De Sousa "Tradition" Brut Champagne Côte des Blancs

750ml bottle

12.5% abv

50% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, 10% Meunier. (Biodynamic)

De Sousa's "Brut Tradition" Champagne is a blend of several vintages. It owes its roundness to Pinot Noir, vinosity to Meunier, and freshness to Chardonnay. The grapes come from vines harvested at complete maturity. Clear and brilliant in color, this offers a thick, tight mousse when poured and leaves a delicate, long-lasting "necklace" of bubbles at the surface. The nose is elegant and floral but also very expressive and intense, revealing a certain finesse. There's a touch of mimosa, followed by citrus and ripened fruit. On the palate the attack is clear-cut, and the Champagne's bright freshness is complemented by notes of warm honey. The finish is pleasant and average in length.

About: The history of Champagne De Sousa begins several generations ago when Manuel De Sousa, a soldier from Braga, Portugal, came to France to fight with the Allied army during World War I. He went back to Portugal after the war was over. But economic times were so tough at home that he decided to return to France with his wife and newborn son, eventually settling in Avize.

As fate would have it, Manuel passed away at age 29 from a brain tumor. Manuel's son Antoine later married Zoémie Bonville, the daughter of grape growers in Avize. So was born the De Sousa estate that, since 1986, has been managed by Antoine's son, Erick de Sousa.

Erick farms 9.2 hectares of vines spread over 42 plots. Most are in the vicinity of Avize (there are old vine parcels in Avize, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cramant, Oger and Chouilly), but he also owns vineyards in the Montagne de Reims (mainly Äy and Ambonnay) and has small holdings in the Vallée de la Marne (Mardeuil) and the Côte de Bar (Essoyes). Three quarters of the De Sousa vines are over 45 years of age. Some are 65 and 75 years old.

Conversion to organic methods began in 1989, just three years after Erick took over from his father. Yields from these old vineyards are incredibly low. In 1999, de Sousa began farming his land biodynamically, lowering yields even further. The vineyards are plowed with a horse to help prevent the soils from becoming compact and to promote healthy insect life underground. Because of this labor-intensive work with the soils, the vines often descend up to 10 or 12 meters. These deep roots extract salts and trace minerals like potassium and magnesium from the chalk. This gives additional minerality to the champagnes. The grapes are harvested by hand. Erick also likes to harvest as late as possible because he feels the extra maturity makes his Champagnes richer, purer and longer. 

 – importer's notes