Just in time for Valentine’s Day, let me introduce you to Fleur de Miraval. The brainchild of a celebrity and two passionate winemakers, this is the only Champagne House exclusively dedicated to rosé champagne. And it is a revelation. I was invited to their secret location and wanted to share my visit to Fleur de Miraval with you.
Menu
About Fleur de Miraval
The Visit
What Makes Fleur de Miraval Unique
The Champagnes
Overall Thoughts
About Fleur de Miraval
Behind a secret vault, under a secret location, two wine dynasties banded together to create the enigmatic Fleur de Miraval.
The story starts with Pitt-Perrin. Yes, that global star Brad Pitt and the iconic Perrin winemaking family have been working together for more than a decade (since 2012) to create the highly successful Miraval Rosé brand from Provence in the south of France. They recently (2020) brought their passion for rosé up north to Champagne.
Together with esteemed cult Champagne Pierre Péters (winemaker Rodolphe Péters), they aimed to create a new rosé bubbly that has never been produced before. And the results pleasantly surprised me! Unlike the usual celebrity beverages, these wines are produced in limited quantities and there is little mention of Mr. Pitt in their marketing (which is also low-key). This really is a passion project, an ode to love for good wine.
The Visit
Of course, I cannot disclose the location of this project, but I was able to tour the production site. It includes a spectacular tasting room, which doubles as their real workspace. Two giant round foudres contain the perpetual reserve (I discuss this later). Stainless steel holds the Pinot Noir base. I absolutely loved the on-brand pink lighting used for visitors.
What Makes Fleur de Miraval Unique
My Chef de Cave guide explained to me the philosophies of these Champagnes and what makes them so unique.
To start, the team wanted to make something harmonious and balanced with freshness, minerality, and limited tannins. A great problem with many rosés is that they often combine a very crisp white base from one part of the region with a tannic red base from a completely different terroir, creating something of an unpleasant mouth shock. To avoid this, they blend 75% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Noir, all sourced from the same region, Côte des Blancs. The Chardonnay comes from some of the best parcels from Cramant to Mesnil-sur-Oger. The vines are 30 years old on average and planted on chalky soils. Younger vineyards from the nearby village of Vertus supply the Pinot Noir. Together, they create wines that have elegance, finesse, tension, vivacity, and beautiful colouring.
The Chardonnay Base
The Chardonnay base is what really makes Fleur de Miraval stand out from other rosés. An assemblage I haven’t even heard of before!
There are three different Chardonnay components. Part of the blend comes from a harvest from several years before. Another part comes from a perpetual reserve system which has wines dating back to 2007. The remaining part of the Charonnay base from from seven year old sur latte Blanc de Blancs (bottles). This is a particular (and expensive) process, known as ‘remise en cercle’. It involves uncorking the bottles and emptying them into a tank to be de-gassed and added to the base wine. This process brings texture, complexity and richness to the blend.
The Pinot Noir Base
The Pinot Noir base is equally as interesting. The winemakers preserve its aromatic qualities through the saignée method. I had the chance to try one of these base wines and it already tastes fantastic on its own!
Ageing
The base wines are then assembled, bottled, and aged on lees for three years. Each bottle is lacquered to protect the nectar within from light strike.
The Champagnes
As part of my visit, I was able to taste the finished product! Their limited editions are released yearly. I tried their first and more recent releases, as well as their newest, most accessible cuvée.
Exclusively Rosé 1 (ER1)
The first edition, released in 2020! The base is from the 2016 vintage and the perpetual reserve dates back to 2007. Crisp with notes of red berries (particularly raspberry) and a refreshing hit of minerality and salinity. It was the most “straight” of the three. A perfect pairing with oysters.
Exclusively Rosé 3 (ER3)
I absolutely fell in love with this one. Deliciously gourmande and complex, floral, fruity, and pastry all at the same time. White flowers and strawberries on the nose. The mouth was like galette des rois with candied orange peel… but still with Fleur de Miraval’s signature minerality. Imagine this with pigeon or duck. A delight!
Petite Fleur
This one is a little different than the other editions in that it is more universal. A serious crowd pleaser that can appeal to any taste. 95% Chardonnay, 5% Pinot Noir (the other editions are a 75%/25% blend), from a 2019 base and disgorged last year.
Like the name suggests, the nose is beautifully floral and fresh with juicy fresh red berries. The mouth is deliciate and bright with citrus. It’s a lovely expression of its prestigious terroirs. It can be enjoyed with a wide range of dishes too.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, Fleur de Miraval produces absolutely sumptuous champagnes. Even though there is a Hollywood celebrity behind this wine, it is not your typical celebrity beverage. The cuvées are enchanting and, frankly, an exciting edition to the worlds of rosé and champagne. Each edition has its own personality, a different expression of the savoir-faire and passion of the people behind the bottles. I am quite excited to try these again and to discover their future wines!
A big thank you to Alexis for such an insightful visit.