Benoit Marguet’s success in the vines and cellar comes not from luck or the expertise of hired consultants, but from many years of humble study and hard work. Born and raised in Champagne, Benoit cut his teeth after college by working on behalf of numerous local houses in an oenological lab. After, he worked as an oenologist at Mumm before traveling to Washington State where he served as assistant winemaker under the well known Paul Hobbs. Wishing to strengthen his understanding of the restaurant wine service—and needing to fulfill his obligation to the French military—Benoit oversaw an enormous cellar while serving as a sommelier in the main officers’ dining hall in Paris. Having finally achieved a sufficiently in-depth and nuanced understanding of wine, Benoit returned home to his family’s small 7-hectare champagne property.
Back home in the village of Ambonnay, Benoit immediately set to work revolutionizing the way his family’s property functioned. His goal was to create a farm where the vines and cellar functioned not as separate parts, but as one complete circuit. In 2004, he began transitioning his family’s vines to biodynamic farming. I cannot stress enough how challenging an undertaking this is in Champagne. The famously cold and wet weather combined with a regional tendency toward monoculture creates an environment in which only the most focused and skilled vigneron can succeed with organic and biodynamic farming. Benoit attacked this challenge with great zeal. By 2009 he had completely transitioned 3 hectares to biodynamics, and by 2011 his entire property was certified organic. What’s most impressive is the uncompromising totality with which Benoit approaches organic farming and biodynamics—seemingly everything is done the hard way. He uses horses in the place of tractors and he experiments relentlessly in an effort to find natural substitutes for sulfur in his vineyards and wine. Before harvesting a single cluster, Benoit is known to walk every row of his vineyards and individually “thank” each vine for its contribution to the vintage. In visiting Marguet’s property, one gets the sense that this unique combination of outside-the-box thinking, humility and determination has a large part to do with the stunning quality of the wines.
Benoit’s approach in the cellar is as unorthodox as it is fascinating. He conducts blending outside in the open air so he can taste his wines in the same environment as his vines. He also uses opaque, black glassware in the blending process so as to ensure his decisions are guided solely by aroma and texture; not appearance. A look into Benoit’s barrel room reveals a vast arsenal of ancient wooden vessels of all sizes. There are large fermenters, small burgundy barrels, and even smaller, more obscure barrels like those used in Sauternes. There is no fancy machinery or chemicals. Additionally, enormous stones and crystals are placed throughout the cellar. These illuminate the space and Benoit believes they also have a positive impact on the energy of his cellar and wines. While there is no conventional scientific evidence to explain this, I will say that there is something altogether unique and expressive about these wines. They have a vividness and detail that is truly distinct.
This wine, Benoit Marguet’s Grand Cru “Elements” bottling, is a blend of some of the most carefully farmed Pinot Noir (60%) and Chardonnay (40%) in Champagne. Select clusters originate from a small collection of organically farmed parcels in the village’s top vineyards, including the famed lieu dits Les Crayères and Les Bermonts in the village of Ambonnay, and Les loges and Les Hannepés in the village of Bouzy. Fruit for this bottling is from three different vintages—2004, 2009 and 2010. The wine is bright and straw colored in the glass with a precise and extraordinarily refined mousse. After a few minutes left exposed to air, the wine blossoms with aromas of quince, meyer lemon, pear blossom and peony. Due to fermentation and aging in small 225-liter barrels and the inclusion of lees aged back vintage, aromas of warm biscuits, butter, and caramelized nuts hide just beneath the brighter fruit aromas. As with all Marguet bottlings, the structure and detail of mouthfeel place this wine in an elite class of Champagne. The focus, refinement and expressiveness in this wine’s palate are only found in the finest Champagnes produced each vintage. I encourage you to serve this at 50 degrees in large Bordeaux stems unless you have large open Champagne flutes. Please remember that like most wines, Champagne benefits from some exposure to oxygen. So if possible, I recommend pouring a glass for yourself and letting the bottle rest briefly before the wine is shared with others. Cheers!
