COLOUR
White
TYPE
Sparkling
VINTAGE
NV
GRAPE
Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay
PRODUCER
Jérôme Prévost
REGION
Champagne
CHARACTERISTICS
Body
Full
Sweetness
Dry
Acidity
Medium - High
Finish
Long
Intensity
Pronounced
AROMAS & FLAVOURS
ABOUT THIS WINE
Jérôme Prévost, a revered "Champagne Renegade," took over his grandmother's vineyard in Gueux, a village in the Petite Montagne de Reims, Champagne, in 1987. After a decade of selling grapes, he was mentored by the iconic grower Anselme Selosse, which led him to bottle his first wines between 1998 and 2003. Prévost's winemaking philosophy is rooted in the belief that "nature is ultimately the master," embracing an "unmanipulated" approach with natural processes and minimal intervention. La Closerie Les Béguines stands as one of Champagne's most emblematic single-vineyard cuvées, playing a pivotal role in bringing the Pinot Meunier grape into the spotlight. Prévost challenges traditional Champagne blending by focusing on single-vineyard, single-grape, and often single-vintage expressions, showcasing the full potential of grapes like Pinot Meunier through meticulous viticulture, low yields, and optimal ripeness.
ALCOHOL
12.5%
AVG. PRICE
€246
STYLE
Natural
SULPHITES
YES
When to drink
Now or Later
Ideal temperature
10-12°C
INTERESTING FACTS
Fact 01
Jérôme Prévost was mentored by the legendary Anselme Selosse, a pioneer of grower Champagne.
Fact 02
This wine is credited with elevating Pinot Meunier, often considered a blending grape, to a single-varietal star.
Fact 03
The vineyard, Les Béguines, features unique Thanetian-era deep clays and marine fossils over chalk.
Fact 04
Despite being a sparkling wine, Prévost uses a relatively short 'sur lattes' aging, believing post-disgorgement bottle aging is key.
FOOD PAIRING
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WINE MAKING PROCESS
La Closerie Les Béguines originates from a single 2.2-hectare plot called Les Béguines, where vines were planted in the 1960s using massal selection. The vineyard's unique soil composition includes Thanetian-era deep clays, sands, and limestone with marine fossils, overlying a chalk bedrock. Viticulture is meticulously organic, employing practices such as horse ploughing in winter, occasional light hand ploughing, and allowing grass to grow between rows. No herbicides or insecticides are used, and yields are kept very low to ensure optimal ripeness. Fermentation occurs with indigenous yeasts in a mix of used barrels of various sizes (225L to 600L). The still wines are aged in these barrels for 10 months without racking, filtering, or stabilization. The wine then undergoes a relatively short aging period "sur lattes" (on its lees in the bottle) for 14 to 18 months, as Prévost believes the most interesting evolution occurs in the bottle after disgorgement. The wine is finished with a very low dosage of around 2 g/L, classifying it as Extra Brut.
