Domaine Les Monts Fournois

Domaine Les Monts Fournois is taking shape around a south-facing Premier Cru vineyard in Ludes, on the northern Montagne de Reims. Winemaker Juliette Alips leads the project with her cousins Raphaël and Vincent Bérêche. Alips says its first estate Champagne will be the 2022 vintage, planned for release in 2027 after five years on lees.

One Ludes site, two kinds of wine

The estate has already made still Coteaux Champenois from Les Monts Fournois. Its Champagne from the same site is ageing. The vineyard has Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines, but the planned first Champagne is a 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir blend; the planting mix and the wine blend are different measures.

Champagne available before the estate release

While the Ludes Champagne ages, the domaine’s website presents a small selection of vintage Grand Cru Champagnes made with wines sourced through the Bérêche family’s grower network. Those bottles show Alips’s work now, but they should not be confused with the first Champagne from Les Monts Fournois itself. The release planned for 2027 is the clearest point at which to judge the estate’s own Champagne from this site.