"Les Vieilles Vignes" Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature
100% Chardonnay. The original Boulard family vineyard is in the village of Cormicy, at the northernmost limit of Champagne in a sub-zone called the Massif de St. Thierry, well northwest of the city of Reims. The Boulards have 1.6 hectares of vines here. The fruit for the blanc de blancs comes from a 0.25-hectare sliver of Chardonnay in the lieu-dit of Le Murtet. These vines are around 45 years old and have a western exposure on deep, sandy, limestone soils. The farming is certified-organic and includes biodynamic practices; all work including harvest is manual. As for all Boulard wines, the grapes are picked late with high ripeness in order to achieve balance with little to no dosage.
The bunches are gently pressed with a minimal amount of sulfur (the only sulfur the wine will see) and, unusually, only the free-run (first-press) juice is used. It is fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in wood. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation and is aged in Burgundy barrels with a monthly batônnage; it is bottled without fining or sulfur in accordance with the lunar calendar. The bottles are riddled and disgorged by hand, in this case in late 2022. Zero dosage.