Paul Louis Martin Bouzy Grand Cru Champagne

Paul Louis Martin Bouzy Grand Cru Champagne. Wow, what a mouthful! It’s also one hell of a Champagne bargain buy – a Grower Champagne that’s become super trendy in the wine world. We’ll tell you why, but first let’s break the down the name for ya…

Paul Louis Martin – the name of the producer (he’s one man, not three!)
Bouzy – the area in Montagne de Reims, one of five Champagne sub-regions (also how you might feel after a few too many flutes of Champers!)
Grand Cru – of 300 Champagne growing villages, just 17 are listed as Grand Cru (an area designated as potential “best growth”)

So what is Grower Champagne and why do all the cool kids keep talking about it? Well, if you’re a farmers market type and like your eggs farm fresh or your coffee and chocolate from a single origin, then Grower Champagne might just be for you, known by some hipsters as “Farmer Fizz”.

The secret’s in the name – it belongs to the growers. Grower Champagnes are made by grape growers and their families and come from a single vineyard. Most larger Champagne brands will blend grapes from across the Champagne region. Even better, this one is labelled as “Grand Cru” meaning it’s produced from one of just 17 villages (out of 300 in total) in Champagne designated as areas with the best potential for growth (“Grand Cru”).

It ain’t just the trendy wine-ohs raving about “Farmer fizz”, this label in particular has a swag of gongs from wine shows and reviewers right here in Aotearoa…

Gold medal – NZ Int’l Wine Show (2018)
5 Stars, 93/100 – Bob Campbell MW
5 Stars – Sam Kim
5 Stars – Raymond Chan
4 Stars – Cuisine magazine 2017 (Champagne Under $100)

Then throw in the fact it’s imported into NZ by a Master of Wine (Steve Bennett), one of just 400 odd people in the world to hold the ultimate wine-know-it-all qualification, it’s got the master seal of approval!