Dear *|FNAME|*,

Small, family-run grower Champagne labels offer superb value and fascinating, contrasting styles. Champagne Dehours is one such producer, and we’ve been their number one fan since we started importing their wines six years ago!

Pinot Meunier, a red grape, forms the basis of Dehours’ Champagnes. The style is rich and bold with vibrant energy – the result of a very low dosage, from brut to extra-brut. The Grande Réserve NV is our go-to from the range. A blend of 70% Meunier along with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, it’s based on the 2020 vintage with 39% reserve wine from a solera started in 1998. The cuvée offers a floral bouquet with apple and savoury notes – really shining after a few years in the cellar. Vinous call this new release a ‘classy, wonderfully understated, airy NV’. Going full Meunier, look to the Terre de Meunier Extra Brut NV. It’s red-fruited and spicy, with a lean, bony structure and fantastic length.

Finally, their idiosyncratic Oeil de Perdrix* Extra Brut Rosé NV has developed quite the underground following. Also a Meunier-led, three-way blend, it’s rich yet light on its feet. This new release is ‘spellbinding in its beauty’ and ‘an absolute joy’, concludes Galloni. We can never get enough, so act fast!

Founded in the 1930s, Dehours & Fils is run by third-generation vignerons, siblings Jérôme Dehours and Caroline Laisne. They farm 42 parcels over 14.5 hectares split between the villages of Mareuil-le-Port (Montagne de Reims); and Oeuilly, Cerseuil and Troissy (Vallée de la Marne).

After his father’s untimely death, Jérôme was too young to take over operations and the family farm was sold. He managed to buy back the name and property and started again in 1996. Since then, a sort of revival has taken place at Dehours. They work manually, organically and biodynamically in the vineyards and focus on natural techniques in the cellar.

Don’t miss out on the last of their single vineyards, made purely from the perpetual reserves! Dehours La Croix Joly Extra Brut NV and Dehours Brisefer Extra Brut NV.

*‘Oeil de Perdrix’ refers to the pale orange/pink colour of a partridge’s eye. The style is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages in Champagne.

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Tasting notes

Dehours Grande Réserve Brut NV

‘The NV Brut Grand Réserve (2020 base) is a pretty, gracious wine. This release is based on 2020, with 39% reserve wines from a perpetual reserve that dates back to 1998. Dried cherry, tobacco, dried leaves, mint and lifted floral notes all grace this classy, wonderfully understated, airy NV offering from Dehours. Dosage is 5 grams per liter. Disgorged: October, 2022.’ – Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 90/100

Dehours Terre de Meunier Extra Brut NV

The current Champagne has not yet been rated; please see the tasting note on the previous disgorgement date:

‘The NV Terre de Meunier Extra Brut is 100% Pinot Meunier, the most important grape variety in the Marne Valley where Jérôme Dehours is located. This cuvée is based on the vintages 2013 and 2014 (plus a small proportion of Reserve wines aged in oak) and was bottled in June 2015. Disgorged in September 2016 with a dosage of two grams per liter, this Pinot Meunier opens with a reductive and spicy fruit bouquet. The perlage is fine, the wine lithe, pure, lean and pretty straight but well-structured. The finish is fresh but slightly astringent. It should be delicious with raw fish and even more so in a couple of years. Tasted November 2017.’ – Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate

Dehours Oeil de Perdrix Extra Brut Rosé NV

‘The NV Extra Brut Oeil de Perdrix is a stellar wine, quintessential Dehours. This release is 74% Meunier, 15% Chardonnay and 11% a perpetual reserve that goes back to 1989. Rich yet light on its feet, the Oeil de Perdrix is spellbinding in its beauty. Kirsch, rose petals, white flowers, mint, white pepper and crushed rocks are some of the many notes that grace this exquisite, ethereal Champagne. What an absolute joy it is. No dosage.’ – Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 95/100

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