Champagne Alexandre Filaine ‘SP’ Brut NV (2020/21)
Location: France, Champagne, Damery
Winemaker: Fabrice Gass
Grapes: Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Vintages: 2020/2021
Believe it or not, Fabrice Gass worked primarily for Bollinger when he started his own domaine. Domaine Alexandre Filaine began purely as a project of joy, Champagne meant for him and his friends to drink; he never thought he would end up having his wines exported. He named his winery after his grandparents, whose surnames were Filaine and Alexandre. Hailing from Damery, a town situated along the Marne River in the southern Montagne-de-Reims, right before the Vallée de la Marne, he shares a slope with neighbor Vincent Laval (they went to school together and have long been friends). He works tiny parcels totaling about a hectare, all organically, mostly Pinot Noir with smaller amounts of Meunier and Chardonnay. His style is supremely marked by his lack of use of malolactic fermentation due to the low pH of his grapes, as well as his 100 year old barrels for aging (inherited from Bollinger, some from 1937!). He believes in the power of this region’s history, the importance of touch and human craftsmanship—his wines are all hand riddled, hand disgorged, hand-added dosage…and made in exceptionally small quantities as a result (about 300 cases per vintage).
The ‘Cuvée Spéciale’ is sourced from the 2009 and 2010 vintages from his 1er Cru Damery parcels, blended together, then aged in bottle for at least five years, with slightly more dosage than the ‘DMY’, around 7 grams per liter. Of course Fabrice uses no malolactic out of respect for his old barrels, so there is intense minerality balanced by classic Damery creaminess. Deep spices—cinnamon, tree bark, baked apples—balanced with chalk and white peach. A wine that deserves some time to sit and think while you sit and think about drinking it…in a few years, who knows what secrets will be revealed…
Location: France, Champagne, Damery
Winemaker: Fabrice Gass
Grapes: Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Vintages: 2020/2021
Believe it or not, Fabrice Gass worked primarily for Bollinger when he started his own domaine. Domaine Alexandre Filaine began purely as a project of joy, Champagne meant for him and his friends to drink; he never thought he would end up having his wines exported. He named his winery after his grandparents, whose surnames were Filaine and Alexandre. Hailing from Damery, a town situated along the Marne River in the southern Montagne-de-Reims, right before the Vallée de la Marne, he shares a slope with neighbor Vincent Laval (they went to school together and have long been friends). He works tiny parcels totaling about a hectare, all organically, mostly Pinot Noir with smaller amounts of Meunier and Chardonnay. His style is supremely marked by his lack of use of malolactic fermentation due to the low pH of his grapes, as well as his 100 year old barrels for aging (inherited from Bollinger, some from 1937!). He believes in the power of this region’s history, the importance of touch and human craftsmanship—his wines are all hand riddled, hand disgorged, hand-added dosage…and made in exceptionally small quantities as a result (about 300 cases per vintage).
The ‘Cuvée Spéciale’ is sourced from the 2009 and 2010 vintages from his 1er Cru Damery parcels, blended together, then aged in bottle for at least five years, with slightly more dosage than the ‘DMY’, around 7 grams per liter. Of course Fabrice uses no malolactic out of respect for his old barrels, so there is intense minerality balanced by classic Damery creaminess. Deep spices—cinnamon, tree bark, baked apples—balanced with chalk and white peach. A wine that deserves some time to sit and think while you sit and think about drinking it…in a few years, who knows what secrets will be revealed…
Location: France, Champagne, Damery
Winemaker: Fabrice Gass
Grapes: Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Vintages: 2020/2021
Believe it or not, Fabrice Gass worked primarily for Bollinger when he started his own domaine. Domaine Alexandre Filaine began purely as a project of joy, Champagne meant for him and his friends to drink; he never thought he would end up having his wines exported. He named his winery after his grandparents, whose surnames were Filaine and Alexandre. Hailing from Damery, a town situated along the Marne River in the southern Montagne-de-Reims, right before the Vallée de la Marne, he shares a slope with neighbor Vincent Laval (they went to school together and have long been friends). He works tiny parcels totaling about a hectare, all organically, mostly Pinot Noir with smaller amounts of Meunier and Chardonnay. His style is supremely marked by his lack of use of malolactic fermentation due to the low pH of his grapes, as well as his 100 year old barrels for aging (inherited from Bollinger, some from 1937!). He believes in the power of this region’s history, the importance of touch and human craftsmanship—his wines are all hand riddled, hand disgorged, hand-added dosage…and made in exceptionally small quantities as a result (about 300 cases per vintage).
The ‘Cuvée Spéciale’ is sourced from the 2009 and 2010 vintages from his 1er Cru Damery parcels, blended together, then aged in bottle for at least five years, with slightly more dosage than the ‘DMY’, around 7 grams per liter. Of course Fabrice uses no malolactic out of respect for his old barrels, so there is intense minerality balanced by classic Damery creaminess. Deep spices—cinnamon, tree bark, baked apples—balanced with chalk and white peach. A wine that deserves some time to sit and think while you sit and think about drinking it…in a few years, who knows what secrets will be revealed…