Benoit Marguet Shaman Grand Cru Extra Brut Champagne 2019 (sparkling)

Benoit Marguet Shaman Grand Cru Extra Brut Champagne 2019

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

Champagne, France

“Benoit was born into a winegrowing family who had some incredible holdings, principally in Ambonnay. In fact, their vineyards provided the backbone for Krug's Grande Cuvee for a great many years. It was in 2005 that Benoit started to seize the reins of the estate, and by 2008 had ended the leases of his family's land, and started to produce under the Marguet name.What made the land so special - including a family parcel that was the original Clos d'Ambonnay - was not only placement, but also the fact that no chemicals were ever used, and never were any mechanical devices used for plowing or harvesting. To this day, Benoit uses his two horses, Belle and Urban, to plow the vines. When Benoit took over, he made the choice to convert to biodynamics; honestly, you can tell he is not dogmatic, but is very spiritual, in that he is full of spirit and can sense that of others, extending to his vines. To this end, when as he shares vineyard boundaries with other producers, he will sell off even multiple rows of his own fruit so as not to blend anyone else's spirit (or methods) into his wines.

In the winery, juice flows solely by gravity - from the press, which is at an incredible 15' height, into tank, then into barrels. The barrels are from carefully selected staves, and as is his eye for detail, the staves will all align so that the root ends are on one side of the barrel, the leaf ends at another. Truly, nothing in this winery is without thought.

Benoit created a few different lines of cuvées with which to express his style: the Shaman and Yuman wines are expressions of the freshest of juice, without any sulfur added, and bottled at lower pressure; the white label "village" wines are expressions of the villages of Champagne, largely from purchased fruit but from vineyards where he controls the farming. Finally, the Crus are his family's historical vineyards, each a wildly different expression of their own terroir, and incredibly ageworthy. These are full of character and fresh fruit, free of sulfur and delicious values.” -Thatchers Wines