P. Lancelot Royer
P. Lancelot RoyerDomaine Lancelot-Royer crafts “grower” Champagne, a récoltant-manipulant house that grows its own grapes and makes its own wine all on site. This qualitative difference is crucial for those seeking the ultimate in Champagne flavor and character. All of Michel Chauvet’s vineyards in Cramant are rated 100% Grand Cru and are all planted to Chardonnay, as is tradition in the Côte de Blancs. As Lancelot-Royer is one of the smaller Champagne houses, Chauvet is able to see to every winemaking step himself, performing each task by hand. This dedication to hand-crafted Champagne is evident in the estate’s cellars, a rough chalk cave that was carved out of the rock by hand, chisel strokes traceable on the cool walls. From harvesting to riddling to degorging to bottling, physical labor, not technology, is the rule at Lancelot-Royer. Juice is fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature controlled, stainless steel tanks. Wines undergo a second fermentation in bottle (méthode Champenoise) and are aged on fine lees from three to four years, much longer than most non-vintage wines. Chauvet reserves nearly a third of each harvest as reserve wine, which contributes to the richness and complexity of his non-vintage cuvées. Wines are bottled by hand, unfined and unfiltered. |