Pehu Simonet

Verzenay is one of the grand cru villages on the northern flank of the Montagne de Reims. This is where David Pehu runs the house of Pehu Simonet, the fourth generation of his family to do so. Old Veuve Pehu labels from the early 20th century still hang in his house. His grandfather sold champagne under the Antonin Pehu label. In the early 1970s his parents founded Pehu-Simonet, bringing in vines from his mother's family. His father Charly handed the estate over to him in 2000.

Vineyards and grape varieties

According to Peter Liem, the estate covers 7.5 hectares. Six of them lie in grand cru villages and supply the grapes for the family's own champagnes. These include 3.5 hectares in Verzenay, as well as plots in Verzy, Sillery, Mailly and Bouzy. In addition there are 65 ares of Chardonnay in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. More recent sources give only 5 hectares, so the figures differ. The vineyard is planted to roughly 80 per cent Pinot Noir and 20 per cent Chardonnay.

Approach in the vineyard and cellar

The estate has been certified organic since 2021. In winter sheep graze in the vineyard, and half of the land is ploughed by horse. David Pehu studied oenology in Burgundy and has worked with wooden barrels since 1988, mostly used ones from Burgundy. Increasingly he is also trying out local oak from Verzy. The base wines do not go through malolactic fermentation, which keeps them fresher.

His guiding idea is: one vintage, one grape variety, one place.

The cuvées

The Face Nord range stands for the grand crus of the north-facing slopes. The Brut is made from 70 per cent Pinot Noir and 30 per cent Chardonnay. Alongside it there is the single-site series Fins Lieux, in which each cuvée is meant to express terroir, plot, grape variety and vintage.

• Fins Lieux No. 1 Les Perthois: a blanc de noirs from Verzenay, extra brut.
• Fins Lieux No. 2 Les Crayères: pure Pinot Noir from the Les Crayères site in Verzenay.
• Fins Lieux No. 6 Les Basses Correttes: 100 per cent Chardonnay.

The house is at 7 Rue de la Gare in Verzenay. By his own account, the grower likes to show visitors his cellar and let them taste his wines.