The force that drives the water through the rocks
Drives my red blood.
— Dylan Thomas
Hear him read it
A college campus. A few thousand miles from home.
She walked ahead. Then looked back.
Her words say: let me fly.
Her heart says: stay close.
To cleave is to split apart.
To cleave is to hold fast.
The Montagne de Reims is not Le Mesnil.
Darker ground. Clay over limestone where chalk once ran clean.
Same vine. Same work.
Different ground. Same force.
The Quiet Detail
Chalk gives lift. Clay holds heat.
The root is forced downward before it finds what it needs.
What you taste is not just fruit. It is resistance.
Anthony and Clémence Toullec are the fifth generation in Rilly-la-Montagne.
They took over the family vines in 2017. Pinot Noir leads here.
Their fruit is strong enough that some is sold to Winston Churchill’s favorite Champagne house, Pol Roger.
Le Mesnil is Côte des Blancs.
This is Montagne de Reims.
The difference is not subtle.
Bottle of the Week
Anthony & Clémence Toullec — Les Plus, Blanc de Noirs, Premier Cru
Structure
100% Pinot Noir
Dosage: 3 g/L
Fermented in 600L oak · Indigenous yeast · Parcel vinification
Origin: Rilly-la-Montagne Premier Cru
Aged 10 months on the lees
Les Plus is a lieu-dit.
The name of the wine is the name of the ground.
A single place, worked and returned to.
Pinot Noir here does not rush forward.
There is fruit, but it does not lead.
Oak gives shape without weight.
And beneath it, something darker holds the line.
This is not a wine that resolves quickly.
Where to Find It
Available via Last Bubbles (~$59).
They offer a small signup credit, and I may receive one as well.
Free shipping on 6 bottles (mixed works).
If this bottle is hard to track down, Bollinger Special Cuvée is a more available alternative with a similar depth and structure.
What to Notice
The moment the fruit clears.
And what arrives after.
Stay with it.
Not the usual oyster Champagne.
But with something richer, it holds.
A Short Detour
Pinot Noir is thin-skinned. It bruises easily. It asks more than most grapes are willing to give.
It does not thrive in ease.
It needs resistance. Cold. Poor soil. Restraint.
What it becomes under those conditions is not delicacy.
It is force, held in place.
The Montagne de Reims gives it that.
Clay that withholds.
Chalk beneath that yields, but only after.
Pinot does not explain what it went through.
It just arrives carrying it.
What I’m Curious About Next
The force moves.
But some things do not give way.
Next issue: what holds.
A Small Dose
To hold together and to split apart at once…
— David Whyte, Cleave
Until the next bottle,
Manj
P.S. The force that drives her forward is the same one that makes her look back.
Have you felt this before?
Reply and tell me. I read every one.
If you enjoy this, I also share short Champagne notes on Instagram:
@le_dosage