Champagne Bonnet-Ponson, “Seconde Nature” Sale

Champagne Bonnet-Ponson, “Seconde Nature”

Cyril Bonnet sources “Seconde Nature” from three mature, southeast-facing Premier Cru parcels in his home village of Chamery. In the cellar, the organic grapes are gently pressed and only the sweetest, purest, ripest juice from the first “pressing” is used. That precious juice is then funneled into four-year-old French barrels to begin a natural, native-yeast fermentation (including malo) and subsequent lees aging. Upon completion, generally around eight months, this specific cuvée was transferred into bottle in the Spring of 2020. It was disgorged in February 2022 and a cork was fitted without any addition of sulfites or sugar. This is frothy, alive, and brimming with expansive, velvet-soft orchard and citrus fruits that belie the “zero dosage.” I am incredibly impressed by this release—certainly one of the best in its category.