Laurent Benard "La Clé des Sept Arpents" Champagne Extra Brut

The Bénard-Pitois family started cultivating land in Mareuil-sur-Ay in the latter end of the 19th century, but their wines really took off in the late 1990's when they forged the road forward for organic certification. Beginning in 1995, Michelle and Laurent Bénard-Louis - representing the third generation of growers - began converting their vineyards, obtaining full organic certification in 2012 on their 2.5 hectares in Mareuil-sur-Ay and Avenay-Val-d'Or. The vines are divided into six distinct parcels with an average age of 22 years. In the vineyard only natural fertilizers are employed and in the cellar indigenous yeasts, minimal sulfur (zero, when possible).