Cattier Clos du Moulin Premier Cru

Cattier Clos du Moulin Premier Cru has something that many prestige Champagnes cannot claim: a single, identifiable walled vineyard with a remarkable family history. Clos du Moulin covers 2.2 hectares in the Montagne de Reims, and its association with Cattier dates to 1950, when Jean Cattier purchased the neglected site and set about restoring it. The family first vinified the vineyard separately from the 1951 harvest and released the resulting Champagne in 1955. The documented white release blends 52% Pinot Noir with 48% Chardonnay, drawing on the 2016, 2015 and 2014 vintages. Its dosage is given as 6 grams per litre, and each bottle is individually numbered. Those particulars distinguish this release from a conventional single-vintage Champagne. Here, a clearly defined vineyard origin is held constant while material from several harvests is brought together. That is a revealing way to approach the wine. Buyers often assume that the most specific Champagnes must come from one harvest. Clos du Moulin demonstrates another possibility: a limited, site-led cuvée in which the clos is the central identity and blending across years is part of its construction. The numbered bottles add a further sense of particularity, though the vineyard itself remains the most compelling reason to choose it. Cattier is based in Chigny-les-Roses and has family winegrowing roots dating to 1625. Its estate covers approximately 33 hectares around several Premier Cru villages, and the modern house makes a wide range of wines. Brut Premier Cru is the natural starting point for the general house style; Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru gives a Chardonnay-led alternative, while Brut Nature explores the no-dosage direction. Clos du Moulin sits apart from those core cuvées. It is the bottle to seek when vineyard provenance, small-scale production and family history matter more than a general introduction to the house. For a comparison within the producer's range, the corresponding Clos du Moulin Rosé offers another perspective on the same celebrated enclosed site.