Erick De Sousa farms 9.2 hectares of vines, but that is spread over 42 plots. Even in Champagne where that type of fractured ownership is par for the course, that is pretty insane to imagine. Moreover, the grand majority of those vineyard sites are old vines up 75 years old, not commonly found in Champagne . Then to top it all off, De Sousa is both Certified Organic and Demeter Certified Biodynamic which is, again, very rare (tragically.) His oldest vine parcels are in Avize, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cramant, Oger and Chouilly, and he’s been farming them Organically since 1989. He plows the vineyards by horse, keeping them loose and nurturing positive insect diversity in their soils while driving the roots deep into the mineral rich soils. De Sousa Champagnes have a relatively rich body to them, and that is achieved by the ability of these very healthy and naturally low yielding old vines allowing for a later harvest than most Ericks neighbors would dare. 

Weighty floral nose with honeysuckle and orange blossom shining through. Ripe grapefruit with a zested rind and almost like having a fresh squeezed mimosa with salted and white pepper on the rim. The red fruit components patiently lurk in the background until the finish, showing shades of Rainier cherry with a touch of hibiscus. Wide and lingering flavors. Crisp where it needs to be, but the flavors appear in no rush to dissipate from your tongue.

50% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Meunier from his Grand Cru vineyards around Avize and from his Marne sites. Fermented in enamel-lined tanks and with full malolactic fermentation. 70% from 2016 + 30% from 2015. 2 years on lees and 7g/L dosage.