Ployez-Jacquemart

France

Winery Information

Location: Ludes, Montagne de Reims

Winemaker: Laurence Ployez

Properties: 1.2 ha. of in Ludes, plus 0.8 ha. of Grand Cru in the nearby town of Mailly. The white grapes are bought in only from Grand Cru vineyards (100 echelles) in the Còte des Blancs, usually from Mesnil-Sur-Oger, Bisseuil, Cramant and Villers-Marmery.

Production: 60.000 bottles a year, maximum.

Web: http://www.ployez-jacquemart.fr

Making Champagne is one of the most expensive, risky and lengthy processes in the world of wine. This is why the champagne industry is dominated by multinational companies able to take on such costs and risks. Unfortunately, this concentration of production has led to a decline in quality, especially of non-vintage cuvées of the main brands. Luckily, at least for champagne consumers, there remains a certain number of small and independent producers, often with their own vineyards, who produce extraordinary wines, albeit in reduced quantities. Founded in 1930 and currently third generation, Ployez-Jacquemart is a good example thereof. At Ployez-Jacquemart, quality is the most important thing; traditional methods are used to create an extraordinary champagne. The grapes are grown at their own vineyards - 40 year-old stocks of pinot and chardonnay – or else purchased from growers in Grand Cru locations. The pressing is carried out in the traditional slow way, with eventual sale of the “taille” (last press). Not even the non-vintage champagne (in of itself 98-99 eschelle) contains ‘taille’ , which accounts for the clarity of these wines. After production, the wine is bottled for fermentation in the deepest part of the cellar – 25 metres deep- at a constant temperature of 11º. The process is carried out as slowly as is necessary to achieve a fine and persistent sparkle, which is a characteristic of Ployez-Jacquemart champagne. The bottles are set on traditional racks and turned by hand. After the appropriate time, the wines disgourged, labelled and prepared for the market; the wines often remain up to six years on their lees. The same high-quality must is used for both the "vintage" and "non-vintage" wines... only the vintage wines have more ageing.