NV Georges Laval Garennes Extra Brut

The Laval family has been cultivating vines for four generations, but it wasn’t until 1971 that Georges Laval began producing estate-bottled Champagne. Today, under the direction of Georges’s son Vincent, the estate has become one of Champagne’s great under-the-radar producers. Laval’s holdings cover just 2.5 hectares, primarily in the premier cru village of Cumières. Across seven parcels, the vines average more than 30 years of age, with the oldest exceeding 70 years.

Organic viticulture has been practiced since 1971, and despite the challenges this approach presents in Champagne, the domaine is now certified by Ecocert. Laval harvests ripe fruit and almost never chaptalizes; fermentation occurs naturally in barrel with indigenous yeasts. The wines are bottled about ten months after harvest and are neither fined, filtered, nor cold-stabilized — a philosophy that preserves their purity and sense of place.

A few years ago, Vincent Laval assumed responsibility for additional family vineyards on the Montagne de Reims. The fruit from these vines now forms the base of the much-anticipated Garennes cuvée. Fermented and aged in neutral barrels, with a portion of reserve wines blended in, it shows aromas of mineral, pear, and citrus. On the palate, it reveals remarkable balance and persistence, combining precise mineral definition with a supple, fleshy texture — a sophisticated Champagne with few equals.