The Premier Cru village of Rilly-la-Montagne is located in the Montagne de Reims region. It is in this special pocket of Champagne that the three allowed grapes for Champagne (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay) achieve ideal ripeness and deliver a delicate and totally elegant expression. From one of the oldest producing villages in the Champenois, just next door to today’s boutique estate lies the famous Champagne house of Vilmart. Lecompte shares the same distinct calcareous clay and limestone soils as its more famous neighbor and delivers an unbelievable price-to-quality for their Premier Cru Rosé. Unlike major Champagne houses, François Lecompte is a récoltant-manipulant, which is indicated by the initials, “RM,” on the bottle. Akin to an auteur in the world of winemaking, récoltant-manipulants, or grower-producers, craft their wines from a minimum of 95% estate fruit. The 5% wiggle room exists in case a grower needs to purchase 5% of another varietal for their blend. Today’s example is 100% estate fruit. Not only are grower-producers the bona fide “mom and pop” version of Champagne producers, they are capable of controlling quality from the roots of the vines to the final glass poured at the end of your celebration. 

These dedicated vigneron winemakers, like François Lecompte, are the producers we simply love to promote at SommSelect. Champagne François Lecompte was first established by a family of dedicated vignerons back in 1876, and it has remained in the family ever since. Derived from pristine fruit from Rilly-la-Montagne, this non-vintage Brut Rosé is a balanced blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier that is grown, fermented, aged and bottled entirely on the family estate. They produce a delicate, perfumed rosé of elegance, soft and supple texture that is an enchanting snapshot of the charming village’s distinct terroir. A rare value in the celebrated region, this wine encapsulates everything we crave in a bottle of world-class Rosé Champagne.