Jerome Prevost La Closerie Les Beguines LB22

Champagne La Closerie was founded in 1998 by Jérôme Prevost, who took over his grandmother’s 2.2 hectare vineyard Les Beguines in Gueux, Montagne de Reims. The vines in this plot had previously been tended by tenants, but were later tended by Jérôme, who sold the grapes to negociants. Jérôme later worked at Jacques Selosse, where he started producing his own wine in small quantities under the mentorship of Anselme Selosse. He eventually built his own winery and thereafter shifted his production to his home next to the vineyard.

Jérôme’s winemaking approach mirrors that of Anselme, in which most work is focused in the vineyard. The old style Selection Massale propagation is practised, chemical additives are strictly eschewed, and harvesting done by hand at optimal maturity. In the cellar, the vinification methods are just as natural. Fermentation is left to occur naturally, with malolactic fermentation never forced, using only indigenous yeasts. The wine rests in used barrels of different sizes and thereafter bottled without fining, filtering, cold stabilisation, with minimal sulphur addition.

Production at the domaine is minuscule, as the yield of wine from the grapes is exceptionally low. Yet, Jérôme’s cuvées, from his iconic ‘Les Béguines’ to the highly rare ‘Fac-simile’, unequivocally elevate the status of the previously under-appreciated Pinot Meunier. And for that, La Closerie earns the status of being amongst the most revered and cult-like amongst the growers.