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Champagne Discovery

beyond the bubbles

Le Champ du Clos, Vallée de l'Ource - Champagne Charles Dufour

CHAMPAGNE IN NUMBERS

CHAMPAGNE AOC

 

34,300 hectares

319 villages (crus)

280,000 plots (lieux-dits)

15,700 growers

4,700 récoltants

390 négociants

125 coopératives

CHAMPAGNE IN NUMBERS

GRAPES

Pinot Noir 38%

Chardonnay 31%

Meunier 31%

Historic varieties <0.4%

Arbane, Fromenteau, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc

CHAMPAGNE IN NUMBERS

BEST MODERN VINTAGES

 

1982

1985

1988

1996

2002

2008

2012

 

CHAMPAGNE IN NUMBERS
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ABOUT US

We are Gita and Lee, two self-confessed champagne lovers for whom this effervescent drink has been a huge part of our lives since meeting twenty-seven years ago. Our first trip to the region was in 1999 to source bottles for our wedding. Since then, we have been visiting several times a year, have tasted thousands of champagnes and continue to discover amazing new producers, incredible wines and stories. We are immensely passionate about the top quality smaller domaines who tell a narrative through their creations, from vineyard to bottle. As well as the bubbles, Champagne is home to some excellent still white, red and rosés too; not to forget Ratafia and Marc de Champagne. This famous region is fortunate to be home to a myriad of World class winemakers, producing an array of diverse wines, we really are spoilt for choice. We love wine, we absolutely adore champagne!

Tchin tchin!

ŒNOTHÈQUE
CHAMPAGNE OF THE MONTH

Champagne of the Month
CORBON
Avize Grand Cru Chardonnay 2012

Our “Champagne of the Month” for June 2025 comes from someone we have got to know very well over the years, the one and only Agnès Corbon. She controls the 6 hectare family estate that has a prime 1.1 hectare plot of vines behind the family house in Avize. Other holdings include plots in the Vallée de la Marne at Trélou-sur-Marne, Vandières, Verneuil and Vincelles. Agnès phased out the use of herbicides and pesticides some years ago and encourages enherbement. Sulphur use in the wines is kept low and they are never fined or filtered. Champagne Corbon continues to produce delicious wines with incredible ageing potential.

 

The millésime 2012 comes from one of Champagne’s great vintage years. As is often the case in great years, conditions were difficult early on. A mild Winter gave way to a freezing February when temperatures plummeted to as low as -20 degrees Celsius. A warm March encouraged early budding, so often a problem for a region prone to late frosts. April was wet and those troublesome late frosts finally arrived in May causing a fair amount of damage across the region. Despite the frosts, the early season was wet, very wet in fact; setting a twenty-year record and of course bringing the dreaded mildew with it. The rain finally stopped in mid-July and didn’t return before harvest and temperatures soared, so much so that August saw a heatwave. This assisted in drying the grapes and preventing further disease. 2012’s will have the potential for fantastic longevity and can be cellared for many years.

 

The Avize Grand Cru Millésime 2012 consists of 100% Chardonnay from the 1.1 hectare plot in Avize behind the Corbon family home. Vinified in fûts de chêne it is neither fined nor filtered. It is allowed around 6 to 7 years ageing on the lees prior to disgorgement with a dosage of 3.5gl. Alcohol is at 12% abv and the bottle is sealed with a Mytik cork.

 

 

Tasted 19:25 Saturday 26th April 2025 (fruit day in the lunar calendar) 

 

Glassware: Chef and Sommelier – Reveal’Up ‘Intense’.

 

Appearance: Clear, pale, lemon.

 

Characteristics: Pronounced intensity with primary aromas of honeysuckle, elderflower, lemon blossom, apple blossom, green apple, Chiku, pear, quince, grapefruit, lemon juice, lemon rind, orange juice, orange peel, peach, pineapple, mango, lychee, honeydew melon, passion fruit, star anise and mint. There are secondary notes of chausson aux pommes, lemon meringue pie, biscuits palmier, toasted brioche and madeleines. Tertiary aromas include almond brittle, marzipan, gingerbread, toffee apple, marmalade, dried apricot, dried apple, cinnamon, toast, hay and honey.

 

Price circa €48.00 

 

Another top-drawer wine from Agnès Corbon, utterly delicious and disappeared in a flash! This 2012 is drinking beautifully now but has the potential to continue improving for many, many years.

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WHAT'S IN OUR GLASS

Some of the most recent wines we have been enjoying.

 

Tchin tchin!

And now for something a little different - champagne without the bubbles!​

Moutardier - Le Breuil Rouge 2022 (meunier)

Barnaut - Bouzy Rouge 2012 (Pinot Noir)

Marc Augustin - Lune Rouge (Pinot Noir) 

George Rémy - Les Vaudayants 2019 (Pinot Noir)

Marc Augustin - Lune Rousse (Chardonnay)

La Borderie - Les Devoix 2020 (Pinot Noir)

Gonet-Médeville - Cuvée Athénaïs (Pinot Noir)

Famille Moutard - Rosé des Riceys 2013 (Pinot Noir)

Geoffroy - Cumières Rouge (Pinot Noir)

CONTACT

LOCATION 

Oxfordshire

United Kingdom

Contact

 - tasting events -

*COMING SOON*

For general enquiries, advice on touring the Champagne region or for wanting to learn more about our tasting events, please email us at:

contact@champagnediscovery.com

All photographs and the Champagne Discovery logo are the intellectual property of champagnediscovery.com
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