A976 R.POUILLON CHAMPAGNE GRANDE VALLEE BRUT 750ml

[Lot GV233]: Terroir : Mareuil, Mutigny, Epernay, Avenay, Festigny. Pinot-Noir 65%, Pinot Meunier 20% and Chardonnay 15%. 2022 70%, 2021 10% and reserve wine. Dosage 2g/l. Dégorgement : The third quarter of 2024

Fabrice Pouillon, the third-generation winemaker of R. Pouillon, established a groundbreaking vinification method. Branded as 'Méthode Fabrice Pouillon,' this innovative approach completely eliminates the addition of external sugar, relying solely on the grapes' natural sugars to complete the primary fermentation, secondary bottle fermentation, and dosage. (Generally, it is standard practice to add sugar during these three stages of the Champagne winemaking process.)

Méthode Fabrice Pouillon

1. Separating and Preserving the Must in Advance

At harvest, the grapes are pressed when they are fully ripe and have high sugar levels. Around 15% of the total pressed juice is set aside in advance and stored in stainless steel tanks at low temperatures to prevent fermentation from starting.

2. Creating the Base Wine with the Remaining Juice

The remaining 85% of the juice is fermented normally with wild yeasts in neutral oak barrels—ensuring the wood influence is not too strong—to create a dry base wine (vin clair). This wine is then aged slowly in the barrels for about 12 months.

3. Blending Unfermented Must for Secondary Bottle Fermentation (Effervescence)

The following spring, or after 12 months of barrel aging, the unfermented must from step 1, which retains all its natural grape sugars, is blended into the dry base wine from step 2. Introducing this sugar-rich juice reactivates the wild yeasts remaining in the base wine, initiating a natural re-fermentation. The winemaker carefully identifies the precise moment when the residual sugar reaches 24 grams per liter—the exact amount required to generate the ideal atmospheric pressure for Champagne's secondary bottle fermentation. The wine is then quickly bottled and sealed with a cork. This process creates beautiful effervescence (carbon dioxide) relying solely on the grapes' inherent sugars, without adding external sucrose.

4. Finishing with Grape Juice for the Final Dosage

After several years of bottle aging, the wine undergoes disgorgement (dégorgement). If a final dosage is necessary, Fabrice Pouillon does not use a traditional sugar-infused liqueur (liqueur d'expédition). Instead, they use the same preserved natural grape juice. This completes a winemaking process that is 100% reliant on grape-derived sugars from start to finish.

This method requires exceptional technical skill and meticulous labor, as the winemaker must perfectly control the blend ratio of the base wine to raw juice, along with the behavior of the wild yeasts.