Timothee Stroebel
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Champagne is a region that has historically been dominated by mega-houses, aristocrat-owned temples of winemaking producing grand cuvées for the Czarist courts and the opulent hotels of London, Paris and Monaco. But today we are in a renaissance of terroir-driven, grower-producers who farm their own grapes on their own land, and elevate their own Champagnes with a nod towards freshness, authenticity, and precision. Timothée Stroebel is one such young winemaker redefining the landscape of Champagne. WIth a focus on Meunier, TImothée's style is one of great ripeness, and with his elevage entirely in barrels, is full-flavored, wildly complex and finely-moussed. Incredible quality and equally tiny production means these are wines to be sought after!
After studying viticulture in Beaune, Timothée Stroebel returned to Champagne to take over his family's vines. What he experienced in his schooling in Beaune differs from much of what traditionally was taught in Champagne, Stroebel says: "If I hadn't gone to Beaune [instead of Avize], I wouldn't be making the wines that I make today...everything was possible." His exposure to organic methods, and the idea of farming to create wine as opposed to the ideal of traditional Champagne, was transformative for the wines he makes today.
Timothée farms a minuscule 3.5 hectares of his family vineyards completely organically in the Premier Cru village of Villers Allerand in the Montagne de Reims. His wines are a pure reflection of the land, where his family settled from Alsace in the 1960s. In the vineyard, grass and weeds grow between the rows of vines, insects buzz, and the odor of horse manure wafts from the living soil. The wines themselves are aged in a touch of oak barrels, allow just enough oxidation to develop the rich fruit flavors in the generously ripened grapes.
This new iteration of Stroebel Champagnes were first released in 2005, and even to this day they are made in incredibly small quantities. Without smart, chemical-free farming, his ideal is picking at high ripeness, and as such will routinely create Coteaux Champenois bottlings each year. When he creates Champagne, he says, he needs "to feel something"; His wines are unctuous and personable, each release a different wine from the one prior.
