ADRIEN DHONDT-GRELLET | Champagne 2024 Release

ADRIEN DHONDT-GRELLET | Champagne 2024 Release

April 16, 2025viviana d'angiola

At Wine Source, we are fortunate to have enjoyed supporting Adrien along his path to stardom, and today we are excited to offer the official allocation on the latest release from his tiny cellars in the village of Flavigny.

Based on the top 2020 vintage, Adrien's prototypical Cuvees "Les Terres Fines" and "Dans un Premier Temps" offer yet another qualitative step-up as reported by William Kelley on The Wine Advocate, who we know he is a huge fan of Dhondt-Grellet textural and very "Burgundian" Champagnes.

While excitement is high, quantities released are once again down. If you pair this with the news that this is the last edition of the Cuvee "Dans un Premier Temps" to come out of Adrien's cellars, you will understand how quickly these wines will disappear from our allocation list.

Register your early interest now, while you still can.
W I L L I A M  K E L L E Y
The Wine Advocate (Dec 2023)


" Adrien Dhondt's progress continues, and these new releases represent another qualitative step up for this promising young vigneron. Increasingly refined barrel choices in the cellar and agronomic progress in the vineyards—where Dhondt is increasingly raising the trellising to deliver bigger canopies and experimenting with algae treatments against mildew to reduce the use of copper—translate into wines with all the breadth and texture that one expects at this address but with additional precision, tension, intensity and integration. His 2020 entry-level bottlings arrive hard on the qualitative heels of the exceptional 2019s, and his 2018 lieux-dits transcend the sometimes blowsy profile of the vintage among lesser producers. Lovers of vinous, characterful, artisanal Champagne will want to make a special effort to track down these brilliant wines. "

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2024 RELEASE 

THE CUVÉES

 


DANS UN PREMIER TEMPS
 2020 BASE
* LAST EVER VINTAGE *
£ 270 per 6x75cl (In Bond)


[ 50% Chardonnay from Sezanne / 30% Pinot Noir from Avenay Val D'Or / 20% Pinot Meunier from Cuis ]
Mise en Bouteille : August 2022 - Disgorgement : December 2023 - Dosage : 3 g/L 


The NV Extra-Brut Dans un Premier Temps (2020) is the last vintage that Dhondt will produce of this "entry" cuvée, as he is going to isolate his vines from the Sézannais for a standalone bottling that's more coherent with his approach in the Côte de Blancs. The swan song rendition is very attractive, however, delivering notes of pear, white flowers and hazelnuts, followed by a medium to full-bodied, charming and vinous palate that's animated by a pillowy mousse. ( 91, William Kelley, The Wine Advocate )






LES TERRES FINES
 2020 BASE
£ 345 per 6x75cl (In Bond)


[ 100% Chardonnay from Cote de Blancs Nord ]
Mise en Bouteille : May 2021 - Disgorgement : November 2023 - Dosage : 1 g/L 

The NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Les Terres Fines (2020) has turned out brilliantly, wafting from the glass with aromas of citrus oil, apple blossom, crisp stone fruit and buttery pastry, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and chiseled palate that's layered and concentrated, with lovely tension and a bright, saline finish. (94+, William Kelley, The Wine Advocate)
 
RESERVATION REQUEST
MORE ABOUT ..
 
DOMAINE DHONDT-GRELLET
W I N E M A K E R
 
In 1986, Eric Dhondt and Edith Grellet decided to stop selling off their grapes to negociants and started Dhondt-Grellet. Their focus on biodynamic farming has translated into vivid champagnes from great parcels across the Côte des Blancs. Their son Adrien is now at the helm, together with his sister Alice. The influence of Burgundy is evident in the texture and vinosity - Adrien cites the great white winemakers of Burgundy, Coche-Dury, Vincent Dancer and Jean-Yves Bizot among his inspirations. With a very clear vision for the future of Champagne and bolstered by a mentorship from Anselme Selosse who helped Adrien to set off in the right direction; Adrien has elevated his family’s wines to a brand new level, focusing on chardonnay and terroir. The quality of Adrien’s cuvées was recognised when he was voted Winemaker of the Year 2017 in the Trophées Champenois.

 
V I N E Y A R D S
 
The domaine is around 6ha of Grand Cru and 1er Cru vines, with an average age of 40 years. Adrien uses organic & biodynamic practices but he is not seeking certification.He does not use herbicides or insecticides. The soils are plowed and composting is made at the domaine. 

 
V I T I C U L T U R E
 
Adrien uses biodynamic practices but he is not seeking certification, preferring to work in the spirit of what he calls “peasant viticulture,” using no synthetic products, no herbicides or insecticides, enriching his soils with homemade compost and, as of Spring 2021, plowing each plot with his horse, Thor. His philosophy is to have a living soil with a healthy balance between microbial life and the vine.  In the vines, there’s a lot of manual work: he prunes short and debuds severely to limit yields and produce ripe, concentrated fruit at harvest time. He often cites inspiration from great Burgundy estates by practicing plot selection. 

 
V I N I F I C A T I O N
In the cellar, Dhondt has moved almost completely to  barrel fermentation with ambient yeasts, filling his fûts after a very short six hours’ settling (or débourbage) and adding minimal sulfur dioxide. The "vins clairs" spend eight months on the lees before tirage without cold stabilization, filtering or fining. During those eight months of élevage, the wines are topped up when Dhondt deems it is appropriate, “about every month and a half, I’d say, but I decide whether to top up—and whether to perform bâtonnage—by tasting.” As of 2020 Adrien uses almost exclusively oak barrels for his wines with the exception of the Dans Un Premier Temps, where he uses a combination of barrel and stainless steel. 

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