Georges Laval

The smallest press, the greatest patience

In Cumières' cellar is a machine that would have been scrapped elsewhere long ago: a traditional Coquard vertical press with a capacity of 2,000 kilograms. This is the legal minimum for champagne cellars - no smaller presses are allowed in the region. Vincent Laval has kept it because it works more gently than any modern pneumatic press. The grapes are slowly crushed and the must flows without pressure. Everything then goes into used barrels, where wild yeasts do the work. The wine is bottled ten months later - without fining, without filtration, without cold stabilisation. The Sulphur content is usually less than 20 milligrams per litre. Whoever Cumières Brut Nature in the glass, you can taste what patience can do.

330 years in seven plots

The Laval family has lived in Cumières since 1694 - barons of the village, according to old records. Today the vines are planted on 2.5 hectares Premier Cru, spread over seven plots with poetic names. In the Chênes (the oaks), Chardonnay grows on pure chalk, south-facing, medium slope height. The Hautes Chèvres (the high goats) deliver Pinot Meunier of sticks from 1930 and 1971 - ploughed with horses. The Longues Violes, the „long road“, carries Pinot Noir and Meunier in Massal selection. The average age of the vines: over 30 years. The oldest ones have been standing for more than seven decades.

10,000 bottles from the seventies

Annual production fluctuates between 8,000 and 10,000 bottles - less than some co-operatives fill in a day. Georges Laval, the father, read an article in 1971 about pesticides found in the Arctic ice: anything that drifts to the Arctic Circle should not be in his soil. He made the switch when fewer than ten winegrowers in Champagne were working organically. In Vertus, on the Côte des Blancs, he met Larmandier-Bernier The same decision was made at the same time - today, both houses are among the references for artisanal champagne. Vincent has been in the cellar since 1996, the style has remained the same: Brut Nature without dosage, maturation periods of 50 months and more for single-vineyard cuvées.

On the southern slope of the Marne

Cumières lies on the right bank of the Marne, a few kilometres north-west of Épernay. The southern slopes above the river are considered Premier Cru for Pinot Noir, Vincent cultivates all three Champagne grape varieties: Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The assemblage cuvée Garennes blends base wines from up to ten years. The single-vineyard champagnes bear the character of their parcels: Les Chênes mineral and taut, Les Hautes Chèvres with the round fruit of the Meunier, Les Longues Violes are complex and long-lasting. All appear without dosage, all mature for a long time on the lees. Champagne where the terroir is more important than the carbon dioxide.