Champagne Brut Prestige, La Richasse, Didier Doué

Just outside Troyes, on a hill overlooking the Champagne plain, lies Montgueux, or Mont des Goths. This is the Aube region, on the borders of Burgundy and Champagne. As soon as you reach the foot of the Montgueux hill, the terroir becomes obvious, with its distinctive topography: an ideally exposed, south/south-east-facing, steep slope (up to 43%), combining Turonian chalk, flinty limestone and, on the plateau at the top of the hill, more clayey subsoils. Its reputation among connoisseurs is well established. A few years ago, Daniel Thibault, cellar master at Charles Heidsieck, even caused a mini-earthquake when he declared: "If there's a Montrachet in Champagne, it's in Montgueux! This is the realm of Chardonnay. Chardonnay accounts for 90% of the vineyard. The grape variety ripens ideally in these chalky soils, and there's no lack of freshness, like in Chablis. Didier Doué is one of the spearheads of the appellation. At 63, this modest winegrower is passionate about his terroir and cultivates ten parcels of certified organic vines on 5 hectares of the best facing slopes. He is a man of the vine, with his body firmly anchored in his terroir. A winemaker who produces a range of wines of rare sincerity, clarity and depth of flavour, with a price/pleasure ratio that is simply unbeatable. And having tasted the entire...