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PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
Maxime Ponson, owner and winemaker of Champagne Ponson, makes wines that are unique as he has strong belief in Pinot Meunier. His Champagne "La Petite Montagne" a 1er Cru Extra Brut Champagne, is made with 40% Pinot Meunier which is a fairly high percentage in the cepage, although of course in the Montagne de Reims winegrowing district, Pinot Meunier is a regional focus.

In the La Petite Montagne, a sub-section of Champagne’s Montagne de Reims, the Ponson vineyards are scattered between seven different communes and only on Premier Cru (1er Cru) sites. From north to south fruit is from the 1er Cru villages of Vrigny, Coulummes-la-Montagne (Ponson's home village), Pargny-lès-Reims, Jouy-lès-Reims, Ville-Dommange, Sacy and Ecueil.

Vinification: The grapes are whole cluster pressed in a traditional Coquard basket press. Some years the cuvée (the first press juice that comes after the discarded initial one hundred liters of free run juice) may go straight to tank for fermentation without any overnight settling. This depends on the quality of the fruit. Alcoholic fermentation lasts between ten days and two months and Maxime limits the maximum temperatures to around 16°-18°C. Malolactic fermentation happens sometimes but is not encouraged.

Extra Brut: An Extra Brut champagne must contain no more than six grams of sugar per liter (before dosage). It can sometimes contain none at all, and in these cases some producers prefer to label their wines as Brut Nature or Non-Dosé.

Aging: Aged exclusively in stainless steel and concrete followed by four to five years on the lees in bottle before disgorging.

Geology: The bedrock here is chalk and Maxime says it’s softer than the chalk found further south on the Côte des Blancs because it’s more of a tuffeau, which is an extremely porous, sand-rich, calcium carbonate rock, similar to what is found in Saumur and other wine regions of the middle Loire Valley.
​ *adapted from importer website​

Grower Champagne= Champagne grown and bottled by a single estate, from their own vines. A grower champagne is not necessarily intrinsically superior or inferior to one made by a négociant, but today, the best grower champagnes are increasingly diverging in character from traditional champagnes, offering a distinctly different type of experience.

PRODUCT REVIEW:
Ponson “Petite Montagne” 1er Cru Extra Brut NV (Coulommes-la-Montagne)
The newly-arrived Petite Montagne bottling from Maxime Ponson hails from the base year of 2015 and is made from its customary blend of forty percent pinot meunier, thirty-five percent chardonnay and twenty-five percent pinot noir. The wine was disgorged in October of 2019 and given some additional bottle aging in the cellars prior to release. The nose is pure and quite refined in profile, wafting from the glass in a mix of peach, apple, fresh-baked bread, a complex base of soil tones and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and focused, with a fine core, excellent soil signature, pinpoint bubbles and lovely length and grip on the crisp and complex finish. I have the sense that with every passing vintage, Maxime’s wines are getting more refined. 2021-2040. 92 points.
*From John Gilman’s “A View from the Cellar” via importer Didier Boutet

PRODUCT DETAILS:
Producer Name: Champagne Ponson
Old/New World: Old World
Country of Origin: France
Region: Champagne
Sub-Region: Montagne de Reims
Appellation: AOC
Vineyards: 1er Cru
Quality Designation: 1er Cru Extra Brut Champagne
Grape Varietals: 40% Pinot Meunier, 35% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir,
Vintage: NV
Product Type: Wine
Wine Style: Sparkling Wine
Viticultural Features: Organic Certified, biodynamic treatments and principals are also incorporated but without certification.
Winemaking Techniques: Aged exclusively in stainless steel and concrete followed by four to five years on the lees in bottle before disgorging. Disgorged in October of 2019 and given some additional bottle aging in the cellars prior to release.
Winemaker: Maxime Ponson
ABV: 12%
Pack/Size: 6/750
Container Type: classic Champagne bottle
Closure Style: cork and cage

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