BETA
Champagne · Terroir · Wine

Champagne
Uncle

Supporting Crystal Wine Group  ·  Growing Chardonnay  ·  Pouring Stories

Crystal Wine Group Les Clefs de Cristal Yangjae Bau Vineyard Chardonnay
Scroll
Champagne Uncle
Champagne Uncle
Champagne Lover and Grower · Curator
Seoul, Korea Champagne Chardonnay Terroir
About

A life poured into
every glass

I didn't set out to become a champagne person. It happened the way most meaningful things do — gradually, then all at once. The first time a glass of real grower champagne landed in my hand, something clicked. Not just the bubbles. The story behind them.

Today, I support Crystal Wine Group — a community built around the belief that great wine deserves great people. Whether it's sourcing, introducing, or simply sharing, the mission stays the same: bring the right bottle to the right table.

At Les Clefs de Cristal Yangjae, we've built a space where champagne doesn't need a special occasion. Come as you are, open something interesting, and let the wine do the talking.

And at Bau Vineyard, I'm doing something I never imagined — growing Chardonnay on Korean soil. The vines are young, the ambition is not. Every season teaches something new about patience and terroir.

3
Active Ventures
200+
Maisons Explored
Bottles to Open
What I Do

Three ways I live
in wine

🏛️
Crystal Wine Group
Supporter
Supporting one of Korea's most thoughtful wine communities. Crystal Wine Group brings together collectors, sommeliers, and enthusiasts who take wine seriously — without taking themselves too seriously.
🥂
Les Clefs de Cristal
Yangjae, Seoul · Wine Bar
A sanctuary for those who speak the language of wine. Specialising in Champagne and Burgundy, Les Clefs de Cristal is where connoisseurs and curious minds gather — united by a shared devotion to the finest bottles France has to offer.
🌿
Bau Vineyard
Korea · Chardonnay Grower
Growing Chardonnay at Bau Vineyard — the long game. Korean terroir is underestimated. We're proving that with patience, the right variety, and a little obsession, something remarkable can grow here.
Personal Cellar

Champagnes that
changed everything

Chardonnay
Blanc de Blancs · Côte des Blancs
01
Jacques Selosse
Substance · Avize Grand Cru
The champagne that redefined everything. Oxidative aging, solera system — hazelnut, roasted brioche, honeyed apricot, dried white blossoms. Not just a wine. A statement.
RM · Blanc de Blancs
02
Larmandier-Bernier
Terre de Vertus · Vertus 1er Cru
Biodynamic pioneer. Non-dosé. Lemon zest, herbs, chalk. Fifteen hectares farmed with absolute conviction. Nothing added, nothing taken away — pure terroir.
RM · Biodynamic · Non-Dosé
03
Pierre Péters
Cuvée de Réserve · Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
The chalk of Le Mesnil in its most honest form. Lemon zest, white peach, flinty minerality — a precision that makes you want to learn geology.
RM · Blanc de Blancs · Grand Cru
Pinot Noir
Montagne de Reims · Vallée de la Marne
04
Henri Giraud
Hommage au Pinot Noir · Aÿ Grand Cru
A symphony of power and finesse from the Grand Cru of Aÿ. Red berries, toasted brioche, pink grapefruit, subtle oak from Argonne forest barrels. Deeply vinous.
RM · Blanc de Noirs · Grand Cru
05
Egly-Ouriet
Grand Cru Brut · Ambonnay
Low yields, long aging — this is what Ambonnay Grand Cru Pinot Noir really means. Wild strawberry, dark cherry, earth, spice. Heavy, honest, unforgettable.
RM · Grand Cru · Ambonnay
06
Bollinger
Special Cuvée · Aÿ
60% Pinot Noir, aged in oak. The House of Aÿ's purest expression — roasted apple, peach, red fruit, fine mousse. Power and elegance in perfect balance.
Grand Maison · Pinot Noir Dominant
Pinot Meunier
The Forgotten Grape · Rediscovered
07
Jérôme Prévost
La Closerie Les Béguines · Gueux
2.2 hectares of old-vine Meunier, 1950s massale selection. Amber gold, field blend energy — stone fruit, floral lift, earthy depth. One of grower champagne's most revered names.
RM · 100% Pinot Meunier
08
Benoît Déhu
Initiation · Vallée de la Marne
Zero dosage, no malolactic, oak-fermented Meunier from a perpetual solera. Toast, cream, toffee, remarkable persistence. A studious reimagining of a misunderstood grape.
RM · Zero Dosage · Solera
09
Moussé Fils
L'Or d'Eugène · Cuisles
A perpetual reserve spanning decades — 80% Meunier, 20% Pinot Noir. Poached pear, apple, mineral backbone, extraordinary length. Meunier finally given its crown.
RM · Perpetuelle · Blanc de Noirs
Philosophy
"Champagne isn't about celebration.
Celebration is about champagne."

— Champagne Uncle

01
Read the Terroir
Every glass is a geography lesson. Where the vines grow, what the soil holds, how the year unfolded — once you read terroir, you can't unread it.
02
Drink with People
The best bottle I ever opened wasn't the most expensive. It was the one shared with the right people at the right moment. Wine is a social language.
03
Grow Something
There is no shortcut to understanding wine like tending vines yourself. Bau Vineyard isn't a business. It's a classroom with roots in the ground.
Wine of the Month

June Pick
by Champagne Uncle

Franck Bonville Unisson Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs
Grand Cru · Blanc de Blancs · Avize

Franck Bonville
Unisson

Champagne Grand Cru · 100% Chardonnay · Côte des Blancs

92 pts Wine Advocate

A salty, authoritative nose of white orchard fruit, lemon oil, subtle spice and chalk mineral. On the palate — creamy brioche, yuzu citrus, fine bubbles and a vivid, stony finish of impressive length. Entirely from old-vine holdings in the grand cru of Avize, aged nearly five years on the lees before disgorgement. Extra Brut dosage at just 5–6.7 g/L keeps everything sharp and precise.

"Fantastic creaminess, fine brioche toast and a core of Yuzu citrus — everything I want in Chardonnay from Champagne." — K&L Wines, January 2025
ProducerFranck Bonville
StyleBlanc de Blancs · Extra Brut
OriginAvize, Grand Cru · Côte des Blancs
Dosage5–6.7 g/L · 5 yrs on lees
🛒 Purchase Now
Follow Along

Daily champagne
dispatches

One maison a day · Grower RM spotlights · Wine & food pairings · Vineyard updates from Bau