Les Hautes Vignes Le Mont Benoit Premier Cru Extra Brut 2018 Emmanuel Brochet

Tasting Note Les Hautes Vignes Le Mont Benoit Premier Cru Extra Brut 2018

The nose opens with notes of orange oil, followed by hints of honeycomb and blanched almonds. Medium to full-bodied, it is rich in the wine's characteristic flavors, with texture taking precedence over lightness. Despite the high level of ripeness in the harvest year, the acidity remains ripe yet vibrant. With a dosage of two grams per litre, there is nothing to soften the chalky firmness of the finish. Les Hautes Vignes Le Mont Benoit 2018 is the second vintage of this cuvée; disgorged in December 2025. It can be enjoyed wonderfully even in its youth.

Grape Varieties

Blend composition of Les Hautes Vignes Le Mont Benoit 2018:

• 50% Chardonnay: Grapes from the highest-altitude vineyards, producing the finest quality
• 50% Pinot Meunier: Treated as a key variety in this wine, rather than a supplementary one

Meunier delivers the juiciness of red fruits and a rich, full-bodied texture. Chardonnay provides the acidity and chalky notes that support the wine. In Montagne de Reims, where Pinot Noir usually gets the billing, an equal share for Meunier is unusual.

Cellaring Potential

Best enjoyed between 2027 and 2038. The 2018 vintage of Les Hautes Vignes Le Mont Benoit is well-ripened yet retains lively acidity and almost no residual sugar, giving it a solid structure. Serve at 10-12°C. Serving it any colder than this will cause the yellow fruit flavors to disappear. As time passes, the aromas of honeycomb and bread become more pronounced.

About Emmanuel Brochet

Villers-aux-Noeuds sits south of Reims and barely registers in most Champagne books, which makes Emmanuel Brochet's work there easy to miss. He farms one vineyard, the 2.5-hectare Le Mont Benoit, classified Premier Cru, on soil of silt, clay and chalk. Until the lease to négociants expired in 1997, the family's grapes left the village. Brochet took over the plot himself and has been certified organic since 2011. Pinot Meunier covers the largest share, around 40 percent, with Chardonnay about a third and Pinot Noir the rest, and the oldest vines date to 1962. Pressing is done on a vertical press, fermentation happens in used barriques with indigenous yeasts, and nothing is filtered. Dosage stays low enough that every cuvée is Extra Brut. Annual production runs to a few thousand bottles.

Terroir & Climate

The key lies in the chalky soil. The Northern France region was once submerged beneath an inland sea, and the soil, a mixture of silt, clay, and chalk, allows rainwater to drain quickly while retaining the heat accumulated during the day and releasing it at night. The clay adds body to the wine, while the chalk provides the tight mid-palate that consistently characterizes all wines bottled by Brochet. Le Mont Benoit is classified as Premier Cru, and the oldest section at the very top imparts the concentrated flavors characteristic of Les Hautes Vignes.

Winemaking

Pressing is carried out using a traditional vertical press to the minimum extent permitted by regulations, and only the cuvée (the heart of the juice) is used. Brochet adds a small amount of sulfites during pressing and after malolactic fermentation. No filtration or clarification is performed. Subsequently, Les Hautes Vignes Le Mont Benoit Premier Cru Extra Brut is aged on its lees for a longer period than non-vintage wines.

Food Pairing

Thanks to its body and low sugar content, Les Hautes Vignes Le Mont Benoit pairs better with a full meal than with a canapé tray. Try roast duck, whose richness complements the wine's texture; turbot or sole with beurre blanc; aged Comté cheese; and oysters, whose chalky texture pairs beautifully with the wine.