Located in Champagne’s Vallée de la Marne, one-man-show Jérôme Blin tirelessly hand-farms and hand-crafts micro-production Champagnes that drink larger than life. This is a superstar in the making, and with all the right specs in place—biodynamic farming; old vines; extraordinarily long lees aging; and a low dosage—all that’s missing is a flashy price.
So what’s the catch to this tantalizing offer? Just how little wine he actually produces: Blin touches each bottle that goes out his cellar door—hand-disgorging every single one—so obtaining just one is an achievement in itself. Today’s 2009 “Les Caillasses” is his top vintage bottling, and Blin only made
500 of them (only half of that made it to America!). It was farmed naturally from old, riverside vines and aged a shocking eight years before disgorgement. It’s broad and complex, vibrant and creamy, and will keep well over another decade in your cellar alongside any prestige cuvée. Those, however, are much easier to obtain and unquestionably pricier than this exquisite bottle from Jérôme Blin. With such microscopic quantities, we can only provide six per customer today—there really is that little available to us (anywhere, really). It’s one of the greatest 2009 Champagnes on the market, so snatch it up while you can because this will sell fast!
The Blin family has been involved in wine since the 1600s and they’ve long since held a presence in Vallée de la Marne. Here in Vincelles, Jérôme’s grandfather was instrumental in establishing the prominent Champagne co-operative H. Blin in 1947. Although he worked there for many years, Jérôme, equipped with five centuries of family expertise and a firm commitment to organics (and more recently, biodynamics), ventured out to create his very own Champagne label in the same bucolic village of Vincelles. His decision to branch out and craft his own “one-with-nature” Champagne has given the Vallée de la Marne yet another jolt of electricity.
Though most of his vineyards are planted to Meunier (the choice grape in the Marne), he also has small percentages of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. “Les Caillasses,” which is the limestone terroir that his mid-slope, 40-year-old vines grow on, is equal parts Chardonnay and Meunier. In all, Jérôme is responsible for just six hectares of vines on the slopes of Vincelles. He farms organically and has been an advocate for biodynamics; he has recently converted his entire domaine. In 2009, after a year of manual labor and plowing by horse, Jérôme hand harvested the crop and fermented the grapes in stainless steel vats. The wine was then bottled in the early spring of 2010 and laid to rest in his cellars for nearly eight years. Interestingly, Jérôme hand disgorged both his 2008 and 2009 bottles simultaneously. The ‘09, however, was sent back to the cellar, where it aged an additional year and some change before arriving on our shores earlier this month.
I’ve previously remarked on the sheer level of tension, elegance, and slow-building power that Jérôme Blin manages to fit in his “Les Caillasses” bottlings. Expectedly, the ‘08 we offered last year—which you quickly gobbled up—was a nervy, complex, energetic treat with loads of aging potential. With that in mind, the 2009 rattled me to my core. It’s a remarkable bottle of Champagne and truly one of the highlights of the vintage thus far. In the glass, the wine reveals a vivid straw yellow that glints with heavy silver reflections. An abundance of fruit and mineral components on the nose transform and dazzle like a Cirque du Soleil performance—just so much happening in such an enclosed space. Asian pear, basketfuls of assorted apples, citrus blossoms, crushed stones and oyster shells, candied lime, white peach, and a touch of brioche dance and meld to our amusement, alongside a lingering presence of honeysuckle. The palate is medium-plus bodied but chock-full of tension, mineral verve, and delicately ripe and creamy fruits. Drinking one now is highly recommended, but be sure to stagger your remaining bottles over the next decade. They will absolutely go the distance. When consuming, pour in all-purpose white stems (Jérôme himself recommends decanting first!) around 55 degrees and serve with a healthy portion of grilled chicken that has spent several hours soaking up a citrus marinade. Enjoy!
