Pehu Simonet 'Fins Lieux' Grand Cru Blanc de Noir

Pinot Noir

Montagne de Reims, France

David Pehu, the fourth generation to lead this estate produces wines that are quite different from Lallement’s in every way except basic essential flavor. Verzenay is, after all, Verzenay. But David’s wines are rather glossier and fleshier, and correspondingly less sleek and filigreed. He has 7.5 hectares of which 6 are Grand Cru. The balance is Chardonnay in premier cru Villers-Marmery, but Pehu wants to bottle only Grand Cru Champagne and so this Chardonnay is sold off. Vinification is either in tank or in barrel, depending on the particular wine. Pehu, who studied oenology in Burgundy, has been using barrels since 1988, and while most of his barrels are purchased second-hand from Burgundy, he’s experimenting more and more with local oak from Verzy, coopered by the Tonnellerie de Champagne in nearby Cauroy-les-Hermonville. Pehu strictly avoids the malolactic for all of his wines, including the red wines used for making rosé, as he believes that blocking the malo better preserves the finesse and expression of fruit in the long run.