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Aux Origines could be tanslated as where it all began. This blanc de blancs is made from the very first vineyards planted by Nathalies granparents, Marie-Louise and Paul, in Barbonne-Fayel, Cteaux Szannais, in the 1960s. This cuve is 100% Chardonnay, fermented in steel tanks with full malolactic conversion, bottled in April following harvest and aged 36 months prior to disgorgement.
All J. Vignier bottlings come from grapes hand picked at optimum maturity, whole-cluster pressed, with separation of first and second press juices, using only the first press. There is cold settling for clarification and slow fermentation at low temperatures with various selected yeasts. All base wines are fermented in stainless steel tank and go through malo, with several months of tank aging. Bottling for the second fermentation occurs in spring. An extraordinary minimum of 48 months (up to 8 or 12 years for some cuves) bottle aging before disgorgement is a house requirement. Dosage is Extra Brut (5 g/L) for all wines. Vintage wines are made only in stellar years.
ABOUT THIS PRODUCER
The Vignier family history in Champagne dates to 1530, the time of Nicolas Vignier of Bars sur Seine. Nicolas was a physician, lawyer, theologian, and court historian for Henry III. His descendant, Nathalie Vignier, is now the tenth generation to pursue viticulture and winemaking in Champagne, and the sixth generation to do so in the grand cru village of Cramant, in the Cte des Blancs.
In the early 20th century, Nathalies grandfather, Paul LeBrun, had two hectares, taken over from his father, Henri LeBrun. Paul resolved to become an independentvigneronby separating himself from the bigngociantsafter World War I and was among the first to do so in the Cte des Blancs. He established Champagne Paul LeBrun in the 1930s. Frank Schoonmaker a long-time collaborator with Alexis Lichene in the wine trade,andtogether two of the most influential figures in shaping American views on European wine in the last century was the first to import the wines to the U.S.
Nathalie and her brother, Jean, took over the domaine from their parents 12 years ago, with Jean on the business side and Nathalie in the vineyards and cellar. Nathalies husband Hubert Soreau (another Schatzi!) is the winemaker at Le Clos lAbb in Epernay. Through him, Nathalie and close family friend Sebastian Nickel (whose grandmothers family farmed land around Szanne and held plots that became AOC Champagne in the 1960s) made the connections that enabled them to realize a shared vision and dream one with roots in Nathalies fathersprofoundunderstanding of the land. He had always told them there were hidden treasures in the 16.5 hectares of chardonnay in Cte des Blancs and Cte de Szanne that constitute the Vignier LeBrun vineyards.
