Bérêche & Fils Aÿ Grand Cru 2015
- Region
- France » Champagne » Champagne AOC » Vallée de la Marne » Aÿ
- Type
- white traditional sparkling, extra brut
- Producer
- Vintage
- 2015
- Disgorged
- 2022-10
- On lees
- 78 months
- Grapes
- Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
- Alcohol
- 12.5
- Sugar
- 4
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Cellar
- 2 bottles
- Find at
Aÿ Grand Cru 2015 comes from a small parcel in the village of Aÿ - one of the region's most revered Grand Crus, particularly for Pinot Noir. Aÿ is known for producing rich, structured, and deeply aromatic base wines, and Bérêche's take on it is no exception.
The 2015 is a vintage bottling, made entirely from Pinot Noir, fermented and aged in oak barrels, and bottled with 4 g/L dosage. It spent 78 months on the lees before disgorgement, gaining depth and a gentle oxidative shading that amplifies its natural power.
It's also a rare bottling: part of the lieux-dits series that Bérêche produces in tiny quantities (in this case we are talking about 3706 bottles), each from a single named site. And while their blends are already serious, these single-parcel expressions offer a quiet intensity that somehow feels even more personal.
In a word? Monumental. But in that unassuming, Bérêche kind of way.
Ratings
Oh dear, it seems this wine and my palate haven't had their rendezvous yet. Maybe I was letting the wine breathe, or perhaps I was just taking another sip elsewhere. 😉
Fear not, dear wine enthusiast! This bottle's moment in the spotlight is coming soon. In the meantime, why not uncork your own adventure with it? After all, the best wine stories are those we create ourselves. Cheers to new tastings on the horizon! 🥂
About Producer
Bérêche & Fils is one of those domaines that quietly reshaped how many of us think about Champagne (at least, it happens to me). Under the direction of brothers Raphaël and Vincent Bérêche - who officially took over in 2004 - it has transformed from a solid family-run house into one of the region's most respected grower-producers.
The domaine is based in Ludes, a Premier Cru village in the Montagne de Reims, but their vineyard holdings stretch across 14.8 hectares in the Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne, with small but important parcels in the Grand Cru village of Cramant in the Côte des Blancs. Farming is thoughtful and labour-intensive. Old vines are cultivated by hand, with no herbicides or insecticides, and yields are kept deliberately low.
Vincent focuses on the vineyards, while Raphaël runs the cellar - where the approach is just as deliberate. Fermentations are slow, native, and largely carried out in barrels. Malolactic fermentation is typically blocked to preserve tension and acidity. One of the more distinctive touches: they use natural cork, not crown caps, for the second fermentation. This traditional method, rarely seen these days, allows a gentle, oxygen-rich ageing process in a bottle - resulting in subtler bubbles and a deeper, more layered texture. Everything is hand-disgorged, nothing is filtered, and the wines speak for themselves.
Bérêche isn't chasing trends or looking for glossy perfection. Their wines are textured, vinous, and unpolished in the best possible way. And while they've become cult favourites - spoken of in the same breath as Selosse, Agrapart, and Prévost - there's still a kind of humility and directness that sets them apart.