Pierre Legras, a Blanc de Blancs surprise from Chouilly

Discovering small, well-made wines is always a pleasant surprise and the encounters organized by in Italy by the Bureau du Champagne of the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin du Champagne (CIVC) and conducted by the Ambassadeurs du Champagne are often an opportunity to do this even for those leading the tasting of new cuvée. This was the case at the first event organized in Milan by the Bureau du Champagne that I had the pleasure to conduct. Among the cuvée offered at the tasting was a Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru from Pierre Legras, a small family Maison that has existed in Chouilly since 1662 and which since the beginning of the 20th century has improved significantly thanks to the new generations.

Founder Pierre Legras lived at the time of Louis XIV and Dom Perignon and he mostly produced still wine, especially reds, whereas today production centers on Chardonnay thanks to the seven hectares of vineyards the Maison owns in the Grand Cru village of Chouilly, along with another three between Cote des Blancs and the hills of Epernay. Vincent Legras – the 10th generation – and his wife Marcelline have been producing Champagne at the family Maison since 2002 and there they have adopted a “viticulture raisonée”.

The wine is made using stainless steel vats and oak barrels of various sizes depending in the cuvée but it is the terroir that truly makes the difference. Knowing this, Vincent has begun to identify the various traits of each parcel and subdivided his vineyards into over 30 plots. Often these are lieux-dits which in the local tradition were given names, like Les Partelaines where the poor soil produces wines with a propensity for great finesse and capacity to age. It is from here that 70% of the grapes for this Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru come.  This is a Champagne with a clean and fine profile, one that will undoubtedly interest those who love to pop a bottle for the fun of it, with the added advantage that it retails for around 30 euros.

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