Bonnet-Ponson - 'Second Nature' - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier - Chamery - 1er Cru, Champagne, FR - NV

“SECONDE NATURE” Entirely elaborated without sulfites nor any additives, this organic champagne respect the soils and offers a nice expression of the terroir. The grappes quality balance the tastes and didn’t need no dosage at the disgorging.

The wine open up on floral register, with herbal and spicy notes (anis). After a little aeration it develops aromas of white fruits and little berries.

The attack is sharp and shows a great energy; it evolves on a very neat mid-palate sensation, with a vertical structure and refreshing citrusy notes.

The ending sensation has a special mineral quality, mouth- watering and clean.

Blending:

Harvest 2016, selection of the first juices only (Coeur de cuvee)
45% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay, 15%, Meunier
Terroir:

Chamery Premier Cru, lieux-dit of « les Vigneules”, “les Spectres” and «les Caquerets », south-east exposition of the slopes. Topsoil of calcareous clay studded with limestone pebbles. Subsoil of sand rich in fossils shell.
Vinification:
Entirely elaborated without sulfites nor any additives. Neither filtered nor finned.
First fermentation with Indigenous yeasts, in 228 L and 400L oak barrels (4 years old wood). Malo-lactic fermentation realized.
9 months on lees before bottling
Dosage: zero dosage at the disgorgement

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Grégoire Bonnet founded the estate in 1862. That’s 150 years of continuous production within the same family, now helmed by Thierry Bonnet and his son Cyril. They farm over 10 hectares including the Premier Cru and Grand Cru villages of Chamery, Vrigny, Coulommes la Montagne, Verzenay, and Verzy. This is spread over 50 parcels of 35-80 year old vines, all farmed organic since 2013 and certified in 2016, which puts them in rare company for Champagne. All initial fermentations are native yeasts, no filtration, and minimal sulfur. Their production is approximately 60,000 bottles per year.

These represent honest expressions and are part of the new guard (at least philosophically) of organic viticulture and crystalline assertions within a sea of mass production. They even make some true zero-zero cuvées, including their not to be missed Coteaux Champenois. These still wines are direct translations of the terroirs and remind us of the purity of Pinot and Chardonnay when they have not been “messed” with.

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THE BIRTH OF BONNET-PONSON
In the year 1956, André Bonnet met Monique Ponson, herself being from a winegrower’s family of Vrigny, another village of the Montagne de reims.

With their union, André and Monique started the domain Bonnet- Ponson, growing few plots of Meunier and Pinot noir in Chamery, Vrigny and Coulommes la Montagne.

After a life of hard work, the surface of the vineyards was extended to 9 hectares, planted with the three grape varieties in equal parts.

In a constant search for quality, André and Monique also increased the capacity of the cellars, digging the new caves by themselves, in Chamery’s sandy ground, in order to age their Champagne longer.

When their son Thierry joined the domain in 1979, all the step of champagne making were already being processed by the family and their 3 workers, including bottling and disgorging “a la volée” of the 70 000 bottles produced per year.

THE 5TH AND 6TH GENERATION
During 30 years, Thierry Bonnet continued the development of the domain with the construction of new caves and the addition of one more hectare to the vineyard, several new parcels in the villages of Chamery, Vrigny and Verzenay.

After studying oenology and working as a red wine maker in the southwest of France, Cyril Bonnet joined the family domain in 2013, starting at the same time all of the vineyard began conversion to the organic method of cultivation.

HEARING THE NATURE
Love for our land, search for the expression in our wines; these founding values of our philosophy leads us to work with respectful and sustainable methods in our vines and cellar.

Since 2013, all of our vineyards are worked with organic principles (with certification), a commitment to a culture without any synthetic pesticides, herbicides or chemicals fertilizers.

The protection against rot is done with natural fungicides, like sulfate and copper sulfate, in addition to vegetal preparations elaborated at the domain with local plants (nettle maceration, horsetail infusion).

The purpose is to help the vines fight diseases with their own natural defenses instead of curing the disease itself with the use of chemistry. To do so, preserving a steady and dynamic ecosystem in our parcels is essential ; when micro-organisms, plants and animals interact, they are able to balance each others excess.

LIFE OF THE GROUND
Made of clay, sand and chalk, the soils of La Montagne de Reims are a unique combination of elements from which our wines sources their typicity. For us, respecting our soils and preserving their health remains the best way to produce authentic wines for a long period.

For this reason, we leave the vegetation to grow year round in our vine rows; under the action of the roots the soil stays aerated and rich in humus, creating excellent conditions for the vine plant.

Between April and July, we control the growth of the local weeds to favor the access to nutrients for the vine roots. This is done by superficial ploughing of the ground, an operation that encourages the vine roots to go deeper and extract the mineral substances from the soil, producing tastier juices and wines, really influenced by the nature of their terroir.

THE VINIFICATION
From the harvest, each step of the winemaking is thought out in order to preserve the aging potential of the wine and reveal its natural quality by using soft and gentle methods.

Pressed by parcel or groups of parcels, the juices flow into the decanting vat under the action of gravity. Pumped over the day after, they are quickly put in fermentation with our own yeast culture, previously developed from our vineyard grapes. This technique has been developed at the domain to limit or avoid the use of sulfits in our vinification process.

The choice of the vinification container depends on the origin of the grapes and its ability to age. About 30% of our wines are made in french oak cask (228l and 400l), the remaining 70% are fermented and grown in stainless steal or concrete vat.

A PATIENT WORK
Most of our wines do not go through any filtration or finning process. Their clarification occurs naturally during the winter, when the cellar temperature drop down. Whether in barrels or vat, the wines stay on their lies for a minimum of 7 month before the bottling, building up their structure and refining their taste.

Every year, 35 to 45 % of the new harvest joins the reserve for an extended aging in our cellars vats. This « taste memory », initiated by André Bonnet 50 years ago, is the base of our Non Vintages cuvées identity. It contains a tiny fraction of every precedents vintages, blended together in a Solera style method, bringing complexity and constance over the years.

After the bottling and the prise de mousse in the freshness of our caves, each bottles will mature for a minimum of 36 months, up to 10 years for the vintages cuvées. The disgorging, still done at the house by Cyril Bonnet and his team, adds the final touch of the Bonnet-Ponson Champagne crafting, along with the addition of a touch of the house made « liqueur d’expédition ».