Champagne Lointier ‘Mellifera’ Extra Brut 2016/2017
Location: France, Champagne, Vallée de la Marne
Winemaker: Hélène & Jean Baptiste Lointier
Grapes: 75% Pinot Noir, 15% Pinot Meunier
Soil: clay, sand on limestone
Dosage: 1.5g/L
Disgorged: March 2021
From the Producer: ‘Mellifera’ is a representation of the different terroirs of the domaine. The vineyard is worked with respect for nature. Once they have reached maturity, the grapes are harvested and then aged in oak barrels for 11 months. Our non-interventionist methods allow the wine to fully express itself.
From us at M&L: Hélène and Jean-Baptiste are young and vivacious vignerons cultivating three hectares in around the western Marne valley, with their cellar in the town of Crézancy. They’ve been working these plots since 2007, but it was just in 2016 that they released their first vintage. The two craft minuscule quantities of honest, expressive biodynamic champagnes that cherish the life of the vineyard (they chose bees for their labels as Jean-Baptiste thought the honeybee was a perfect representation of this). In keeping, they never use herbicides or pesticides. Jean-Baptiste’s grandfather ran the property as a mixed farm back in the day, and he was the first to cultivate a system of honeybee hives.
Hélène and Jean-Baptiste’s cellar is essentially a smattering of odd barrels and amphorae in the middle of the country, but it is with these humble tools that they make champagnes of charm, beauty, and purity due to their painstaking care for ripe fruit—and no chemical intervention or additives whatsoever. Zero-pretention champagne made with care and joy.
Location: France, Champagne, Vallée de la Marne
Winemaker: Hélène & Jean Baptiste Lointier
Grapes: 75% Pinot Noir, 15% Pinot Meunier
Soil: clay, sand on limestone
Dosage: 1.5g/L
Disgorged: March 2021
From the Producer: ‘Mellifera’ is a representation of the different terroirs of the domaine. The vineyard is worked with respect for nature. Once they have reached maturity, the grapes are harvested and then aged in oak barrels for 11 months. Our non-interventionist methods allow the wine to fully express itself.
From us at M&L: Hélène and Jean-Baptiste are young and vivacious vignerons cultivating three hectares in around the western Marne valley, with their cellar in the town of Crézancy. They’ve been working these plots since 2007, but it was just in 2016 that they released their first vintage. The two craft minuscule quantities of honest, expressive biodynamic champagnes that cherish the life of the vineyard (they chose bees for their labels as Jean-Baptiste thought the honeybee was a perfect representation of this). In keeping, they never use herbicides or pesticides. Jean-Baptiste’s grandfather ran the property as a mixed farm back in the day, and he was the first to cultivate a system of honeybee hives.
Hélène and Jean-Baptiste’s cellar is essentially a smattering of odd barrels and amphorae in the middle of the country, but it is with these humble tools that they make champagnes of charm, beauty, and purity due to their painstaking care for ripe fruit—and no chemical intervention or additives whatsoever. Zero-pretention champagne made with care and joy.
Location: France, Champagne, Vallée de la Marne
Winemaker: Hélène & Jean Baptiste Lointier
Grapes: 75% Pinot Noir, 15% Pinot Meunier
Soil: clay, sand on limestone
Dosage: 1.5g/L
Disgorged: March 2021
From the Producer: ‘Mellifera’ is a representation of the different terroirs of the domaine. The vineyard is worked with respect for nature. Once they have reached maturity, the grapes are harvested and then aged in oak barrels for 11 months. Our non-interventionist methods allow the wine to fully express itself.
From us at M&L: Hélène and Jean-Baptiste are young and vivacious vignerons cultivating three hectares in around the western Marne valley, with their cellar in the town of Crézancy. They’ve been working these plots since 2007, but it was just in 2016 that they released their first vintage. The two craft minuscule quantities of honest, expressive biodynamic champagnes that cherish the life of the vineyard (they chose bees for their labels as Jean-Baptiste thought the honeybee was a perfect representation of this). In keeping, they never use herbicides or pesticides. Jean-Baptiste’s grandfather ran the property as a mixed farm back in the day, and he was the first to cultivate a system of honeybee hives.
Hélène and Jean-Baptiste’s cellar is essentially a smattering of odd barrels and amphorae in the middle of the country, but it is with these humble tools that they make champagnes of charm, beauty, and purity due to their painstaking care for ripe fruit—and no chemical intervention or additives whatsoever. Zero-pretention champagne made with care and joy.