Bérêche et Fils NV Brut Reserve Champagne JEROBOAM

3000ml bottle
12.5% abv

Effusive aromas of nectarine, orange zest, and brioche. Medium- to full-bodied, ample, and dense, underpinned by racy acidity and finishing with chalky minerality. 

2022 base wine

Blended from ~1/3 each Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier from the estate's holdings. Average vine age exceeds 38 years old. The base wine is supplemented by ~35% reserve wine. Aged 2-3 years before disgorgement, and dosed around 6g/l. A model of harmony, nuance, and verve, it is a pure expression of the domaine’s varied terroirs that demonstrates both the Bérêche brother’s great skill and their originality. 
Raphaël and Vincent Bérêche are the young innovators behind this old family domaine founded in 1847. The fifth generation to head the estate (Raphaël joined his father in 2004), they are unceasingly curious and meticulous, garnering immense attention in France and now in the US.

The estate's vineyards are planted with roughly equal parts of chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. They have been turning their attention to natural viticulture, having completely stopped using chemical herbicides in 2003, and converting to biodynamic since 2007.

They have slowly been increasing the percentage of oak used in the cellar, and today about three-quarters of the production is vinified in barrel. Disgorging is still done entirely by hand, and they use a traditional liqueur for dosage.

The NV Brut Réserve is the foundational wine at Bérêche, and the latest release is based on the 2022 vintage, incorporating a 40% perpetual reserve component, uniting the freshness of the northern slopes and the maturity of the hot, dry vintage. Fruit for this wine comes from vineyard sites across the Montagne de Reims and the Vallée de Marne, and the Champagne was disgorged in October 2024 with six grams per liter dosage. 

Production: 90,000 bottles, 3,955 magnums, 300 jeroboams

It’s been nearly two decades since growers began to dominate the headlines in Champagne. Yet, over that period, surprisingly few growers have managed to separate themselves from the pack, by virtue of their genius or their gift for making Champagne of unique expressiveness. Two that have are the brothers Raphaël and Vincent Bérêche. 

This old domaine was founded in 1847, but it has been the innovative work of young Raphaël and Vincent that has made this one of the most talked about Champagne houses, first among France’s sommeliers, cavistes and connoisseurs and now their counterparts in the United States. Building on a strong foundation of traditional Champagne making learned from their father Jean-Pierre, the brothers became two of the region’s most insatiably curious vignerons.

To that end, their portfolio not only includes an extraordinarily vibrant NV Brut Réserve, but several micro-cuvées brilliantly conceived to express different aspects of terroir, vintage, and grape variety. Despite only having 9 hectares of land, Bérêche has 10 full-time employees tending the vines. That’s a lot.

The result? Immaculate vineyards of organically-farmed grapes that reflect exactly where they’re from. This iconic grower-producer turns those grapes into a range of Champagnes – from an exceedingly refreshing house cuvée, to collectable, age-worthy single-vineyard and vintage bottlings.