Description
Sanger Champagne represents a journey through Champagne’s history. Sanger Champagne is the product of the efforts of the Academy Viticampus in Avize where 85% of Champagne producers have trained since its post-WWII inception in the early 1950s. Originally, the land was established upon a couple’s (M. et Mme Puisard) post-WWI donation in 1919 who bequeathed it under the pretense that it would become the wine school of Avize. But during the pillage of the Nazi raids of WWII, its students were forced to evacuate. Only when France regained its sovereignty, could its original students return, but this time as the teachers, and they set out to revitalize the school’s missions: persist as the leader of innovation in Champagne, remain a beacon for the students of Champagne and finally, preserve tradition and culture. They chose the name Sanger, a contraction of sans guerre, or meaning “without war” to honor their history and celebrate their future direction. Today, the school maintains production of fine Champagne on a small scale but with unprecedented access to resources, talent being the main one. The instructors are today’s current Champagne producers, while its students represent the region’s next generation. Both spend a great deal of time in the field, tending vineyards and tasting grapes, as well as in the lab doing chemical analyses to determine optimal harvest dates of all its parcels. In the winery, modern technology balances the preservation of tradition. Fifty stainless steel tanks allow the school to vinify each of its lots separately, which maximizes blending potential.
100% Chardonnay from over 50 separate plots of 55-year-old vines from estate vineyards throughout the Côtes des Blancs. Fermented in stainless steel tanks, aged for 40 months on the lees and then disgorged six months before release with a dosage of 6g/L. The final wine is a seamless blend of crisp Chardonnay character with green apple, lemon-lime citrus and Bosc and Asian pear flavors on the palate. The finish is clean, fresh and dry, ending with classic Côte des Blancs chalky minerality. Champagne Sanger calls this wine, ‘Terroir Natal’ in reference to the fact that the grapes are from the 'native land' of Avize, a Grand Cru Village where the co-op and winemaking school were founded. The cuvée also includes grapes from two other Grand Cru villages in the Côte des Blancs: Cramant and Le Mesnil Sur Oger. The fact that this beautiful wine is from three of the best Chardonnay villages in all of Champagne speaks to the pedigree and stature of the school. It is also a true testament to the hard-working students who make it, and to the Puisards whose foresight and incredible generosity helped save the Champagne region a century ago.
