Champagne Clandestin is based in Landreville in the Aube department, in the heart of the Côte des Bar region. Benoît DOUSSOT, 28, hails from Beaune in Burgundy, where his passion for wine was born. After working in a wine estate in Meursault, then in Champagne, he decided to work with organic winemakers in the Auvergne region, and began a business in the haute couture sector.
The special feature of Champagne Clandestin is that the grapes used come exclusively from Kimmeridgian and Portlandian soils. Benoît DOUSSOT believes that Champagnes made from vines grown on this type of terroir produce more elegant, complex wines.
And of course, all Clandestin grapes are harvested by hand. Fermentation is natural, and the careful, gentle pressing is just as meticulous as the selection of the grapes. After fermentation, the wines are matured in 500- and 600-liter French oak barrels (some 228-liter barrels are also available) for 12 months before aging on laths for 15 months. Bottling is carried out without filtration or dosage, in order to preserve the purity of the terroirs exploited without altering their character.
In a Burgundian spirit, Benoît DOUSSOT doesn't assemble wines in years, but rather brings each vintage to life.
There are therefore 4 Chez Clandestin cuvées. Pinot Noir is represented by BORÉAL and AUSTRAL, both unblended. We're on the second floor of the Kimmeridgian. The difference between these two cuvées? The exposure of the plots: Boréal is a blend of north-facing plots, while those of Austral are south-facing. Two wines with very different profiles. Les Grandes Lignes and Les Revers are pure Chardonnays.
Les Grandes Lignes is a taut, mineral Champagne from a single south-facing site planted on Portland clay. The cuvée Les Revers comes from a Kimmeridgian clay-limestone terroir, but faces due north.
A truly accomplished project that highlights a terroir rather than a grape variety, as well as Benoît DOUSSOT's expertise.
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