has anyone heard of champagne by paul dethune??

[tomstevenson]

Hi there dougherty and welcome to WINEBOARD. The Dethune family have been around for sometime. They've been growing vines in Champagne since 1610, which is a good 50 years before Dom Perignon, but they have only been making Champagne (as opposed to selling grapes) since 1890, although that was a good 50 years before other recoltants-manipulants.

I taste their Champagnes every year and normally prefer a prestige non-vintage called Princesse des Thunes, but if you happen to come across my Champagne & Sparkling Wine Guide 2001, you will see that I currently rate the rose as their best Champagne, so what can I say? You obviously have impeccable taste!

The house style is for rich, stylish Champagne that show plenty creamy, succulent fruit. You wouldn't realise that Pierre Dethune (he's the current generation, although the Champagnes are in fact marketed as Paul Dethune) vinifies in wood, including new and newish oak, because - thankfully - he never allows it to get in the way of the fruit. If you want to know more, try their website (www.champagne-dethune.com). As for obtaining Dethune in the USA, the only source I could find in an albeit quick search is The Wine Messenger. I have no idea who they are or what they are like, but here are their contact details:

The Wine Messenger
371 North Avenue
New Rochelle, NY 10801
Tel: 1-800-760-3960
Fax: 1-800-228-5834
E-mail: sales@winemessenger.com
Website: www.winemessenger.com

Hope you have found your first experience of WINEBOARD useful.

Have fun
Tom