Bereche Brut Reserve

Chardonnay / Pinot Noir / Pinot Meunier

Montagne de Reims, France

Raphaël Bérêche began working alongside his father Jean-Pierre at their family domaine, Bérèche et Fils, in 2004. Founded in 1847, Bérèche et Fils has discovered a new breath of life as Raphaël along with his brother Vincent, the family’s fifth generation have taken the reins. It has been the innovative work of the brothers that has made this one of the most talked about Champagne producers among France’s sommeliers, cavistes, and connoisseurs. To ensure that the soil and, consequently the fruit, is as healthy as possible, Bérêche stopped all use of chemical herbicides in 2003, returning to the manual working of their vineyards as in the past, and are moving toward biodynamic farming of all their parcels. In the cellar, they have focused on barrel fermentation for most of the cuvées. The wines age on their lees to increase richness and depth. Malolactic fermentation is avoided to balance the richness and depth of each wine with bright acidity. Recently, the Bérêche brothers have decided to use corks instead of crown caps for the second fermentation. In doing so, the young wine is exposed to low amounts of oxygen, which they think can help preserve its character and complexity as it ages.