The grand cuvée of the maison. During the harvest, the very finest grapes from the very best vineyard sites are selected and only the first press juice is used. This tete de cuvée is four to five years old and is made with 50% chardonnay and 50% pinot noir. It is generous and harmonious, with fine, delicate citrus notes on the palate. A bottle for special occassions.
Serge Mathieu
This little Champagne house, if I can refer to these récoltant-manipulant growers in such a fashion, is located in Avirey-Lingey, a tiny village in the Aube, a couple of hours drive south of the Champagne heartland of Épernay and Reims. Distance is just one reason why the Aube has long been regarded as Champagne's poor and perhaps embarrassing cousin; the predominance of Pinot Noir and Meunier (according for over 85% of the vineyard), over the perhaps more elegant Chardonnay which is more widely grown further north on the Côte de Blancs, is another. But such generalisations should not concern the savvy Champagne drinker, as the Aube has much to offer. At least one famous name - Drappier - is located here, and many household names, Billecart-Salmon for instance, source their Pinot Noir from this region. And there are some brilliant growers too, which is where Serge Mathieu comes in.
Serge Mathieu once sold all his grapes to bigger names, and indeed some of the fruit is still sold in this way today. Since the 1970s, however, this family concern has been bottling and selling Champagnes under its own name. Serge has long since retired, and son-in-law Michel Jacob now leads the team, with wife Isabelle firmly in control of marketing. Michel Jacob chants the quality mantra, inter-planting with grass, using natural fertilisers only and eschewing chemicals in the vineyard, although it is extremely difficult (but not impossible) this far north to go completely organic. The portfolio of wines produced naturally features Pinot Noir most of all, with Chardonnay a bit-player. Chris Kissack, The Wine Doctor
The Serge Mathieu champagne House is located in the small village of Avirey-Lingey, in the Aube départment. The Aube is about a two-hour drive south of Epernay, and once one leaves the Côte de Blancs, there are really no vines in sight. Chablis is another 45 minutes down the road from Avirey-Lingey, which would make you think that this would be prime chardonnay territory. In fact, it is prime pinot noir territory, and about 85% of the Aube is planted with pinot noir.
The domaine started marketing bottles in the early 1970. After Serge retired, his son-in-law, Michel Jacob, took over wine growing and winemaking duties. Serge's daughter Isabelle is in charge of the commercial side of the business.
While the vineyards are not organically grown, Michel severely restricts the amount of unnatural products on his vines and soil. Recently the negoçiant Billecart-Salmon has been buying pinot noir from Serge Mathieu, recongnizing the excellence of Michel's raw material.
