Puisieulx Grand Cru Les Petites Vignes Chardonnay (2023)

A single-parcel Chardonnay from the lieu-dit Les Petites Vignes in Puisieulx, one of the smallest grand cru villages of the Montagne de Reims - the Union des Maisons de Champagne counts just 18.8 planted hectares in the commune, over half of it Pinot Noir. Unusual territory for Chardonnay, which the domaine farms here on clay-silt soils over hard limestone at about 80 cm, on an east-facing slope; the vines were planted in 1988. The parcel is certified organic and worked to the biodynamic calendar; harvest is by hand at full maturity.

The winemaking follows the house pattern: direct traditional pressing on a stainless press, spontaneous fermentation, and elevage on the lees in barrels without racking for at least 11 months. The bottling blends two to three harvests with the parcel's perpetual reserve of Chardonnay, kept since 2017 under the same regime, which also supplies the liqueur for the extra-brut dosage. Bottled without fining or filtration.

This release is built on the 2023 base harvest with reserve wines - bottled 29 July 2024 and disgorged 8 April 2026, per the back label, about 20 months after bottling. 2877 bottles. A merchant tech sheet for the previous release (base 2022) gives its dosage as 2 g/L.