Frederic Savart 'Les Gouttes D'or' Cramant-Grand Cru Champagne 2018 (Magnum)

Fred Savart is a force to be reckoned with. Tasting in his cellar is as much a tour of the various terroirs of the Montagne de Reims as it is a discussion of what’s new in the wine world. Fred is first and foremost a farmer but right behind that he is a bonafide wine geek. His cellar's entrance is lined with dead soldiers from all the great names and his idea of having you over for dinner is blind tasting you on things that he's really excited about at that moment.

Constantly evolving, Fred is making almost a dozen wines from just 4 hectares. In his own words, his winery is "a laboratory of terroirs and a creator of cuvées."

Frédéric Savart was born into a family of vignerons, but his real dream was to be a professional footballer. He even signed a youth contract with Stade de Reims, but after meeting the woman who was to become his wife, he refused a potential transfer to another club, and decided to return home to work with his father, Daniel. The family estate was founded by Daniel's father, René Savart, who purchased his first vines in 1947. Daniel himself took over the winemaking in the 1970s, although production remained extremely small until the mid-1980s, when he significantly expanded the family's vineyard holdings. Fred returned in 1993 at age 23 and in 2001 he left the cooperative, only doing pressing there. Since 2005, Frédéric has been at the helm of the estate.

Fred Savart works with two varieties, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, across two neighboring villages - Ecueil (3 ha) and Villers-aux-Noeuds (1 ha). His philosophy in the vineyards is to prevent disease as much as possible, rather than treat it—towards this end, he prefers a holistic approach, creating an environment within which the plant is better equipped to resist malady on its own.

Most of Savart's wines are fermented in stainless steel, although he is increasing the use of barriques, which he has been working with since 2004. Malolactic may be carried out or not, depending on the individual wine and the particularities of the vintage. That said, wines that have reserve wine in the final blend will go through malo because the wine has gone through more heating and cooling cycles. The dosage, which is generally low, is always MCR. "It's more neutral," says Savart, "and also, it's better than using a liqueur that's poorly made or poorly stored."

2018 is Savart's second vintage of Les Gouttes D'or'. Only bottled in magnum and their most limited release. Entirely Chardonnay sourced from a single plot  above Chemin de Chalon, it spends 10 months on the lees with no malolactic fermentation and just 2 grams dosage.

Original Wooden Case available.

Producer: Frederic Savart

Country: France

Region: Champagne

Varietal: Chardonnay

Appellation: Champagne Premier Cru

Vintage: 2018

Size: 1.5L