Pierre Péter Champagne

Country: Champagne - France

Region: Champagne

Pierre Péters (Le-Mesnil-Sur-Oger)

Rodolphe Péters took over the reins of this venerable estate in the southern Côte des Blancs in 2008, becoming the fourth generation to lead since the estate was founded in 1919, under the name Camille Péters. Today, Rodolphe holds 18 hectares of vineyards, predominantly in the grand cru of Les Mesnil-sur-Oger. Péters owns small holdings in several other grand crus (Oger, Avize and Cramant) but Les Mesnil-sur-Oger is where 45 of the 63 parcels he farms are located.

“For more than forty years, a mere percentage point separated Le Mesnil from Grand Cru status, and it wasn’t until 1985 that the promotion came, even though many saw the village as the best of them all. Those grapes which grow in a belt at a height of 160-220 meters provide the most elegant champagnes the world has tasted. The cru has a very Special Chardonnay clone which gives a penetrating bouquet even when the actual content in a cuvée is small. Mesnil’s wines are often shy and acidic when young only to explode in a burst of colour and sensational pleasures.

The always smiling and tremendously skillful François Péters controls 17.5 hectares, twelve of which lie in the very best parts of Le Mesnil. For several years grapes from the [80-year] old vines in Les Chétillons were included in the vintage wine, but nowadays they make a Cuvée Spéciale from grapes from this unique location. . . . The enthusiasm over this wine all over the world is huge—and that’s before anyone has had a chance to taste a mature bottle. Mesnil’s wines take a long time to mature, but champagne from Peters offers from the start an accessible fruitiness that resembles tangerine and a large portion of butterscotch and nut aromas. With age they become majestic and deep as a water well, full of coffee and walnut aromas and a fleeting vibrant exotic fruitiness. Pierre Péters is a hidden treasure of Champagne . . . and the prices are laughable considering the quality of the wines.”
-Richard Juhlin, 4000 Champagnes

“These are sleek, racy champagnes, expressing a classic character of Côte des Blancs chardonnay. They are marked by their fine acidity and prominent minerality, yet while they are always brisk and chalky, they are rarely austere, with the possible exception of certain vintages of the Cuvée Spéciale. All of the wines go through malolactic, due to their naturally high acidities. “We have a lot of acidity and a lot of minerality in all our wines,” says Rodolphe Péters. “We want to build the structure of our wines around both acidity and minerality, not acidity alone.”
-Peter Liem

Region: Côte des Blancs
Grand cru sites in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Avize, Cramant and Chouilly
Total vineyard holdings: 18 hectares
Annual production: 13,300 cases
Vines: 100% chardonnay

Pierre Péter Champagne Collection

Cuvée de Réserve Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Champagne NV Price € 46.00

"Located in the Cote de Blancs in the village of Le-mesnil-sur-oger. These are blow-your mind Champagnes. Crystaline, jewel-like firmness and immense mealy depth give these a Krug-like profile nearly unique among Blanc de Blancs. "If Blanc de Blancs Champagne has something in common with Mosel wine in general, then these are like Saar wines, a concentration of the minerally essence of the type, and straining at the leash as though the fruit wanted to burst free and run at full gallop. I've described the wines as starched, for they have that crisp stiffness. Though not exceptionally high in acidity, they are exceptionally low in pH, which gives them their attack on the palate and their thrilling high notes of aroma." Terry Theise

Sensory features: The NV Cuvée de Réserve Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut is a blend of 60 parcels in the Côte des Blancs, so 100% Chardonnay. The newest disgorgement from November 2015 is based on 2013, which was "a great year for Chardonnay," according to Rodolphe Péters. There were "102 or 103 instead of the normal 90 to 93 days between flowering, and harvest simply caused another, a better ripeness," he adds. Fifty percent of the blend is based on 2013, the other 50% come from the perpetual réserve, which is stored in stainless steel, cement and oak vats. The wine has a brilliant colour, is very clear, precise and complex on the nose, displaying fresh lemon fruit aromas. Intense and complex as well as super fresh and clear on the palate, this elegant wine is still very young, but offers a stunning fruit intensity and a firm and mineral structure; there is a long and complex finish with a refreshing grip. Very promising!

Technical notes

Grape variety: Chardonnay 100%

Bottle size: 750ml & 1500ml

Alcohol content: 12%

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Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Grand Cru Champagne NV Price € 51.30

pierre peters blanc de blanc extra brut nv

Sensary features: Very pure and fresh on the nose, with vegetal and fresh lemon flavours along with the almost austere purity of the different terroirs, this is a rich and full-bodied wine. It is also a lean, fresh and firm, austerely mineral cuvée that still tastes a little bit green. But it does have a very expressive character. The finish is persistently long, salty and very promising. The mousse is absolutely delicate and the wine will gain creamier chalkiness and balance over the coming years.

Technical notes

Grape variety: 100% Chardonnay

Bottle size: 750ml

Alcohol content: 12%

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Cuvée Millésimée L'Esprit Brut Grand Cru Champagne 2012 Price € 66.80

Sensory features: Péters's vintage brut is blended from the four grand cru villages of Le Mesnil, Oger, Avize and Cramant, although Le Mesnil always accounts for the largest percentage. Each vineyard contributes it's own distinctive flavours to the wonderfully complex Champagne. White fruit and floral notes, zestly citrus and minerality, white spice and a touch of licorice all come together.

Technical notes

Grape variety: 100% Chardonnay from 4 single vineyards located in Le Mesnil, Avize, Cramant and Oger

Dosage: 4- 5.5g/L

Bottle size: 750ml

Alcohol content: 12%

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Les Chétillons Cuvée Spéciale Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru 2013 Price € 130.00

Les Chétillons is one of the top wines of the Côte des Blancs, coming from one of the most famous terroirs in Le Mesnil. Here, Pierre Péters owns three parcels of old vines, adding up to a total of more than 2.5 hectares. The youngest block was planted in the early 1970's and the oldest one in 1936. The vines are mass selections, as are about 85% of all the vineyards Pierre Péters cultivates. "The largest parcel is even one of our two nurseries where we still select our plants to be grafted," says Rodolphe. His Chétillons Cuvée Spéciale is an impressively chalky, vibrant and tensioned Blanc de Blancs that gains finesse and elegance with age. While the latter is aged for seven years under crown caps, Les Chétillons Oenothèque is aged under natural cork and for a much longer period."

Sensory features: Wafting from the glass with aromas of lemon oil, confit citrus, pastry cream and warm bread, the 2012 Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Spéciale Les Chétillons is full-bodied, muscular and concentrated, with a tight-knit core, racy acids and a long, searingly chalky finish. The wine's depth and structure are typical of the vintage and make for a very serious Les Chétillons that will reward extended bottle age.

Technical notes

Dosage : 4 to 5 g / L