First of all is Jérôme Dehours himself, a debonair, slow-talking man of exceptional lucidity and passion. To get a sense of his uniqueness, you can read the remarkable manifesto he publishes about his enterprise which describes every aspect of his work, down to the brand and engine size of his tractors. He took over the domaine in 1999 and started a conversion to organic viticulture, which is now complete. The domaine consists of 42 parcels, all within close reach of the winery. Dehours was the first producer in Champagne to offer “vins parcellaires” emanating from their lieux dits – a now commonplace practice. Total production is typically 70-80,000 bottles a year, all of which are held back for an above-average period before release to the market. (A superlative late-released 2003 from that most unfashionable vintage was the single most stunning wine tasted on a recent tour). The wines are not filtered or fined, all enjoy a passage through wood, and they are allowed to go through malolactic fermentation naturally in the spring. The yeasts used are indigenous, but Dehours makes their own cocktail of the best. Jérôme likes to employ the tailles, so often sold off by other producers, feeling that they impart useful and attractive qualities to the finished wines. Certainly, the prevailing cashmere elegance of his range is testimony to the fastidious care with which he works – a fact recognized by an adulatory press in France and important customers among the big houses who ask him to press their grapes for them. We count ourselves lucky indeed to have this important agency in our portfolio.