SPECIAL EVENT • The Champagnes of Benoit Marguet

Few in Champagne are known for taking natural winemaking so earnestly as Benoit Marguet. And yet the wines never veer off the elegant, filigreed path of the finest Champagne houses. How does he do it? Find out in person on Monday, November 2nd as we host Benoit at Vanderbilt Ave Wine Merchants.

Marguet is based in Ambonnay and was already skeptical of the chemical treatment used by his family when he was a teenager. When he took over their 10 hectares in 2005 he stopped using them altogether, and was certified biodynamic by 2008. This is still not common in Champagne, where the cooler, damper conditions make natural farming extra challenging. The region's luxury status has never suffered from the poor farming and heavy use of chemicals that have contributed to elevated cancer rates there. That has been changing, in no small part to people like Marguet, who have proved it is possible to still produce world-class Champagne with cosmic-minded viticulture.

Marguet is also passionate about horses. He says that "in many civilizations, the horse is a sacred animal, non-predatory and contributing to social and spiritual balance. By using the horse to work the soil, we are able to create a link with the fauna and the inhabitants of our region. This allows us to connect directly to our environment and to work responsibly and respectfully for people and nature."

We will be tasting a lineup of his wines from the Shaman to the village level wines, the single vineyard Crayères, and even his rare Sapience bottling from 2014

Hope to see you there!

Jonathan Kemp