lieu-dit releases (although Mont-Aigu takes that mantle this year) and also, arguably, the most complex. - Importer Note
An increased focus on the environment and an awareness of sustainable agriculture have given rise to a huge increase in organic viticulture. This is an exciting area of growth in the world of wine, and if done right, one that leads to better wines, healthier vines and soils, and less stress on the earth.
But what makes a wine organic?
Organic wine refers to a method of farming, rather than winemaking. It all starts in the vineyard, where vignerons and viticulturalists no longer use synthetic or systemic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers. Instead they opt for organic compounds such as copper and sulfur, which can help reduce he pressure of disease and pests. This results in much better vine and soil health, with no unwanted chemicals leeching into local rivers and waterways through run-off.
Organic farming is not to be confused with Biodynamic farming which, although similar, is a different approach and requires many more specific practices. These practices such as specific soil preparations, and lunar-cycle harvesting are not necessary to achieve an organic system.
It is important to note that organic wines can still have sulphur dioxide added to them. Sulphur is an organic compound, and therefore winemakers are free to add it to their wines, and still achieve organic certification. Winemakers will often add sulphur to help stabilise the wine and protect it from oxygen come bottling time. The wine will still be completely organic, assuming the proper farming practices have been adhered to.
| Product Type | Wine Sparkling Champagne |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Country | France |
| Region | Champagne |
| Sub Region | Cotes des Blancs |
| Winemaking Practices | Minimal Intervention |
| Vineyard Practices | Organic/Biodynamic |