Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, made by Christophe Pitois from vines his family has worked for more than five centuries.
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is a Grand Cru village on the Côte des Blancs, the east-facing escarpment south of Épernay planted almost entirely to Chardonnay. Its soils form mostly from the chalk itself, a soft, porous Upper Campanian chalk that stores winter rain and returns it to the vines in dry spells.
The Pitois vines sit mid-slope facing south-east, on pure chalk with flint stones worked up to the surface. The rosé brings in Pinot Noir from Ambonnay, a Grand Cru village on the south-east flank of the Montagne de Reims.
The Pitois family has farmed in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger for more than five hundred years. Christophe's grandfather was régisseur of Clos Tarin, now known as Clos du Mesnil, until 1976.
Before bottling under his own name, Christophe was chef de cave at Champagne Lombard, where he worked through single-plot vinifications. He then took over the Valentin Leflaive Champagne project, setting up its Oger vat room and overseeing the grape supply.
His own house rests on three ideas: respect for the Grand Cru terroir, patience with fruit and time, and a balance of purity, depth and emotion.