Jerome Prevost

Continuing with the Champagne theme this week, I present two wines from cult superstar Jérôme Prévost. It doesn’t seem that long ago that a wine merchant in Épernay sold me a couple of bottles of the LC08, and I was able to go back a few days later and buy 120 bottles without giving it much thought.

Oh, how things have changed. Just drop the zero and that’s about all I see today! With production of his estate-bottled Les Béguines under 10,000 bottles, it’s no wonder these wines have become so difficult to acquire. Add almost 80% crop loss in 2021, and you’re now looking at a unicorn.

For those unfamiliar with Jérôme Prévost, he inherited his vineyard, Les Béguines, from his family in 1987. For about a decade he sold his grapes rather than make his own Champagne. In 1998, with the encouragement of Anselme Selosse, he began producing his own wine, originally in Selosse’s cellar in Avize.

Much in the Selosse philosophy, Jérôme produces a wine that is an expression of the vineyard site rather than of the variety. The vineyard’s sandy, limestone-rich soils are particularly well suited to Pinot Meunier. His meticulous farming and non-interventionist approach in the cellar yield what is arguably one of the finest examples of Pinot Meunier produced today. Prévost has become the reference-point producer for Meunier, demonstrating that the variety can produce wines of remarkable complexity, structure and aging potential.

With a vineyard of roughly 2.2 hectares, you can only produce so much wine. As demand has gone through the roof, Jérôme has introduced a second wine, which he labels simply “&.” It is made from purchased grapes grown on parcels where he oversees the farming, and he makes it to the same exacting standards. The soils in these parcels are notably sandier than those of his own vineyard in Gueux. The blend also includes fruit from the cooler microclimate of Janvry, along with a small proportion from Les Béguines. He calls the wine “a bridge to the next cuvée.”

If you haven’t yet experienced these wines, they come very highly recommended. Quantities are extremely limited. ETA early 2027.