The Beguines
La Closerie The Beguines | a place known as 'Les Béguines' |
| Closerie' means: vine plot of around 5 to 7.5 acres minded by a tenant |
| Les Béguines' means: vine shoots swath. A bundle is composed of several beguines |
| Area: around 5 unsegmented acres – border under the name of 'Champagne' |
| Geology: paleocene 59 -55 million years – limestone sand of the Thanetian |
| Altitude: 120m |
| Grape variety: 94% pinot meunier- massal selection
3309 and 5BB teleki rootstock planted in 1964. 2% pinot gris
massal selection- riparia and 41B rootstock planted in 2000.
2% chardonnay – massal selection- riparia and 41B planted in 2000. |
| Density: of 8333 to 10000 plants per hectare |
| Orientation: north-south axis |
| Size of permanent and royat cord |
| Undocumented viticulture: manual work has been produced after observation
Adapted to the natural habitat without dogmatism |
| Since 1994 no more insecticides: pioneering reintroduction of typhlodromes |
| Since 1996 no more herbicides: soil work by scratching and weeding on the whole estate |
| Since 2000 work on mycorrhization |
| Use of moistening sulfur and absolute restriction in use of copper |
| First Harvest: 1987 |
| First produced wine: 1998 |
| Spontaneous fermentation – lazy vinification |
| Fermentation 10 month aging on the whole in wood barrels |
| Malolactic fermentation without obligation |
| Without machine or electricity |
| Barrels in different woods and capacities of 225, 228, 400, 500, 600 liters |
| Slow bottle filling by gravity |
| Exclusively extra brut since 1998. Dosage: 2.5 g per bottle |
| Drawings, label and back label text: Jérôme Prévost |