Bérêche Champagne
Today, I’m thrilled (and a little shocked) to offer the 2019 releases from two standout Grand Crus: Ambonnay (Pinot Noir) and Cramant (Chardonnay), as well as a rare second shot at the otherworldly 2016 bottling from Aÿ.
The brothers behind it all, Raphaël and Vincent Bérêche, pour relentless attention into every detail, vineyard to bottle. Their wines are expressive, precise, and maddeningly hard to get your hands on. Scarcity isn’t a marketing line…it’s just the reality. They make too little.
Bérêche’s cellar is in Ludes, in the Montagne de Reims, where the soils are chalky, the slopes are steep, and the ambition runs deep. The domaine has farmed organically since 2003, with a recent move toward full biodynamics. Despite having just 9 hectares under vine, Raphaël employs 10 full-time vineyard workers—an absurdly high ratio that tells you everything about his standards.
His sites are planted in classic proportions—equal parts Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier—but the results are anything but conventional. There’s no malolactic fermentation here. Raphaël doesn’t block it; he simply creates conditions where it can’t occur—by farming meticulously and letting the naturally cold cellar take care of the rest. The wines are piercing, mineral, and alive—linear and tense but never lacking charm.
In a region known for blending, Bérêche's single-village bottlings show just how much one site, one year, and one vision can express.
These 2019s are painfully limited. We don’t say that to push—we say it because the wines are already almost gone.
Lastly, this would not be a proper Bereche offering without the workhorse in the lineup, the NV Brut Reserve. This recent arrival is from the 2024 disgorgement.
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. Bursting from the glass with aromas of nectarine, orange zest and brioche, it's medium- to full-bodied and ample, with considerable density, underpinned by racy acidity and concluding with a chalky finish. The Brut Réserve has seen the most refinements in recent years as it no longer incorporates tailles and now features Chardonnay from Trépail; technically, this means that the pH is lower and the acidity is higher. It’s one of the most reliable entry-level NV bottlings on the market.
- Wine Advocate, 92
The 2019 Extra-Brut Cramant Grand Cru is a heady, explosive wine. Lemon confit, chamomile, slate and crushed rocks stain the palate. The 2019 was picked at 12.1% alcohol, dangerously high for Champagne because the wines can gain 1.5% alcohol in fermentation, where natural yeasts stop working. This is essentially white wine with bubbles. It is compelling juice by any measure. The 2019 was bottled with very low pressure and finished with no dosage.
- Vinous Media, 95+
The 2019 Extra-Brut Ambonnay Grand Cru, 100% Pinot Noir, is creamy, ample and quite seductive. Dried red cherry fruit, dried flowers, tobacco, cinnamon and subtle earthy notes are all laced together. This is an especially open-knit, soft Champagne for Ambonnay.
- Vinous Media, 94
Disgorged in July 2024 with a dosage of 3.7 grams per liter, Bérêche’s 2019 Blanc de Noirs Ambonnay Grand Cru has turned out racier and fresher than their Blanc de Blancs Cramant, which isn’t typical of this demonstrative terroir. Sourced from the south-facing lieu-dit Les Feuchères, not far from Bouzy, it wafts from the glass with scents of pomegranate, rye bread and pink grapefruit mingling with brioche and spices. On the palate, it is full-bodied, satiny and rich yet controlled, with an elegantly muscular profile and tangy acids leading to a long, expansive finish. Like the Cramant bottling, Ambonnay is produced from purchased fruit.
- Wine Advocate, 94
The 2016 Extra-Brut Aÿ Grand Cru is all class. Bright and focused to the core, with striking understated energy, the 2016 is a jewel of a wine. Crushed rocks, mint, slate, white flowers and white pepper soar out of the glass, supported by clean mineral notes that bring it all together on the vibrant finish. The blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay on chalk is magical.
- Vinous Media, 97
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