NV Charles Dufour 'Bistrotage B.17' Extra Brut Champagne, Champagne, France

Dufour has also expanded his Champagne range in recent years, by making new wines from vineyards of his mother Françoise Martinot’s side of the family in a nearby village, which he also personally farms. This has lead to the separate label Françoise Martinot and the ‘Bistrøtage’ label: two lines of bubbles from the same winemaker, simply reflecting different vineyards and family. These wines are always single vintage, vinified with no added SO2 and no dosage.

All pinot Noir and drawn entirely from the vintage 2017. Sourced from two estate vineyard sites, those in both Chervey and Neuville-sur-Seine. Indigenous yeast ferment of the vin clair, malolactic fermentation completes, followed by a years’ aging of the base wine in neutral barriques on fine lees. Bottled with liqueur de tirage in October of 2018; disgorgement done after seven years of continuous aging ‘sur pointe’ with regular riddling, June 2025. ‘AP’ stands for affinement prolongé, or prolonged aging, a reference to this profound length of time on lees in bottle before release. Extra brut, <2g/L dosage, bottled without additional SO2.