{"title":"Charles Dufour \/ Françoise Martinot","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Times;\"\u003e“All my youth… [I always drank] a lot of old champagnes, ten years old at least. So I have a certain oxidative education,” renegade 0\/0 Champagne producer Charles Dufour once told the wine writer Aaron Ayscough. “I never get sick of Jura wines, even when I drink them excessively. I’d need to drink liters of Vin Jaune to get sick of it.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Times;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Times;\"\u003eThis kind of mindset which informs the hand behind some of the most fascinating, perhaps musical, wines from Champagne nowadays makes sense: let time have its way here in the southernmost extent of the wild Aube, where the 90 million year-old uplifted seabed soils share more with Chablis than they do the Grand Vallée to the north. What sets apart the many, many various cuvées of Dufour often is this play with oxidation, soil, \u0026amp; time, no better represented than the Unbreaking of The Circle in his integration of his father’s back-vintage wines into his current project, i.e., the 2004 Ballad of the Villages we have on current offer. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Times;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Times;\"\u003eLet’s take a step back, however, to the beginning. Charles Dufour was born in Landreville in 1982, the 7\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e generation winemaker of both his father’s and mother’s (the Martinot’s) families. But there wasn’t necessarily the presence of a Grand Domaine here in the Côtes des Bar – theirs was a story more common to this perennially underloved area of Champagne where, historically, an ocean of Pinot Noir would be shipped to the more fancied north of Champagne for blending via négociant. His father, however, started bottling a bit on his own: Robert Dufour et Fils. Conventionally farmed and vinified, sure, but the wines were of their own making from their own fruit. Charles, upon stepping into the domaine, started work to convert to organics when he was just 26 years-old. What inspired him, over and above, was the drinking of natural wines, meeting many natural vignerons, \u0026amp; several books, among them celebrated 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e century oenologist Max Léglise’s latent work on natural vinification and his cautioning against previous advocation for sulfur. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Times;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Times;\"\u003eIt was not long before Dufour’s combination of his childhood – perhaps intuition then – experience with oxidative wines and long-aged Champagnes and the more vital, pyrotechnically immediate experience of a shockingly ‘alive’ wine (vin vivant; vin naturel) yielded results. His Bulles de Comptoir, just a few years after starting, was the house Champagne at NOMA of all places \u0026amp; his creativity in the cellar with consistently delicious and surprising expression earned him the nickname “The Selosse of The Aube.” In other words: there’s a reason for the renown! \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Times;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Times;\"\u003eThis latest drop sees a broad range of his wines including the very rare Rosé from his mother’s holdings, part of the Martinot project, and the Ratafia-adjacent Liqueur de Comptoir which is perhaps the most beguiling \u0026amp; beautiful wine (we will call it wine) we have tasted in recent memory. Also featuring are the classic entry BdN Bistrotage from Martinot, his Vin de Comptoir (still Côteaux), Bulles de Comptoir classic and 2 bottles of his 2004 Ballad of the Villages, revivified from wine found in his father’s cellar.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"bistrotage-champagne-extra-brut-blanc-de-noirs","title":"Françoise Martinot (Charles Dufour), “Bistrotage B.19”","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003ePatience is a given in Champagne, but Charles Dufour takes it a step further. This is 100% Pinot Noir, sourced from three sites in Chervey (\u003ci\u003eLes Copies, Val Herard, Bicheret\u003c\/i\u003e), crafted with nothing but time, place, and touch. Certified organic and vinified with native yeasts, it sees a mix of steel tank and Burgundy barrels—no SO₂, no dosage, no shortcuts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe entire 2017 vintage spent a year on lees before tirage in October 2018, then was left to rest, quietly gaining depth, before disgorgement in December 2022. Four years on the lees, unfolding at its own pace. The result? A Champagne that hums with precision—pure Pinot Noir energy, textured, layered, and resolutely alive.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charles Dufour \/ Françoise Martinot","offers":[{"title":"750ml","offer_id":45913694175490,"sku":"THCHACHA1976G","price":119.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0090\/7372\/1401\/files\/D8E39EDB-8179-4DE4-A246-F3B4A85156FE.jpg?v=1747260845"},{"product_id":"bistrotage-champagne-extra-brut-rose-b11-ap","title":"Françoise Martinot (Charles Dufour), “Bistrotage Rosé B.11 Affinage Prolongé”","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSome wines demand patience; others reward it. This one \u003ci\u003erequires\u003c\/i\u003e it. A decade in the making, this is Charles Dufour’s purest expression of Pinot Noir, drawn from three distinct sites in Chervey (\u003ci\u003eLes Copies, Val Herard, Bicheret\u003c\/i\u003e) and left to evolve in the deep quiet of the cellar.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eCertified organic and made with nothing but native yeasts, it was vinified in a mix of steel tank and Burgundy barrels, untouched by sulfur or dosage. The entire 2010 vintage spent a year on lees before tirage in October 2011. Then, the long wait—ten full years \u003ci\u003esur lie\u003c\/i\u003e, time layering the wine with texture, richness, and quiet intensity. Finally disgorged in November 2021, its moment had come.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe ‘AP’ stands for \u003ci\u003eaffinage prolongé\u003c\/i\u003e—extended aging—but it’s more than just a technical term. It’s an ethos, a belief that some things can’t be rushed. A Champagne of patience, precision, and profound depth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charles Dufour \/ Françoise Martinot","offers":[{"title":"750ml","offer_id":45913694404866,"sku":"THCHACHA1977G","price":179.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0090\/7372\/1401\/files\/6AA61238-034B-4CE2-A6E3-EE6A3096244F.jpg?v=1744314965"},{"product_id":"champagne-bulles-de-comptoir","title":"Charles Dufour, “Bulles de Comptoir N.12”","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eCertified organic and built on time-honored patience, this Champagne is Charles Dufour’s love letter to the Vallée de l’Ource, where his vineyards carve their way through calcareous clay soils formed in the \u003ci\u003eJurassique Supérieur\u003c\/i\u003e. A blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Blanc, it draws primarily from Landreville (80%), with smaller contributions from Celles-sur-Ource and Essoyes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe base vintage (2020) makes up 80% of the blend, while the remaining 20% comes from Dufour’s perpetual reserve, a solera-style system begun in 2010 and aged entirely in barrel—adding layers of history and quiet depth. Native ferment in barrel, a year on lees for the \u003ci\u003evin clair\u003c\/i\u003e, and a slow, deliberate journey: tirage in November 2021, disgorgement in February 2023.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAt just 2g\/L dosage (organic cane sugar) and zero added sulfur, this is Champagne in its most unvarnished form—pure, vibrant, and deeply tied to the place that made it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charles Dufour \/ Françoise Martinot","offers":[{"title":"750ml","offer_id":45913694535938,"sku":"THCHACHA1980G","price":94.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0090\/7372\/1401\/files\/0CDFEE81-A77B-4E72-94BE-873FB9DD8DD8.jpg?v=1744314964"},{"product_id":"coteaux-champenois-blanc-vin-de-comptoir","title":"Charles Dufour, “Coteaux Vin de Comptoir L. 82-21” NV","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIn Champagne, still wines are usually a means to an end—a stepping stone to bubbles. But Charles Dufour, ever the rule-breaker, lets one stand entirely on its own. This is not just a white wine; it’s a living archive, a solera bottling (\u003ci\u003eassemblage perpétuel\u003c\/i\u003e) that holds within it over a decade of vintages, shifting and evolving with each new addition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eCertified organic and made up of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Blanc in unmeasured, ever-changing proportions, the solera was started in 2010 and has been aged exclusively in barrel. But what makes this truly singular is Dufour’s decision to incorporate old Champagnes from his father’s cellar (\u003ci\u003eremise en cercle\u003c\/i\u003e), weaving in wines from 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1997. The result is something unlike anything else in Champagne—layered, textured, and steeped in history, a still wine with the DNA of Champagne running through its veins.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charles Dufour \/ Françoise Martinot","offers":[{"title":"750ml","offer_id":45913694732546,"sku":"THCHACHA1981G","price":104.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0090\/7372\/1401\/files\/FDF4DF8C-7789-4747-A6D4-A6FA4734F619.jpg?v=1744314966"},{"product_id":"robert-dufour-champagne-ballad-of-the-villages-brut-nature","title":"Charles\/Robert Dufour, “Ballad of the Villages” 2004","description":"\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003eBefore Charles Dufour fully took the reins, there was \u003ci\u003eRobert Dufour\u003c\/i\u003e—a Champagne made in tandem with his father, a bridge between past and future. The name stuck, even as Charles carved out his own path, and what remains is a singular snapshot: a 100% 2004 vintage Champagne, quietly aging away in the family cellar for nearly two decades, waiting for the right moment to resurface.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003eSourced from four villages—Landreville, Chervey, Neuville, and Celles-sur-Ource—this is 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Blanc, fermented and aged in stainless steel before tirage in May 2005. And then? Nothing. For 17 years, it sat undisturbed on its lees, tucked into the cool quiet of \u003ci\u003eRue de la Croix Malot\u003c\/i\u003e, never meant for release. That is, until 2022, when Charles and team disgorged 3,000 bottles purely for the fun of it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003eThe result? A Champagne frozen in time, first in, first out, with two decades of patience written into every sip.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charles Dufour \/ Françoise Martinot","offers":[{"title":"750ml","offer_id":45913694830850,"sku":"THCHACHA1982G","price":224.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0090\/7372\/1401\/files\/AD275160-D4E5-45AB-A37D-34AC079D30F3.jpg?v=1744314965"},{"product_id":"mistelle-assemblage-perpetuel","title":"Charles Dufour, “Mistelle Assemblage Perpetuel” NV","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eRatafia is often the afterthought of Champagne—a sweet, boozy byproduct of necessity. But in the hands of Charles Dufour, it’s something else entirely: a whisper rather than a shout, a lighter, finer, almost ethereal take on the old-school fortified wine of the region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSourced entirely from Pinot Noir in a vineyard farmed by his mother, Françoise Martinot, this ratafia is built on the final 20% of the press—\u003ci\u003etaille\u003c\/i\u003e—the softer, juicier cut. Half of this particular release comes from 2020, blended at a precise 2:1 ratio of fresh must to \u003ci\u003emarc\u003c\/i\u003e, then left outdoors for a year to evolve under the elements. The other half? A perpetual reserve, spanning 2015 to 2019, adding layers of memory and depth. No sulfur, no filtration, nothing but time and patience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOnly 1,000 bottles exist, the rest folded back into the ever-growing solera. The result is something uniquely Dufour: savory, feather-light, only gently sweet, with Champagne’s telltale acidity keeping everything fresh. A Blanc de Noirs in spirit—just one that took a different path.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charles Dufour \/ Françoise Martinot","offers":[{"title":"750ml","offer_id":45913695125762,"sku":"THCHACHA1983G","price":142.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0090\/7372\/1401\/files\/D35DFDAC-715E-4817-96EF-34361C1CA0D8.jpg?v=1744314963"},{"product_id":"charles-dufour-vin-de-comptoir-coteaux-champenois-blanc-assemblage-perpetuel-l22-82","title":"Charles Dufour, \"Vin de Comptoir, 'Côteaux Champenois Blanc, Assemblage Perpetuel'\" L22.82","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIn Champagne, still wines are usually a means to an end—a stepping stone to bubbles. But Charles Dufour, ever the rule-breaker, lets one stand entirely on its own. This is not just a white wine; it’s a living archive, a solera bottling (\u003ci\u003eassemblage perpétuel\u003c\/i\u003e) that holds within it over a decade of vintages, shifting and evolving with each new addition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eCertified organic and made up of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Blanc in unmeasured, ever-changing proportions, the solera was started in 2010 and has been aged exclusively in barrel. But what makes this truly singular is Dufour’s decision to incorporate old Champagnes from his father’s cellar (\u003ci\u003eremise en cercle\u003c\/i\u003e), weaving in wines from 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1997. The result is something unlike anything else in Champagne—layered, textured, and steeped in history, a still wine with the DNA of Champagne running through its veins.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charles Dufour \/ Françoise Martinot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47464743010562,"sku":"THWHICHA3508G","price":119.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0090\/7372\/1401\/files\/1F0EFF95-E8B5-4BBD-93E1-B887AA884DEA.jpg?v=1773347067"},{"product_id":"charles-dufour-bulles-de-comptoir-no-13","title":"Charles Dufour, \"Bulles de Comptoir\" No. 13","description":"\u003cp\u003ePinots Noir \u0026amp; Blanc with Chardonnay from biodynamically cultivated vines in the Aube. A combination of vintage and perpetual reserve solera (dating back to the 80s). At least 4 years' élevage before bottling unfined, unfiltered, no additional SO2. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charles Dufour \/ Françoise Martinot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47464744878338,"sku":"THSPACHA3509G","price":109.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0090\/7372\/1401\/files\/B76C795B-AD14-4942-8B8C-925B07B2CE5B.jpg?v=1773347067"},{"product_id":"francoise-martinot-bistrotage-extra-brut-b20","title":"Françoise Martinot, \"Bistrøtage, Extra Brut\" B20","description":"\u003cp\u003e100% biodynamically cultivated Pinot Noir from Chervey in the Côte des Bar. Grapes are hand-harvested from 3 parcels. Base wine is 2020. Whole-bunch direct pressing of the grapes. Spontaneous fermentation and aging of 1 year sur lie in cuve\/neutral barrel. Tirage is November 2021 with 3.5 year aging sur lattes in bottle. Disgorged June 2025. Unfined, unfiltered, minimal added SO2. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charles Dufour \/ Françoise Martinot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47464754151682,"sku":"THCHACHA3510G","price":134.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0090\/7372\/1401\/files\/9FA0C691-ED35-4AF6-850F-6A05CDCBF5AE.jpg?v=1773347068"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0090\/7372\/1401\/collections\/66146cde391d500b4f3e4422_Charles-Dufour-1.png?v=1740690442","url":"https:\/\/thirstmerchants.com\/collections\/charles-dufour-francoise-martinot.oembed","provider":"Thirst","version":"1.0","type":"link"}