Jérôme Prévost is a micro grower producer based in the picture- perfect village of Gueux, on the edge of the Mountain de Reims or what the locals call la Petite Mountain. Here, in the north west of Champagne, he grows a tiny quantity of remarkable, age worthy Pinot Meunier from a single, two hectare plot of forty year old vines. His wines have garnered a cult following across the globe and are sold strictly on allocation.
The wines of Jérôme Prévost are as complex and as intriguing as the man himself. So how to sum them up in a few words? Tasting notes are useless as the wines shift, turn and evolve. Even when you open bottles of the same vintage (at different points in time) the wines are often very different. What we can say in general terms is that they are dry, vinous, aromatic, floral, spicy wines with huge energy, drive and longevity. They are textured yet very tightly wound. They are wildly complex, never boring, and they are great with food. They also benefit enormously from time (1-5 years) in the cellar.
Prévost felt that his sublime 2012 Les Béguines was his best release since his stunning 2008s. As such he decided to separate a single demi-muid, which he treated with a longer élevage (24 months on lees) and then extended bottle maturation. This is that wine; 600 bottles disgorged in late 2016 and made available to only four importers. Whist acknowledging that in English the word carries another connotation, Prévost has called the wine “Les Béguines Climax”. In French it means something like apogée, as in the final point that can be reached or the maximum that something can be pushed.