Champagne producer with parcels in Grand Cru communes and separate vinification by parcel.
The producer
Grand Cru Avize 2019 opens with luminous aromas of ripe lemon, fresh apple and damp chalk. Its palate is delicate, with a distinct mineral feel and a long, linear, saline, almost incisive finish. Benoit Munier's winemaking uses healthy grapes and an understanding of terroir, leaving the wine unadorned. The cuvée presents Avize without artifice, with fruit, chalk and a saline close.
Known for
Grand Cru parcel vinification
Notable facts
Séverine joined the business in 2011 to handle commercial and administrative duties.
Benoit Munier uses no chalkification or enzymatic treatment in winemaking.
The story
Selection Before Pressing
In 2017, Benoit Munier made Les Avats du Levant from a single parcel in Avize. During August, he inspected each bunch three times to remove botrytis. Botrytis is a grape disease, and affected bunches can alter the fruit that reaches the press, so repeated inspection is a form of selection in the vineyard. The cuvée remained tied to one plot and one vintage, with every bunch checked during that month. It came from one vineyard source, not a blend of several.
From the atlas
Champagne Benoit Munier
A Champagne producer with family vineyard history, parcels in classified Grand Cru communes and parcel vinification.
At A Glance
Field
Detail
Region
Champagne
Estate scale
1.60 hectares across 33 micro parcels
Commune status
Grand Cru
Cellar method
Parcels vinified separately
The Producer
Patrice Munier was a third generation Cramant native when he married in the 1970s. Benoit Munier began establishing his own Champagne production in the 1990s and 2000s from small parcels. From 2014 onward, Benoit moved away from conventional viticulture and used copper, sulfur and essential oils.
Place
Champagne's Grand Cru designation applies to classified communes, not individual vineyards. Benoit Munier's parcels lie in Cramant, Avize, Oger, Chouilly and Bouzy. The classification belongs to the village, so these names describe the source of the fruit before cellar work begins.
Wines
The range includes Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru bottles, Brut Nature and zero dosage expressions. Blanc de Blancs identifies Champagne made from white grapes. The latter two styles indicate no added sweetness after disgorgement. The Brut Nature bottle is straw yellow and bright, with delicate floral notes and significant freshness.
Final Word
Benoit Munier adds minimal SO2 only during bottling pressure; the wines are disgorged without SO2 or dosage liqueur.