The new cellar of Champagne A.J. Demière is set at the entrance of Fleury, on a natural promontory. The tasting room, built on the first floor of the cellar, with large bay windows, offers a panoramic view over these hills. From there, in one single breathtaking sight that spans from the south-east to the north-west, one can grasp a full view of the sunbathed vineyards.
Champagne A.J. Demière is run by a young couple, Audrey and Jérôme Niziolek. Both born to winemaking families, they took over Audrey’s parents’ estate about fifteen years ago. Fateful coincidence, her parents’ first names were Arlette and Jacques. So Audrey and Jérôme did not even have to change the initials in the brand name … They are independent winemakers relying on faithful customers whom they meet at the domain and in wine fairs. However in the age of globalization, exports are booming and new markets are emerging. Audrey and Jérôme are therefore also looking in that new direction.
About half of Audrey and Jerôme’s estate is planted with Pinot Meunier, a grape variety that Jerôme is particularly fond of for its ageing potential and that he sometimes vinifies on its own. Not yet forty years old, he has already gained quite a reputation from this work. His favourite cuvee is called ‘Egrég Or’. It’s a vintage 2010, 100% Pinot Meunier wine, stemming from old vines. “Egregor is a Latin word that describes a form of perfection or excellence,” Jérôme explains. “It applies to what I have tried to achieve. It is also a reference to the golden colour of the wine, which is why I added an apostrophe in the name.” Indeed the robe is a deep gold, the foam is delicate, the nose aromatic with a fleshy and caressing palate. The Egrég’Or cuvee has been awarded several medals already. Gold ones, of course!
In the middle of his cellar, Jerôme has two traditional Coquard vertical presses, each with a 4,000 kg capacity. It is all part of a traditional approach. “A vertical press will not roll and scratch the grapes, like a pneumatic press does. At the same time the piled up berries function as a natural filter, the juice that is collected is already clear,” Jérôme says. His vinifications are always conducted in stainless steel tanks. He keeps large oak casks to store his reserve wines. Maturation is an important aspect of his approach. Jérôme likes to take his time. His Champagnes age for a minimum of five years. Even the entry level cuvees.
He is not fond of malolactic fermentation. Quite the contrary. He prefers “to preserve the natural acidity of a wine. The malolactic fermentation will soften the wine, but it will also age it prematurely,” he says. “I rather prefer that the roundness and harmony come from the natural bottle ageing.”
Like some other vintners in the region he has dedicated a tank to a ‘simplified solera’, containing only Pinot Meunier. ‘Simplified’ because it is a single tank solera and not a multi-story pile up of barrels. Every year he racks some of the wine from the tank and replaces it with new wine from the latest harvest. “It is a kind of perpetual cuvee where the old wine will raise the new,” he says. Since that solera was started in the 1980’s some of its content is over thirty years old. Every year he makes about two thousand bottles from it. Not even enough to call it a ‘niche market’, but rather a personal pleasure. It is an astonishing Champagne, with an exuberant nose, and an ever persistent finish. A genuine reflection of what the A.J. Demière Champagnes are about.
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