Le Mesnil-sur-Oger cooperative making Grand Cru Champagne, with a Chardonnay Prestige cuvée and long lees ageing.
The producer
Champagne Le Mesnil is a cooperative based in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Côte des Blancs. Gilles Margue is the winemaker, after joining in 2001 and being promoted in 2005. The wines carry Grand Cru status and receive at least three years on the lees. Prestige is made entirely from Le Mesnil vineyards, while Sublime draws from Oger, Cramant and Chouilly. Prestige 2008 is entirely Chardonnay from old south facing vines and is vinified in stainless steel with malolactic fermentation blocked.
Known for
Grand Cru village Champagne
Notable facts
The cooperative was formally established in 1937.
It brings together hundreds of growers farming roughly 300 hectares.
Gilles Margue joined in 2001 and was promoted to winemaker in 2005.
Prestige 2008 is made entirely from Chardonnay from old south facing vines.
From the atlas
Champagne Le Mesnil
A Champagne cooperative in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, with Grand Cru wines, extended lees ageing, and a Prestige cuvée confined to the home village.
At A Glance
Field
Detail
Producer
Cooperative
Village
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
Region
Côte des Blancs, Champagne
Classification
Grand Cru
Range
Prestige and Sublime
Ageing
Lees ageing
The Producer
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is home to Champagne Le Mesnil, a cooperative in the Côte des Blancs rather than a single grower estate. The cooperative was formally established in 1937 and brings together hundreds of growers farming roughly 300 hectares. Its wines carry Grand Cru status.
Gilles Margue is the winemaker. He joined in 2001, was promoted in 2005, and has worked in California, New Zealand and South Africa. He avoids chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides, and limits buds per cane to hold yields down.
Place
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger sits in a Grand Cru village in the Côte des Blancs. Prestige comes entirely from Le Mesnil vineyards, keeping its geographic address within one village. Sublime also draws from Oger, Cramant and Chouilly, extending the range across three neighboring villages.
Wines
The range includes Le Mesnil Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs, a brut Blanc de Blancs made from white grapes, and Le Mesnil Grand Cru Prestige Brut, 2008, the vintage cuvée. Prestige 2008 is made entirely from Chardonnay.
The wines receive at least three years of ageing on the lees. Lees are the spent yeast cells left after fermentation, and time against them can add creamier texture and bready notes to sparkling wine. Prestige 2008 comes from old south facing Chardonnay vines with low yields. Those yields produce concentrated aromas.
The cuvée is vinified in stainless steel tanks, with malolactic fermentation blocked to retain energy. It has a straw yellow color, delicate effervescence, a well formed nose, a finely shaped palate and a fresh persistent finish.
Final Word
Champagne Le Mesnil joins cooperative scale to Grand Cru Champagne, with village sourced fruit and extended lees ageing shaping the range.
Sources
[Champagne Le Mesnil, Vineyard Road](https://vineyardroad.net/producers/champagne-le-mesnil/)
[CHAMPAGNE LE MESNIL](https://www.marketplace.businessfrance.fr/seller/view/index/id/5297)
[Le Mesnil Champagne, Prestige 2008 Grand Cru](https://www.plus-de-bulles.co.uk/en/champagne-le-mesnil/prestige-2008.html)