Welcome to the final part of our mini series "Champagne: Meet the Growers", in which we introduce you to some amazing Grower Champagne Domaines. In this episode, we welcome Raphaël Piconnet to The Premier Cru, who is the head winemaker and vigneron at Domaine de Bichery located in the Côte des Bar.

We wanted to end the series by showing you a rising star in the region. Since releasing their first vintage in 2015, Domaine de Bichery has been gaining an incredible reputation and are one of a number of young Domaines in the Côte des Bar going from strength to strength and establishing the sub-region as one of the most exciting in Champagne.

On top of their sparkling cuvees, they also produce two brilliant Couteaux Champenois so in this episode we discuss:

• The history of the Domaine
• The impact of global warming on Champagne
• The rise of Couteaux Champenois

We also taste two of the Domaine's wines on the podcast: La Source and their Couteaux Champenois Blanc.

If you have not already, then please follow us on Spotify/Apple and on Instagram (⁠@The_Premier_Cru⁠) as it makes a massive difference to the channel!

Welcome to part three of our mini series "Champagne: Meet the Growers", in which we introduce you to some amazing Grower Champagne Domaines. In this episode we move from the the Côte des Blancs and the Vallée de la Marne to the Côte des Bar, which is one of the most exciting sub-regions within Champagne.

Historically it has been viewed as secondary to sub-regions further north. However, the silver lining is that land prices are therefore a lot cheaper making it an attractive destination for some of Champagne's rising stars.

The inspiration to many of the new growers in the sub-region is none other than Bertrand Gautherot of Domaine Vouette & Sorbée, who I have the pleasure of welcoming to The Premier Cru. Bertrand practices biodynamic viticulture with a capital "B" and low intervention winemaking and won critical acclaim for his wines long before people paid close attention to the Côte des Bar.On the episode we discuss:

• The history of the Domaine
• The terroir of the Côte des Bar
• Biodynamic viticulture

We also taste two of the Domaine's wines on the podcast: Fidele and Extrait

If you have not already, then please follow us on Spotify/Apple and on Instagram (⁠@The_Premier_Cru⁠) as it makes a massive difference to the channel!

Welcome to part two of our mini series "Champagne: Meet the Growers", in which we introduce you to some amazing Grower Champagne Domaines. In this episode we move from the the Côte des Blancs to the Vallée de la Marne, which is the home of the best Pinot Meunier in Champagne.

We welcome Geoffrey Delouvin, who is the 11th generation winemaker and vigneron at of Domaine Delouvin Nowack, to The Premier Cru! Since taking over the Domaine, Geoffrey has introduced a new range of wines called, Famille Delouvin.

The full range is exceptional, but perhaps the most exciting wines are those produced from Pinot Meunier which is particularly well suited to the Domaine's terroirs in the Vallée de la Marne. For a couple of his cuvees he uses a 100% Pinot Meunier perpetual reserve dating back to 1992. It is unique and adds real complexity to the wine, showing off what Pinot Meunier can achieve when handled by an expert. It was a no-brainer to interview Geoffrey when we decided to devote an episode to the variety and the sub-region.

On the episode we discuss:

• The history of the Domaine
• The rise of Pinot Meunier and why it is finally gaining the respect it deserves
• The terroir of the Vallée de la Marne and why it is so well suited to Pinot Meunier

We also taste three Famille Delouvin wines on the podcast: Sauvage, Semper Fidelis and Les Chaillets

If you have not already, then please follow us on Spotify/Apple and on Instagram (⁠@The_Premier_Cru⁠) as it makes a massive difference to the channel!