Françoise Bedel - 2005 - L'Âme de la Terre
$132
Categories:
Sparkling
Françoise Bedel - 2005 -  L'Âme de la Terre

**LIMIT ONE PER CUSTOMER, PLEASE**

Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

Champagne, France

Françoise Bedel's small family estate is located in the Vallee de la Marne at the western edge of the Champagne Region in the village of Crouttes-sur-Marne on the banks of the Marne River. Since her oldest son Vincent was born, he was very ill and she could not find any doctor to cure him. Turning to homeopathy in a nearby village that cured her son, this is how her journey to biodynamic viticulture began in 1982. It became vital for Bedel to work with nature and not destruct the wellness of her soils.She was already cultivating her vineyards organically without the the use of fertilizers nor pesticides and by 1988 she put her biodynamic methods to practice. Françoise’s son, Vincent joined the family vineyard in 2003. Since then, the duo has been farming the vineyards featuring Pinot Meunier (over 80%), along with Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir averaging 50 years of age, and planted on clay, limestone, and gravel. They are both dedicated to the respect of their soils and biodiversity, thus producing healthy grapes.
Harvest is manual and the wines are produced in the new cellar built in 2015. Françoise and Vincent are wonderful, endearing people, whose energy is contagious. They are bubbling with dynamism and they are producing finer Champagnes year after year. When the corks pop in their underground cellar, you know that bubbles of happiness are being released. Their gastronomic wines are generous, voluptuous, pure, complex and refined, and above all, they reflect their terroirs.
What Françoise Bedel has achieved is quite remarkable. Back in the 1990s, being a woman in Champagne, in addition to following biodynamic principles, wasn’t always easy, but she followed her strong beliefs and she has since inspired. (Terroirs)

L’Âme de la Terre is a vintage-dated champagne made primarily from Pinot Meunier (90%) grown entirely on calcareous clay soils and fermented in enameled tanks and French oak barrels. It is aged sur latte for 10 years before disgorgement and finished with a modest dosage of 4.5g/L.