Everything is Electric: Sébastien Mouzon of Champagne Mouzon-Leroux
A chat with biodynamic and natural Marne maestro Sébastian Mouzon of Champagne Mouzon-Leroux.
Sébastien Mouzon is the elusive and highly engaged vigneron behind natural Marne estate Champagne Mouzon-Leroux, whose conversion to organics and biodynamics he initiated in 2008. The estate is comprised of 8.5ha spread out over sixty-five parcels on the northeastern edge of the Montagne de Reims, in Verzy, a village known for its northern expositions, its historical flint quarry, and for being a transitional terroir between the thin chalky soils further south (where chardonnay reigns) and the thicker clays to northwest (where pinot noir predominates).
Amid a dense vineyard monoculture typical of the Marne, Mouzon’s own vineyards are identifiable not only by their grass cover, but by small trees and shrubs that Mouzon trains alongside the vines, an agroforestry approach inspired by his experiences doing volunteer work in Senegal alongside renowned environmentalist Pierre Rabhi. Mouzon’s champagne range, meanwhile, is distinguished by non-sulfitage (even at press); what might winkingly be called a very, very, very minimal débourbage; an emphasis on used barrel fermentation; and extended cellar aging before release. The results are champagnes of a purity and finesse rarely encountered in the region at large (let alone the Marne).
I first tasted Mouzon’s work almost against my will: I was hastily putting together a wine list for a project in Paris a few years back, and placed an order with his erstwhile agent without high expectations, since the champagnes were conspicuously inexpensive, and since the agent in question, Fleur Godart, represented no other champagnes at the time (making Mouzon-Leroux’s inclusion in her portfolio appear, from a distance, rather like a business obligation). To my surprise, the Mouzon-Leroux champagnes were far more profound - and better priced - than what would have been my first choices at the time. Mouzon himself appears at very few salons and is rarely encountered within the context of the wider natural wine community. So it was that I only properly met him in late November, when I visited the estate with my friend Julie Gézégabelle-Pham of Epernay natural wine pizzeria-slash-Vietnamese restaurant L’Eurasienne.
Quick Facts
Sébastien Mouzon began working at his family estate in Verzy in 2001. From 2001 until 2008, he practiced the conventional viticulture of his parents. He initiated organic and biodynamic conversion in 2008.
Champagne Mouzon-Leroux comprises 8.5ha spread throughout 65 parcels. Pinot noir makes up the majority, with chardonnay occupying sites on the southernmost of Verzy’s three ridges. His parcel “Les Fervins” contains all seven champagne grape varieties.
Mouzon integrates small trees and shrubs amid his vine training, and plants aromatic herbs at the base of many vines.
Mouzon aims to harvest between 11% and 11.5% potential alcohol.
No sulfitage is employed at pressing. Musts are barreled down by gravity almost immediately, after what should for discretion’s sake be called a very, very, very minimal débourbage. Everything is barrel-fermented; no new oak is employed.
Mouzon practices batonnage on problematic barrels; only when repeated batonnages are insufficient to restore a positive fermentation dynamic will he add small doses of sulfites. (All champagnes are released with under 15mg total sulfites at analysis.)
Prise de mousse is conducted with beet sugar and Quartz yeast; since 2018, Mouzon has also been conducting experiments with a cocktail of yeasts cultivated from his own vineyards.
“L’Atavique,” the estate’s signature champagne blended from across its parcels, is 65% pinot noir and 35% chardonnay, with half deriving from one vintage, and the rest deriving from the previous two vintages.