Champagne Fleur de Miraval – Interview With Alexis Blondel

The love of Champagne is infinite, a language that everyone can understand, a sparkle that can shine in anyone’s glass, it can connect people, brings them together and places a smile on faces around the world.

In this exclusive feature on Glass of Bubbly, we speak with Monsieur Alexis Blondel, the skilled Assistant Winemaker at Champagne Fleur de Miraval, let’s discover a little about his life, his journey into the industry and one of his favourite Champagne memories.

It’s Great To Speak With You, Alexis, Can You Tell Us A Little About Yourself & How Your Journey Into The Champagne Industry Began?

“Thank you for having me, It is great to share a moment with you.

My name is Alexis, Assistant Winemaker for the Champagne Fleur de Miraval in Le Mesnil sur Oger, assisting Rodolphe Péters, the cellar Master in the vinification of Fleur, and I am also the voice of the 3 great families behind the project, the Pitt, The Perrin and The Péters”

Do You Remember Your First Experience With Champagne? When It Was And What Kind Of Label It Was?

“I must have been too young to remember my first experience ever with Champagne!

However, I do remember my very first experience with a grower Champagne: Larmandier Bernier ‘Né d’une terre de Vertus’.

That was our BTG bubble at my Sommelier school! I was fascinated by the density of the cuvée which felt more like wine than Champagne!

That’s when I fell in love with grower Champagne and the Côte des Blancs. Life sends you messages sometimes because this is where I landed almost 20 years later! Vertus is where we sourced our Pinot Noir for Fleur de Miraval! Our Chardonnays are mainly from the Grand cru Mesnil, where our cellar is hidden in the Pierre Péters estate!”

What Has Been Your Hardest Obstacle To Overcome In Producing Champagne?

“As a Somm, I did a couple of vinifications for dry white and red wines!

Well, when you arrive in Champagne, forget everything you know about wine and learn everything again from scratch.

Vinification in Champagne is meticulous, and crafty and leaves no room for improv if you want to respect the grapes that your great terroirs brought to life

Moreover, learning it from an iconic Vigneron such as Rodolphe Péters, (Champagne Pierre Péters), who’s crafting Fleur de Miraval, takes you to the next level of precisions and dimension, It is beautifully surgical without compromises!

It feels like Sinatra’s whispering to me: “If you can make it there, you can make it, anywhere !” It is learning from the best!”

When It Comes To Pairing Rosé Champagne With Food, Do You Have Any Favorite Combinations That You Would Personally Recommend?

“Champagne is the world wine champion of wine paring because it is the most versatile.

As a former Somm, one of the most important things to me is trying to reach the perfect pairing, the perfect moment

When you enjoy the best food without wine, you always feel like there is something missing.

On the other hand, when, you taste and share a great wine, at some stage you are like “D**n we need some food now”. Great food and great wine never go without each other, it is like the Yin and Yang. However, if you execute your pairing correctly, the food and the wine become One!

The experience and sensation takes you to the next level of Emotion!

[By the way, I keep mentioning Wine for Champagne because Champagne is Wine! The only true way to craft a great Champagne is to first, craft a great wine! People tend to forget this]

Back to our pairing, I experienced the most intense wine pairing with our ER cuvées.

Each of them has a very unique profile while remaining very Blanc de Blancs style! Because of their very gastronomical and Grand cuvée facets, they allow you to play around on an entire degustation Menu:

ER3, showing sweet citrus, delicate almondy and a creamy mouthfeel will showcase well with spring and summery dishes such as Lobster ‘sous vide’ with a line of Caviar, Burrata, and Passion fruit dressing.

We are doing a stunning match with ER2 on game and red meat. The edition shows vinosity, chalkiness, and noble bitterness like Ruby grapefruits which allows us to play with the intense flavor and spices. Imagine a seared pigeon with natural juice, poached rhubarb, and green peas! It’s a loving match, you don’t come back the same after this.”

What Part Of The Wine Making Process Do You Enjoy The Most?

“All of them cause its really fun, intense and rewarding to work in a cuverie with Mr Péters.

Everything you do will seal the faith of your wines for years to come so there is pressure but also excitement: Queen will say “It’s a kind of Magic”.

For Fleur de Miraval especially, the Remise en Cercle is what I enjoyed the most!

Our ER cuvées have such a unique assemblage with a duality of fresh Pinot Noir vinified as infusion Rosé blended with all reserve Chardonnay.

25% of our blend, each year, involves this very specific technique called Remise en Cercle.

Imagine disgorging thousands of great bottles of aged Blanc de Blancs, manually, à la volée with foam and bubbles everywhere and blending them back all together, in our final ER blend! It is fun, unique, and daring and you may enjoy a glass while doing the process!”

Can You Share With Us One Of The Most Memorable Experiences You’ve Enjoyed With A Glass of Bubbly?

“Fleur de Miraval has been poured at the Oscars ceremony for the past couple of years.

I was lucky enough to assist at the show and then, at the Governor’s Ball party where everyone enjoyed some ER3!

I did enjoy a glass of this stunning edition surrounded by the most talented people in the history of cinema (my colleagues even bumped into Steven Spielberg by accident).

It was so truly amazing and rewarding to witness and see everyone enjoying such a boutique Champagne. It was a true night of celebration that I’ll never forget.”

Thank you Alexis, for sharing your story and experiences with us and we at Glass of Bubbly wish you the very best for the future!

Images belong to Alexis Blondel. Glass of Bubbly was granted permission to use them.