An unprecedented Cuvée Louise, a novelty from Pommery

There is a first time for everyone, even for a great and historic Maison like Pommery that last week presented in Florence their first ‘nature’ Champagne since their foundation in 1836. Chef de Cave Thierry Gasco – under the watchful eye of the energetic ‘Dame’ Mimma Posca, the CEO of Vranken-Pommery Monopole Italia – proudly presented this unprecedented ‘Nature’ version of the Maison’s prestige wine, the celebrated Cuvée Louise. This was truly a watershed moment for Pommery which only just before the summer had launched with fanfare another novelty that was almost its opposite: Royal Blue Sky, a ‘Dry’ Champagne and thus with a significantly higher sugar level to be served exclusively ‘sur glace’ or on the rocks. It was a Champagne that Thierry Gasco developed to meet a more modern approach to Champagne consumption and with the presentation now of Cuvée Louise Nature marked a move towards revamping Maison Pommery offer in general. All this is understandable considering that as the second-largest producer in Champagne, in terms of volume, there was a need to give consumers what they want, especially in Italy.  The idea to producing a Champagne with a low dosage had already been explored in the past by Paul-Francois Vranken and Pommery’s classic showcase wine, Cuvée Louise Brut, is in fact an Extra-Brut having a dosage of 5g/l. Thierry Gasco thought it best to wait for an ideal harvest, one that produced grapes that were sufficiently full and rich to not need the addition of a sugar dosage, to produce a pas dosé wine. Aside from the maturity of the grapes, the wine needed to age for ten years on the lees to achieve the complexity needed to qualify as a cuvée de prestige. The choice of 2004 for the first edition of Cuvée Louise Nature involved selecting the grapes and crus with an eye on the future of the blend, also based on the excellent precedents of 1990 and 1998 when Brut wines were produced with dosages even lower than extra Brut. In a confirmation of the deep-rooted commercial interest that has existed at the Maison since the times of the innovative Madame Pommery, Thierry Gasco said that if the pubic falls in love with this unprecedented Cuvée Louise 2004, he would be more happy to disgorge a greater number of bottles of that vintage without adding any dosage, he still has another 180,000 available, which I think would be a good idea based on the one he presented.

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