My final visit in Champagne was to Champagne Paul Launois in the famed village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. It is not even 20km from Epernay. The vineyards here are all Grand Cru (100%), often shortened on bottle labels to just Le Mesnil.
The house is run by Julien Launois and is very much a family affair with his wife, Sarah, a graphic designer and artist, being responsible for all label designs. She also created and styled their impressive tasting room where some of her artworks are on display. They also offer accommodation in rooms above the tasting room, beautifully decorated by Sarah. The family connection stretches even further with the name of the house bearing tribute to Julien & Sarah’s son, Paul.
Champagne Paul Launois own around 6.5 hectares of vineyards over 19 plots and moved to their current premises in 2013 after acquiring it from Champagne Billecart-Salmon.
I originally discovered Champagne Paul Launois when I read about Julien’s vision to create a Single Barrel Champagne that enthusiasts could own via a bidding process, affording them the chance to tailor-make the 216 bottles from their barrel with the help of Philippe Jamesse, the champagne consultant on this project, who is an eminent wine expert specialised in Champagne.
The grapes were sourced from Le Mesnil and together with Philippe successful bidders would be able to decide on the dosage and ageing of their vintage 2018.
The auction took place on 14 June this year and was a huge success with all 10 barrels selling immediately. If this is something that interests you, keep an eye on Champagne Paul Launois’ social media accounts for future announcements.
I had an incredible walk through the cellars with Julien before heading across the courtyard to the tasting room for a sampling of their cuvees.
Cuvee Monochrome: 100% Chardonnay with 70% of the composition from the 2016 harvest and 30% reserve wines, dosage 1gr/lt
Cuvee Composition: 100% Chardonnay of which 60% sourced from the 2016 harvest with 40% reserve wines added and a dosage of 4gr/lt.
Sarah’s incredible artworks are visible in the background of the images. As mentioned Champagne Paul Launois also offer accommodation in beautifully decorated rooms above their tasting room and you can make a reservation here.
To stay up to date with all Champagne Paul Launois news and information, you can follow them on social media; Facebook and Instagram.
To enquire about a visit, email launois.julien@orange.fr
Pop, Fizz, Clink
The Champagne Chick
xo
THE CHAMPAGNE CHICK 