Champagne de Sousa (Certified Organic & Biodynamic)

Located in the heart of the prestigious Côte des Blancs, Champagne de Sousa has been in existence for 3 generations. Spanning 11 hectares, the vines are planted in the renowned Grands Crus of Avize, Cramant, and Oger. Winemaker Erick de Sousa and his family are devoted to authenticity and quality, and their cultivation of older vines (50+ years), use of organic fertilizer, and respect for the terroir have produced exceptional wines at bargain prices since 1986. Certified organic since 2010 and certified Demeter biodynamic since 2013.

• AOC: Champagne
• Production: 70-75,000 bottles De Sousa and 30,000 Zoémie De Sousa
• Founded: Prior to 1890
• Acreage: 11 Ha
• Layout: 42 different lots
• Geology: 100% Chalk

Domaine de Sousa is committed to using older vines to produce excellent champagnes. For its cuvees prestiges, grapes are only selected from vines that are more than 50 years old, with very small yields (25-30% less than the appellation, for 8,000 vines per ha). For its other vintages, an average of 70% of vines 25 years or older are used. These vines produce small yields, but result in a strong expression of the soil, and good maturity of grapes.
These older vines have roots called “pivots” which descend up to 10 or 12 meters to extract salts and trace elements from the chalky soil. The deeper the root is, the farther away it is from fertilizers, and the more it extracts nutritive elements from the soil, which guarantees high quality grapes.

• Fertilizers: Organic fertilizers authorized by EC regulations
• Pruning: Chablis – Cordon de Royat
• Grapes: 30% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Meunier, 60% Chardonnay (70% old vines)
• Average Age of Vines: Over 45 years of age
• Grafting: 41 B
• Yield per ha: according to the appellation, about 60 hectoliters per ha
• Plantation density: 8,000 vines/ha
• Plantation of New Vines: Only when necessary to replace older vines
• Antibotrytis Treatment: None
• Insecticide Spraying: Limited; only when necessary

Erick De Sousa, a subtle wine-maker, regulates the temperature at 18°C, in order to preserve the aroma of his wines. The 5.5 ha vineyard is harvested completely by hand, as late as possible, so as to pick the ripest grapes with the strongest fragrances.
When making his wine, he uses traditional methods taught to him by his father (a wine producer from a long line of them) who opted for malolactic fermentation to soften his wines. He also applies the old technique of a -4°C cold period with the aim of obtaining the clearest possible Champagne. Erick also applies his family know-how to the blending of the old wines to balance his wines and get consistent quality.

• Origin of yeast: Technical Oenological Center
• Fermentation time: 15 to 20 days
• Chaptalization: When necessary to obtain 11% alcohol
• Temperature Regulation: Immersed cooling coil
• Fermentation Temperature: 18°C
• Vats: Coated steel end barrels
• Cuvee Wine: 75% in 1992, 100% since then
• Filtration: Lightest possible
• Wine-maker: Erick De Sousa
• Oenological Advisor: James Darsonvilles

Vinification in coated steel vats preserves the authenticity of the soil. Domaine de Sousa managed to have one year of stock for the blendings. Since 1995, vinification is done in small oak barrels to give matter to the wine.

In the chalk cellar, the temperature is maintained at a consistent temperature of 10°C. The wine matures slowly in the darkness and perfect quietude.
2.5 years of production are kept in cellar as a buffer stock. The remuage is carried out manually.

Grape Varieties: 50% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Meunier

Location: Vallee de la Marne, Cote des Blancs, region d’Epernay

Soil: Clay and chalk

Average Age of the Vines: 25-30 years old

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Harvest: 100% manual

Vinification: 100% in tank. No filtration/collage.

Cellaring: 3-5 years

Serving Temperature: 8-10°C

Tasting Notes: This majority Chardonnay Champagne is lively and refreshing, with notes of white flowers, citrus fruits, ripe pears, and red berries.

Food Pairing: Seafood, cheese, poultry, salty crackers.

Grape Varieties: 92% Chardonnay de Grauves 1er Cru, and 8% Pinot Noir d’Ay Grand Cru

Soil: 100% Chalk

Average Age of the Vines: 25-30 years old

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Harvest: 100% Manually done

Vinification: 100% in tank, no filtration or fining.

Cellaring: 3-5 years

Serving Temperature: 8-10°c

Food Pairings: Salted crackers, desserts with red fruit

Tasting Notes: Fresh, full, and fruity.  The Chardonnay lends aromas of white flowers and a slight minerality, while the Pinot Noir gives notes of ripened berries.

Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay

Terroir: Cramant, Avize, Oger, Mesnil sur Oger and Chouilly Grand Cru

Soil: 100% Chalk

Average Age of the Vines: 43 years old

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Harvest: 100% Manually done

Vinification:100% in tank.  No filtration or fining

Cellaring: 3-5 years

Serving Temperature: 8-10°c

Food Pairings: Seafood, cheeses, salted crackers

Tasting Notes: This Champagne will delight you with its freshness, its elegant finesse, and its pure minerality.  Buttery notes of brioche, along with ripe citrus on the palate.

Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée 3A

Grape Varieties:

50% Chardonnay d’Avize–Located at the heart of the Côte des Blancs, Avize is a village classified as Grand Cru Chardonnay with soils comprised of the purest chalk in all of Champagne. It is also home to belemnite fossils, which date back millions of years and lend freshness, minerality, and finesse to this wine. This cuvée is made up of a selection of grapes harvested from 50-year-old vines, which are then carefully vinified in 225-liter oak barrels.

25% Pinot Noir d’Aÿ–A village classified as Grand Cru Pinot Noir, Aÿ is located where the Marne Valley meets the Mountain of Reims. The slopes’ unique, full southern exposure and irregular topography allow the Pinot Noir grape to express its aromas of ripe fruit with power and finesse. These vineyards are planted with ancient varietials of Pinot Noir that produce small fruit with unique aromas. This historic village boasts sedimentary and limestone soils in which there is a high proportion of chalk.

25% Pinot Noir d’Ambonnay–Ambonnay, a village classified as a Grand Cru Pinot Noir, is located on the Mountain of Reims-a vast, forest covered plateau where the grape vines are planted in chalky soils. The forest plays the role of balancing the cold evening air that descends onto the plateau with the warm air produced during the day that rises toward the summit. The vines used were originally planted in the 1950s; they have low yields, but the grapes show greater maturity and more concentration. Unlike Chardonnay, a fragile, delicate varietal, Pinot Noir is vigorous and is well-adapted to limestone soils to yield wines that stand out for their power and consistency. The aromas are very elegant, boasting red berry notes.

Name: Avize, Aÿ, and Ambonnay are the only three villages in Champagne classified as Grand Cru whose name begins with an “A”. This explains how this cuvée got its name, but what makes it unique is its composition of 50% Chardonnay from Avize blended with 50% Pinot Noir from Aÿ and Ambonnay.

Terroir: Cote des Blanc and Montagne de Reims

Soil: 100% Chalk

Average Age of the Vines: 25-30 years

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Harvest: 100% manually done

Vinification: 50% in tank and 50% in oak barrel.  No filtration or fining.

Cellaring: 3-8 years

Serving Temperature: 8-10°c

Food Pairing: Seafood, cheeses, poultry

Tasting Notes: The Cuvée 3A weds the finesse of the Chardonnay to the fullness of the Pinot Noir.  Notes of lemon and pineapple on the nose, and buttery hints from the partial oak aging.  There are also notes of blackcurrant and raspberry.

Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay

Terroir: Côte des Blancs en Grand cru

Soil: 100% chalk

Average Age of Vines: More than 60 years

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Harvest: 100% manually done

Vinification: 100% oak barrels.  No filtration or collage.

Cellaring: 8-15 years

Serving Temperature: 8-10°C

Food Pairings: Seafood, aged cheeses.

Tasting Notes: Pale gold in color. The nose is elegant, delicately punctuated by woodsy aromas. This polished Champagne offers creamy texture and harmonious structure. The oak notes are present but well integrated.

Location: Avize, Grand Cru in the Côte des Blancs.  Located to the south/southeast of Épernay.

Lieu Dit: Les Pierres Vaudons is a plot situated on the southern edge of Grand Cru Avize, just above Grand Cru Oger.

Grape Variety: 100% Chardonnay

Average Age of the Vines: 50+ years old

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Vinification: A selection of the best juices from the pressing of old vines. 10 months of vinification in oak barrels. Use of indigenous yeasts and no filtration. Batonnages in barrels and 2 poignettages (shaking/moving of the bottles) in the cellar. Stabilization in the cellar after 12 months of disgorgement.

Aging: 7 years maturation in cellar

Cellaring: 15-20 years

Winemaker Tasting Notes: “Pale gold color. At the start, a rich expression of dried fruits, biscuits, and almond cookies. Beyond that, more root elements are defined: green anise, fennel, wet stone, and copper. After breathing for a bit, syrupy and liqueur-like essences (limoncello, acacia syrup) are revealed, with hints of mushroom, cigar, and blond tobacco. On the palate, there is a fatty richness and almost nuttiness. Notes of blond caramel, dried leaves, and earthy mushrooms.”

Location: Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Grand Cru in the Côte des Blancs.  Located to the south/southeast of Épernay.

Lieu Dit: Les Chetillons is a small plot situated on a hillside in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger facing east/northeast.

Grape Variety: 100% Chardonnay

Average Age of the Vines: 50+ years old

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Vinification: A selection of the best juices from the pressing of old vines. 10 months of vinification in oak barrels. Use of indigenous yeasts and no filtration. Batonnages in barrels and 2 poignettages (shaking/moving of the bottles) in the cellar. Stabilization in the cellar after 12 months of disgorgement.

Aging: 7 years maturation in cellar

Cellaring: 15-20 years

Winemaker Tasting Notes: “Golden yellow color. The first aromas are immediate and precise: carbon and pencil lead. This is followed by fresh cut white flowers, spring humus, sweet spices, iodine, lemony salt, apricot, mirabelle plum, and butter cookie. The finish is slightly smoky, with hints of pure gray salt and the sweet fragrances of white truffles and cashew nuts. Tenderness, richness, and smoothness contrast the palate with a tense tangy flavor, sharpened by green citrus, and yellow and green apples.”

Grape Varieties: 90% Chardonnay d’Avize and 10% Pinot d Noir d’Aÿ

Terroir: Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims Grand Crus

Soil: 100% Chalk

Average Age of the Vines: More than 60 years old

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Harvest: 100% manually done

Aging: 100% oak barrels.  No filtration or collage.

Cellaring: 8-15 years

Serving Temperature: 8-10°C

Food Pairings: Oysters, veal, poultry, fruit-based desserts

Tasting Notes: Cuvée des Caudalies Rosé will delight you with its finesse and subtle aromas of fresh raspberries and kirsch cherry, as well as its buttered and toasted notes brought by its aging in oak barrels.

Overview: The use of horse and plow among the vines minimizes soil compaction, thereby contributing to the development of mycorrhizae.  Mycorrhizae, or “mycorhize“, is the name for a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and plant. The fungus grows on the roots of the vine, which gives the vine increased water and nutrient absorption capabilities.  In turn, the fungus benefit from the carbohydrates formed from photosynthesis of the vine.

Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay

Terroir: Les Hauts Nemery Grand Cru d’Avize

Soil: 100% chalk

Average Age of Vines: More than 60 years old

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Harvest: 100% manually done

Vinification: 100% oak barrels.  No filtration or collage.

Cellaring: 8-15 years

Serving Temperature: 8-10°c

Food Pairings: Seafood, poultry, aged cheeses, sushi

Tasting Notes: This is an elegant Champagne; the minerality and aromas of nuts, acacia, linden, honey, and a subtle hint of raspberry.  It has vibrant energy that reflects the terroir of Avize.

Overview: This Cuvée from De Sousa is inspired by but also completely embodies the term “umami”, which originates in Japan.  Umami is the 5th basic flavor, along with sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and bitterness, and is hard to define exactly, but is best described as being a delicious, savory taste.  This champagne can be described as such as it is characterized by its rich, velvety texture, depth of flavor, elegant minerality, and sapidity.

The Vines: The biodynamic techniques employed by the winemakers contribute greatly to the resulting flavor of the wine by increasing the life of the soil, facilitating the development of mycorrhizae which aid the vines in water retention and nutrient absorption, producing grapes that are richer in sugar, maturing acids, and harvesting grapes that have reached their full physiological maturity.  The vines used for this Cuvée are more than 50 years old with low yields.

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Vinification: The vinification process incorporates indigenous yeasts, after which the wine is matured in 225L oak barrels, with stirring of the fine lees.

Grape Varietals: 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir

Soil: Chalk

Tasting Notes: The Umami has an intense and captivating bouquet, with caramel and toasted bread aromas.  The Chardonnay grapes contribute elegant notes of apple and pear, while the Pinot Noir grapes lend black currant and raspberry savors.  This champagne leaves a soft, long-lasting sensation on the palate, and has a delicate salinity which awakens the taste buds and causes slight salivation in the mouth.  The density and vibrant minerality of this wine is imparted by the quality of sugars, glycerol, ripe acids, and alcohol.

Grape Varieties: 40% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Meunier, 20% Pinot Noir

Terroir: Vallée de la Marne, Coteaux du Vitryat, and région d’Epernay

Soil: Clay and chalk

Average Age of Vines: 15-40 years

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Harvest: 100% manual

Vinification: 100% tank

Cellaring: 3-5 years

Serving Temperature: 8-10°c

Food Pairings: Cheese, poultry, salty crackers, fish.

Tasting Notes: Ideal as an aperitif, this champagne will delight you with notes of citrus fruit, apples, candied pears, and quince. Beautiful presence in the mouth, with a balance between enveloping warmth and invigorating freshness.

Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay

Terroir: Avize, Oger en Grand Cru

Soil: 100% chalk

Average Age of Vines: 35 years

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Harvest: 100% Manual

Vinification: 100% tank

Serving Temperature: 8-10°c

Cellaring: 3-5 years

Food Pairings: Sea food and cheese

Tasting Notes: Notes of brioche, white flower and citrus essence. On the palate, one finds round notes and the vivacity of the terroir chalky. It will accompany seafood products with refinement.

Grape Variety: 100% Chardonnay

Terroir: Avize Grand Cru

Soil: 100% chalk

Lieu Dit: Pierres Vaudons

Average Age of the Vines: 35 years old

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Harvest: 100% Manual

Aging: 11 months in oak barrels. No filtration or fining.

Cellaring: 3-5 years

Serving Temperature: 10-12°C

Food Pairings: Seafood, especially sushi, and various cheeses

Label: The label was made by a Burgundian artist: Joyce Delimata. The vines in the image come from the plots selected for the elaboration of the Coteaux Champenois.

Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Terroir: Ambonnay Grand Cru

Lieu Dit: Les Haut des Bermonts

Soil: 100% chalk

Average Age of the Vines: 70 years old

Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic. Horse plowing.

Harvest: 100% Manual

Vinification: Total destemming. Gentle maceration and pumping over for 8 days. Indigenous yeast.

Aging: 100% oak barrels. No fining or filtration.

Cellaring: 3-5 years

Serving Temperature: 12°C

Food Pairings: Pork, veal, wild fowl

Label: The label was made by a Burgundian artist: Joyce Delimata. The vines in the image come from the plots selected for the elaboration of the Coteaux Champenois.