I took some flack on Instagram for praising Domaine Les Monts Fournois’ 2016 “Côte,” and at first, I wasn’t entirely sure why. It is a delicious, multilayered champagne, and so I said so. But an individual who imports wine and is intimately connected with producers across the region took me to task for “not doing my research.” And in the process, I learned how opaque the origin story of certain champagne can be.
In the post, I never wrote the word “grower,” or referred to Domaine Les Monts Fournois’ Juliette Alips as its “winemaker.” I simply said “There’s depth, and then there is ‘Mariana Trench depth.’ This wine is the latter.” I stand by it: the wine has incredible richness and detail, and is the kind of champagne you seal up for a second day, just to see what it says.
The domaine is a recent creation, with Juliette Alips at the helm. She is the cousin of Raphaël and Vincent Bérêche, two of the most famous producers of the grower champagne movement. She has worked at Louis Roederer, as well as Louis Latour and Barolo’s G.D. Vajra, and now, with the help of her cousins, is starting her our champagne-oriented winery. Almost immediately, she picked up Wilson Daniels as her importer, and her first vintage will be the 2022, released in 2027.
Which is what brings us back to the issue raised by my peer. To launch the brand and generate excitement for what’s to come, Alips has unveiled a series of champagne wines from esteemed vintages and terroirs under the Domaine Les Monts Fournois label. The 2016 “Côte” from Cramant — one of Champagne’s 17 Grand Cru villages — was one of them. These wines have been purchased sur latte, meaning they’ve been grown, harvested, fermented, bottled, and fermented a second time, by another company. The domaine then handles disgorgement and any additional aging, and labels it as their own.
Making elevated, artisanal champagne takes many years, and so launching a new business is complicated and the returns are certainly not immediate. This approach can help generate revenue to properly fund the operation and ensure top quality for the first vintages. But it also feels opaque, and I believe the criticism I took for promoting the wine was that I wasn’t telling its full story (which is nearly impossible on Instagram anyway). Fair enough.
Still, great wines don’t come together by accident, and damn, this was a great wine. There may be some other more genuine stories in a bottle in champagne at the moment, but for now, this was a wonderful taste memory. And it certainly piques the interest for Alips’ first vintage when it comes out in 2027.
2016 Domaine Les Monts Fournois “Côte” Champagne Grand Cru Cramant
Champagne AOC (Champagne )
Grapes: Chardonnay (100%)
Alcohol: 12.5%
Opinion: ★★★★★ (out of five)
Food-friendliness: Impeccable
Value: As Expected
A beginner might like … the potency of this wine’s power. If you are used to lean, bright and radiant champagne or traditional method sparkling wines, this wine will reveal a different spectrum of richness to you entirely.
A wine obsessive might like … a taste of the Grand Cru Cramant (not to be confused with Crémant, the term for non-champagne traditional method sparkling wine in France). Located in the Côte des Blancs and synonymous with Chardonnay, Cramant wines are known for their compelling texture, which this wine certainly boasts.
Note: This wine was provided as a sample by the domaine’s importer, Wilson Daniels. Learn more about our editorial policy.
