Location and history
Champagne de Telmont is located at 1 Avenue de Champagne in Damery near Épernay in France. Henri Lhôpital founded the Champagne house there in 1912 following the uprisings in Champagne. In 1947, the brand name Champagne de Telmont was adopted; since 1968 the house has been at its current address. Previously, it was known as Champagne J. de Telmont.
Vineyards and grape varieties
The estate comprises more than 20 hectares and eight crus. In addition, Telmont processes grapes from more than 30 other crus. The three main grape varieties of Champagne are grown: Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay.
The vines are pruned and tied by hand. The cut shoots are left in the soil to decompose, supplemented by organic fertilisers and areas of sown cover between the vines without herbicides. For crop protection, Telmont uses, among other things, sexual confusion, copper treatments and biodynamic teas. The grapes are harvested by hand and pressed on the day of harvest. In 2017, part of the vineyards received organic certification for the first time; according to the house, 81 percent of the vineyard area is currently farmed using organic methods.
Maturation and production
The first fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks. The wines from different grape varieties, vineyards and vintages are then blended together, before the tirage and the second fermentation take place in the bottle. Non-vintage champagnes mature for at least three years, vintage champagnes for at least six years. Riddling is done by hand; after that, the bottle necks are disgorged by freezing, dosed, corked and secured with wire.
The rules of the Champagne AOC require, among other things, the second fermentation in the bottle, authorised grape varieties and vine pruning methods, limited yields and pressing yields, as well as a minimum ageing period of 15 months for non-vintage wines and 36 months for vintage wines.
Style and cuvées
Telmont describes the house style as structured yet light, with tension and freshness. Réserve Brut is a non-vintage cuvée made from the three main grape varieties and wines from seven different years. Réserve Rosé is composed from four harvests. In addition, Telmont produces vintage Blanc-de-Blancs champagnes from selected Chardonnay grapes.
