On the lookout for a new champagne to toast with this festive season? Launching just in time for your year-end celebratory gatherings is Champagne Lombard, a family-run champagne house in Épernay, currently under the stewardship of fourth-generation owner Thomas Lombard.
Since taking over the reins in 2017, Thomas has set himself apart by positioning the house as a new type of champagne producer: a négociant based with a grower philosophy. Though not growers themselves, the producers are particular about sourcing their grapes, and are focused on premier and grand cru plots.
Since 2004, the premier cru vineyards of the Médot Champagne House has come under their care, and Thomas has worked tirelessly to extend his house’s relationship with grower-partners, located in villages such as Cramant, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and Villeneuve, among many others.
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This focus on having a diversity of quality terroir to choose from translates into particular champagne styles. Allowing their single-village and single-plot cuvees to shine, Maison Lombard employs a predominantly Extra Brut and Brut Nature dosage, which works best to express the unique mineral characteristics of the terroir.
From plot selection and terroir recognition to the long aging process they are known for, it’s all done in an effort to enhance the structure of their wines, reveal the aromatic potential hidden within, and to add complexity while ensuring mineral balance.
The Champagne Lombard Extra Brut Premier Cru (S$70) is the non-vintage choice ideal for any celebration. A quintessential expression of Maison Lombard’s style, it makes use of all three grape varieties in its make, resulting in a crisp, balanced, and aromatic wine meant for easy-drinking.
Their terroir range, exemplary of their terroir-driven approach, is the next step up. Here, the mono-cru Champagne Lombard Brut Nature Cramant Grand Cru (S$122) highlights the rich Chardonnays Grand Cru of Cramant, while the Brut Nature Rosé de Saignée Verzenay Grand Cru Les Marquises (S$140) flaunts the atypical expression of Pinot Noir Grand Cru from Verzenay.
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Then there’s the prized Millésime range, where one can find the Champagne Lombard Brut Nature Grand Cru Millésime 2008 (S$170). It makes good use of the subliminal sharpness of perfectly ripe Chardonnay Grand Cru from Mesnil-sur-Oger and Avize, and complements it with well-rounded Pinot Noir sourced from Ambonnay.
Whichever you fancy, there’s no better time to pop open a bottle of bubbly to welcome the holidays and to pat yourself on the back for another well-accomplished year.
Champagne Lombard is available at all Bottles & Bottles outlets, as well as online on their webstore. Just for this festive season, Bottles & Bottles is offering special prices on a range of Champagne Lombard wines, available till Jan 3, 2022.