Meeting and speaking with
@elisedechannes reminded me a lot of the short conversation I had with Nicolas Joly of
@couleedeserrant , who is thought of as the father of biodynamic winemaking. Nicholas mentioned that people practice biodynamics at varying levels. He is a full on practitioner of course.
And Elise, being something of a rebel, also practices biodynamics to the hilt, without compromise.
However, after having achieved everything she wanted in winemaking, and after sort of "listening to Nature" she has decided to move on to the next stage.
That stage will entail travel and speaking, teaching others what she has learned about biodynamic viticulture and winemaking.
I really love her passion and I also love her wines. You don't want to over-generalize, as each wine reflects the conditions of that vintage, but I would high level characterize her wines as chiseled stone.
Because A, her acid is very edgy and angular without being at the level where your teeth are crying.
And B, you know how on the palate champagne can be often be fruity, pithy, chalky, and/or saline? Her wines are as unique as she is. The palate finishes like the wet stone descriptor you read about. That's a very particular kind of minerality that is unique in champagne.
As someone who spends 90% of his wine budget and 80% of his consumption, on champagne, I'm always looking for wine and winemakers who are unique and that definitely describes
@elisedechannes .
BTW, if you are interested in her wine, as going forward they will be increasingly difficult to source, you can try them
@bubblebliss.bar in Paris or
@lewinebarbylevintage in Reims
