Franck Pascal 'Reliance' CHAMPAGE

for me, meeting Franck Pascal was like meeting a rockstar! his wines had been this elusive yet compelling dance - available in the east coast but hard to find on the west coast which is where i live (duh!). Each sip had always been such a sensory pleasure but my ability to taste and truly get to know them was limited.
So anyway, we were at a wine fair and I literally clutched my partner’s arm “omg! look, it’s franck pascal”. These ethereal wines were lined up on a table for me to taste and to introduce my partner to champagne like he had never had before.

tbh I am a HUGE champange lover (it’s obvious, I know!)! as a wine director/ buyer in restaurants, I got super into grower champagnes and as I learned & tasted more and more, I discovered biodymanic champagne which led me to producers like Franck! So the opportunity to meet Franck and his awesome wife - to hear about the journey that led them to bioenergetics and why they are so passionate about both the energy work as well as the practice of biodynamics - well, it remains one of the absolute best times and trust me, it will make a believer out of anyone.

Franck grew up in the vineyards. His family has been in the Valle de la Marne in Baslieux-sous-Châtillon since 1906 and though he left to serve in the military, his heart has always been there. When bioenergetics helped his wife beat a cancer that doctors had called terminal, he deep-dived (wouldn’t you?!).
the Pascal family believe that the vines are living, aware beings - not to be dominated and manipulated by chemicals and technology but to be treated gently and respectfully tended - to allow the true character to shine through. All of his vineyards are dry farmed and every grape is hand harvested. Incredible attention goes into each and every one of his gorgeous wines.

I love all the Pascal wines! But there is something about the ‘Reliance’ - it is a sensory experience. 70 % Pinot Meunier, 25% Pinot Noir, and 5% Chardonnay. Grapes grown on flint, millstone and hard limestone soils and fermented (native yeasts of course) in an enameled steel vat. Aged forever (7-years is a long time for champagne to spend on the lees) ——

Mineral and citrusy and super dry. Not a bit of sweetness. Notes of soft, juicy pears and a bit of lemon pith. There’s an energy to it, movement —— no joke - you taste the life coursing through it!

Been a helluva 2021 and we’re staring down the barrel of 2022 so grab a bottle! Then raise a glass (or two…or three) to a new year and a world of wines to taste.