Introducing J.L. DENOIS

Though well known today, Denois started out as a humble grape-grower and winemaker, growing up in the sixth generation of a little known Champenois family in Cumières premier cru. When Denois came of age, he went to study oenology in Beaune, as one does, and then traveled through much of the new world’s most exciting vineyards, working in California, Australia, New Zealand, and finally in South Africa where he spent many years helping develop Cap Classique sparkling wine (and Jean-Louis is still collaborating with producers in South Africa on this front).

In 1988, Denois returned home to France and purchased his first Pinot Noir vineyard in the then little known sub-region of Limoux deep in the Languedoc. A Chardonnay plot followed in 1989. Denois recognized Limoux for what it could be. With its lofty elevation and limestone clay soils, this undervalued terroir could grow truly exceptional sparkling wine. In 1991, this seasoned innovator planted the first Champanois clones of Pinot Noir in Limoux: a softer skinned relative of an already thin-skinned variety.

Denois quickly rose to prominence in France for offering incredible bubbles at incredible prices. His long-aged Crémants used the finest techniques and Champagne varietal clones without the same price tag, earning the regard of leading Champagne experts like Jancis Robinson who deemed the wines “a little fruitier, more opulent, and less obviously lees-aged than the best champagnes but infinitely better than cheap champagne” by the turn of the millennium. The wines have only continued on their path to terroir singularity and deliciousness over these last twenty years.

Pét-Nat Ancestrale Mauzac

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Tradition Extra Brut

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Brut Rosé Crémant

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2019 Chardonnay Sainte Marie

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2020 Pinot Noir Village

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2019 Pinot Noir Grand Vin

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2019 Cabernet Franc Roquetaillade

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2017 Grande Cuvée

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AB CSPC/SKU # 871543

Pét-Nat Ancestrale Brut Nature

Limoux AOC

This 'non dosé, non sucré' petillant naturel is as old school as it comes. 100% Mauzac, the indigenous grape of Limoux, this is bottled without sulphites and fermented in bottle to capture the bubbles of first fermentation, and sent to the glass with no dosage of sugar added. Bone dry but still so fruit forward and refreshing. The palate is driven by notes of apple and honeydew and meadow flowers.

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Mauzac
• Fermentation: Fermented in bottle without anything added or taken away.
• Ageing: Aged at least six months in bottle before release.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Hand harvested from organic estate vineyards into 15 kg crates to avoid premature crushing and oxidation. Organic.
• ABV: 12.0%

AB CSPC/SKU # 871541

Tradition Extra Brut Crémant

Crémant de Limoux AOC

Good Crémant is often lauded as a less expensive alternative to Champagne but while this is true, the more important project is to create a crémant of place and substance that does not seek to replicate or outshine Champagne but rather to introduce its own terroir in its own rite. This, indeed, is what Jean-Louis Denois has done with his sparkling wines. It is this wine that lead us to this exciting domaine, a tautly balanced traditional method Limoux that demanded attention. Inventive in its blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and a 10% kick of Chenin Blanc, the estate's organically tended vineyards in the Haute Vallée de l'Aude clearly benefit from an ideal climate. Thanks to their altitude and the proximity of the Pyrenees, the berries are perfectly balanced between acidity and fruit. No need for chaptalization or acidification, it is the precise harvest date that is decisive for a perfect balance and here Jean-Louis's years of expertise honed in his Champagne homeland, his education in Beaune, and his working travels in California, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa have all culminated in this life long project of proving Limoux's viability for world-class bubbles. The palate shows white fruit, almondy frangipane, nectarine, and salted pineapple, a harmonious, dry, elegant, and joyfully fruit oriented wine. Then the finish saunters in with notes of hazelnut, red berries, and toasted bread.

• Varietal/Blend: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Chenin Blanc
• Fermentation: Grapes are pressed whole cluster and only the free run juice (just 50 liters for every 100 kg of grapes) are used in the Tradition bottling. Fermented in vats before being blended with reserve wines and racked to neutral French Oak barriques
• Ageing: Second fermentation in the bottle (Champenois method) without any added sugar but rather using reserved Chenin Blanc must held at 0ºC to prevent fermentation until this time. Maturation on the lees in bottle for at least three years before riddling and disgorgement. 2g/L dosage.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Organic. Hand harvested into small 15kg crates to avoid premature crushing and oxidation.
• ABV: 12.0%
• Produced Cases: 600

AB CSPC/SKU # 871542

Brut Rosé Crémant

VMQ Methode Traditionnelle

An expressive nose of strawberry, cherry, pear, and even peach, nuanced by a whole bakery of yeast notes and a chalky minerality. Dry and easy drinking, this wine also holds onto its bubbles for an almost ridiculous length of time. Pair with foie gras in terrine, scallops, lobster, truffled poultry, or chaource cheese. A special occasion wine at a week-night price.

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
• Fermentation: Direct pressed Pinot Noir juice coloured by the addition of a small amount of saignée juice from the Pinot Noir still wine cuvée after two days maceration.
• Ageing: Second fermentation in the bottle (Champenois method) without any added sugar but rather using reserved Pinot Noir must held at 0ºC to prevent fermentation until this time. Maturation on the lees in bottle for at least three years before riddling and disgorgement. 7g/L dosage.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Fruit from the Saint Pierre and Borde Longue parcels in Roquetaillade, among the highest vineyards in the Aude. Organic. Hand harvested into small 15kg crates to avoid premature crushing and oxidation.
• ABV: 12.0%

AB CSPC/SKU # 871544

2019 Chardonnay Sainte Marie

Limoux AOC

This old-vine Chardonnay hails from the Sainte Marie vineyard in Roquetaillade, less than one hectare in size and one of the highest in the Aude, situated over 400m above sea level. This is a rich, robust, and silky Chard with a manifold citrus profile and a fine grained acid structure typical of the long hang time before harvest the altitude of this plot affords. Lightly oaked and beautifully poised, this wine is drinking right now with tertiary touches of toasted hazelnut already appearing. For the patient, all signs point to this wine developing gorgeously over three to five years in the cellar.

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Chardonnay
• Fermentation: Gently pressed whole-cluster then gravity fed, with only free run juices being used for this cuvée. Indigenous yeast fermentation in 500 litre French Oak demi-muids that have been used at least 5 times to avoid excessive oak flavours.
• Ageing: Aged at least nine months on the fine lees in French Oak without racking and with minimal bâtonnage. Lightly plate filtered at time of bottling.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Old-vine Sainte Marie vineyard in Roquetaillade, one of the highest in the Aude. Vines are high trellised at 2m. Organic. Only 30hl/ha yield. Hand harvested into small 15kg crates to avoid premature crushing and oxidation.
• ABV: 12.5%

AB CSPC/SKU # 871546

2020 Pinot Noir Village

Haute Vallée de l'Aude IGP

The Village cuvée of Denois's Pinot Noir is a blend of several high-elevation plots in Hauts de Magrie in Limoux and Roquetaillade in the Haute Vallée de l'Aude. These Pinot's ripen two weeks longer than those picked for the crémants. A gentle élevage without punch downs and a soft pressing gives a Pinot with gentle tannins and a light oak spice supporting a supple and smooth morello cherry oriented wine perfect for charcuterie, savoury pastries, and a host of mushroom entrees. A delicious crowd pleaser.

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
• Fermentation: Destemmed whole berries fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel (with indigenous yeast and no added sulphites) without punch downs to avoid extraction.
• Ageing: Pressed very softly and racked to 500 litre neutral French Oak on the fine lees where the wine ages 6-9 months.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Estate vineyard ‘Hauts de Magrie’ in the Haute Vallée de l'Aude. Organic. Hand harvested into small 15 kg crates to avoid premature crushing or oxidation, twice sorted.
• ABV: 13%

AB CSPC/SKU # 871548

2019 Pinot Noir Grand Vin

Haute Vallée de l'Aude IGP

J.L. Denois is a Pinot Noir pioneer in the Languedoc and the Grand Vin cuvée is a testament to his 35 years of honing the variety for Limoux. In the Grand Vin cuvée, priorityy is given to delicacy, elegance, and seduction as opposed to power. This Pinot is a home run: red cherry, tobacco, toast, florest floor, mocha, vanilla, and white chocolate—just wildly delicious and beautifully textured. So rich without bullying the palate or leaning on alcohol for its body, it unfolds in the glass as it greets the air.

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
• Fermentation: Part whole cluster with stems, the remainder being destemmed but uncrushed whole berries, all fermented with indigenous yeast and without added sulfites in temperature controlled stainless steel. Gentle and infrequent punch downs.
• Ageing: After a gentle pressing, the wine is racked to 500 litre French Oak barrels where it ages at least one year followed by further bottle aging in the Denois cellars before release.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Fruit from the organic Magrie vineyard in the Haute Vallée de l'Aude. Only the finest bunches are selected after a meticulous sorting. Picked two weeks later than the rest of the estate’s Pinot Noir. Hand harvested into small 15 kg crates to prevent premature crushing and oxidation.
• ABV: 13.3%

AB CSPC/SKU # 871547

2019 Cabernet Franc Roquetaillade

Vin de France

The Aude has this perfect mesoclimate where the fall lingers softly and without much rain, allowing for long hang times while the grapes go on developing ever more phenolic complexity and the cool nights keep the acidity from dropping off. Not only is this ideal for sparkling wine and Burgundian fruit, but in the warmer plots this effect has been tremendous on the Southwest/Bordeaux varieties, producing fleet footed, invitingly elegant expressions in Denois’s hands. This Cabernet Franc leans toward delicacy with gentle tannins and expressive red currant fruit aromas supported by cool climate notes of bell pepper and brambles. With decanting, the red currant notes morph into black currant as a hint of mint emerges, growing denser and more handsome still. This pairs beautifully well with sautéed veal with morels, basquaise chicken, stuffed calamari, and porcini mushroom omelettes.

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Cabernet Franc
• Fermentation: Gentle maceration with a long ferment and minimal intervention (using indigenous yeast with no added sulfites), followed by the gentlest pressing.
• Ageing: Ages 6 months in French Oak barriques then cellared in bottle for two years before release.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Fruit from organic estate vineyards in Haute Vallée de l'Aude. Hand harvested into 15 kg crates to avoid premature crushing and oxidation.
• ABV: 13.5%

AB CSPC/SKU # 871545

2017 Grand Cuvée

Limoux AOC

J.L. Denois's flagship Bordeaux blend, this is a robust and yet beautifully taut food wine as age worthy as it is perfect popped today with roasts, pot-au-feu, and fillet mignon. Dark fruited with generous notes of leather and delicate oak spice. A gorgeous structure lush in soft tannins and generous in acidity with a clean and effusive nose of cassis, thyme, nutmeg, and fresh cut flowers.

• Varietal/Blend: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec
• Fermentation: Destemmed uncrushed whole berries are sorted twice before being gravity racked into temperature controlled stainless steel for a gentle fermentation, avoiding overly tannic extraction, using indigenous yeasts, without added sulfites.
• Ageing: Aged 18 months in French oak barriques followed by three years in bottle in the estate cellars before release.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: The estate’s ‘Borde Longue’ vineyard in Roquetaillade in Haute Vallée de l'Aude. Hand harvested into 15 kg crates to avoid premature crushing and oxidation. Organic.
• ABV: 13.9%