Jérôme Blin Champagne 'La Pouillotte' 2018

Jérôme Blin is the archetypal Champagne grower, working 2ha of parcels around the Vallée de la Marne entirely by hand. With a firm commitment to biodiversity and biodynamics, he farms Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay, supplemented by tiny quantities of Champagne’s lesser-seen varieties, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris.

Jérôme uses a variety of vessels for vinification and ageing, including amphorae, stainless steel, oak barrels, and terracotta eggs. Fermented with natural yeasts and undergoing long lees maturation, Blin’s wines are characterised by their marriage of laser-like minerality with generous layers of fruit and a deeply moreish, savoury character.

Alongside his benchmark Pinot Meunier cuvées, each year Jérôme releases just a few hundred bottles of his sublime single-parcel wines ‘Les Ports’ and ‘Le Champs de l’Epinette’, as well as his gastronomic, mineral-driven rosés, ‘La Pluchotte’ and ‘Colette’.

Champagne’s evolution from the land of big-brands and bad farming to one of the world’s most vibrant communities of artisanal vignerons is thanks to winemakers like Jérôme and his delicious bottles.