Champagne Mouzon Leroux L'atavique Tradition NV

Type: Champagne
Producer: Mouzon-Leroux
Country: France
Region: Champagne
Grape: Chardonnay/Pinot Noir
Year: NV
Farming: Organic
This "Grower Champagne" is 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay of which 80% comes from the 2013 harvest with the balance coming from 2012 and 2011. After bottling, the wine were aged in the cellar for 32 months before being disgorged and finished to 3 grams per liter of dosage. The Pinot Noir dominate nature of the cuvee comes to the front of the nose with red fleshed stone fruits, hazelnut, cream, light citrus and a dusting of minerality. The palate shows the interplay of oak with excellent texture, plums, cream, minerality, and a light oak barrel spice note. This is a Champagne of substance and weight, so can handle hartier foods, we would recommend a rabbit ragu. D&M Tasting Notes
The Mouzon family owns 18.5 acres across 50 different plots, which they farm organically and biodynamically including the use of a horse and plow . In the vineyards flowers and grass are allowed to grow between the vines, and Sébastien has gone so far as to plant a cherry tree in the middle of one of his vineyard plots to promote biodiversity.

This bottle is named after his nod to his philosophy of atavism, a return to the former way of making Champagne. The grapes are harvested at a ripeness level where chaptalization (sugar addition) is not necessary. The initial fermentation occurs with indigenous yeasts and is then aged for six months in enamel lined tanks and 25% oak barrels to give greater depth and complexity. All wines are produced as "˜naturally' as possible.