In Champagne lovers, the term Clos always generates a thrill of excitement. This particular French word is, in fact, associated with this most exciting expression of a single vineyard, but there's more: because we always talk about a vineyard that stands for a quality well above the rows that surround it. And such is its prestige, that in the course of time, at a certain point, wine makers have chosen to separate it, guarding it from its neighbours with the help of stone walls.
These fences, in the opinion of purists who loved tradition, must be geometrically squared. Such walls are called to defend the valuable plots, while feeding the legend. Few plots can fall under this important recognition. And, of course, a Champagne Clos of incomparable definition come from each of them.
Among the most famous Lieux-Dits able to witness the exclusivity of a Champagne Clos, the first thought is for the two owned by Maison Krug. In the beginning, in 1971, came Clos du Mesnil: about 1.8 hectares of Chardonnay in Mesnil-sur-Oger, at the heart of the Côte des Blancs, from which, since 1979, Krug Clos du Mesnil has taken its sinuous shape as a constant desire by collectors of the genre. The alternative, as well as second Champagne Clos mono-vine by Maison Krug, is Clos d'Ambonnay: acquired in 1994, already the following year the quality of the harvest allowed to individually vinify the extraordinary Pinot Noir that grows in these approximately 0.7 hectares fenced plot, in a Grand Cru village, giving rise to the first edition of Krug Clos d'Ambonnay.
The topic “Champagne Clos”, however, is rich in stories and opinions are still discordant on the "official" number of plots that can boast of the title. Anyway, there is no doubt about the oldest and steepest of the list: it is the one in which Philipponnat Clos De Goisses is born. A plot of 5.5 hectares (with an inclination of 45°) in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, where the best Pinot Noir in the region is heroically harvested, as well as Chardonnay that contributes to this irresistible Cuvée.
White berry only, instead, for Veuve Fourny Champagne Cuvée du Clos Notre Dame. A tiny plot of Chardonnay, not even half a hectare, belonging to the abbey of the same name, where the fruit of over 60 years old vineyards is the starting point of a journey that continues in the cellar for almost two decades only for the best vintages.
It is based, instead, on the Pinot Noir of a one-hectare vineyard dedicated to the patron saint of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ the Billecart-Salmon Champagne Clos Saint-Hilaire. A relatively recent label, with the first vintage produced in 1995, but with a long history of experimentation behind it: trials, attempts and adjustments have revealed the extraordinary potential of this corner of Paradise.
It is in another tiny plot (0.16 hectares), in the village of Avize, that Etienne Calsac Champagne Extra Brut Clos Des Maladries was born. Chardonnay vines are 50 years old, their roots sink into pure chalk, and the management of the vineyard still passes from the use of horses to plough: this is the style of the vigneron Etienne Calsac.
On a hill in the village of Montgueux - experts say it is for Chardonnay in the Champagne region what Montrachet is to Burgundy - Jacques Lassaigne, along with his sons Emmanuel and Ludovic, takes care of a small plot different from all the others. Just under half a hectare, located on the top and bordered by a hedge that surrounds its old vineyards, Jacques Lassaigne Champagne Clos Sainte-Sophie comes to life. Here’s a curiosity that further nourishes the myth: the first vines planted in Japan, in the late nineteenth century, come from this plot.
It extends for about half a hectare the plot where, in the village of Vertus, the special Chardonnay grows and gives life to Doyard Champagne Clos de l'Abbaye. Only the best vintages for this exclusive Blanc de Blancs, in which the know-how of 12 generations of Vignerons is concentrated and turns into 2,000 bottles.
The tour among the most sought-after Champagnes Clos closes with André Clouet Champagne Blanc de Noirs Le Clos de Bouzy – a limited production of only 1,000 bottles in Magnum size. This is a 100% Pinot Noir that not only comes from a Grand Cru myth village of the Montagne de Reims, but also from a plot that is a direct extension of the Maison on which it overlooks, whose foundation dates back to 1741.
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