Long before champagne was celebrated for its fizz, it was famed for its still wines – especially its reds - which were light in body and dry. There is something quite extraordinary about them – like a window into Champagne’s soul - free from the distraction of CO². Increasingly, there are some good, small producers working to reveal Champagne's terroir through this unfiltered lense. Yoko Ota-Sawyer explains.
“Champagne is one of the most exciting wine regions right now,” people say.
New producers and bottlings continue to appear in the blink of our eyes, but also on the rise is the production and variety of still wines called Coteaux Champenois. But how are these wines with no bubbles made in this region famously known for its sparkling wines? Since not much information was to be found, I headed to Champagne to ask about the production of Coteaux Champenois from three producers.
Coteaux Blanc
“I am passionate about winemaking, so it's my curiosity to make Coteaux, but also to offer more diversity from the region,” explains Jean-Marc of Champagne JM Sélèque. Along with the red wine of Pierry Rouge, from pinot noir, he makes two Coteaux Blanc of distinctive styles that reflect his impressive talent and dynamic vision.
Showcasing the richness of white Burgundy with crystalline salinity and lively acidity in a more traditional way of white Coteaux Champenois is Jean-Marc's Dizy Blanc, using juice from the press of old vine chardonnay planted in 1989. For this wine, fermentation takes place in used oak barrels of 300 litres, followed by 18 months of aging.
On the other hand, his Épernay Blanc is a glass full of surprises made from a blend of chardonnay and petit meslier planted on clay-chalk soils of the windy site named Les Frileux in Épernay.
“I became interested in petit meslier because it’s a variety that keeps good acidity, even at higher maturity,” says Jean-Marc, who presses two varieties together. To express the maturity and extraction of fruits through purity and transparency, he ferments and vinifies this captivating wine of a whimsical personality in the Wineglobe, a round-shaped glass vessel starting from the 2021 vintage.
Coteaux Rosé
Bringing radiant energy to the Champagne scenes since the spring of 2020 with the first release, Paul of Champagne Paul Gosset is the 17th generation grower in the historical village of Aÿ. He is one of the few producers to make a rare Coteaux Rosé.
“With global warming, I thought, why not make Coteaux in white, red and rosé?” Paul’s eyes light up as his voice captures the excitement.
Unlike traditional fermentation with yeasts, Paul makes this rosé by carbonic maceration. Flawless clusters of chardonnay from Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and pinot noir from Dizy and Aÿ are put together in a sealed stainless tank filled with carbon dioxide. The absence of oxygen and the presence of carbon dioxide creates an environment for grapes to go through intracellular fermentation or fermentation from the inside out using grapes’ natural enzymes, resulting in a fruity and vibrant wine with notes of freshly picked red fruits.
Coteaux Rouge
Known as one of the historical homes of red Coteaux Champenois, Cumières is a picturesque village that takes a gentle gaze over the Marne River. The Geoffroy family has been growing grapes here since the 17th century and crafting the regional specialty of Cumières Rouge as a family tradition with dedication and passion for many years.
“To stay open-minded is one of the most important things in my winemaking,” says Jean-Baptiste of Champagne Geoffroy, who crafts an extensive range of Coteaux Champenois. He decides which Coteaux to make from which terroir in what style according to what Mother Nature provides each year and explores and challenges the potential of this historical treasure through terroir-specific single parcel bottlings under the Cuvée Parcellaire collection.
For the red Coteaux, once fruits of good maturity and healthy quality are harvested, each grape bunch goes through a sorting process by human hands. Depending on the vintage and bottlings, whole clusters of grapes with stems are used, but also some grapes go through a de-stemming process, and sometimes it’s a combination of the two. These grapes are then put into a large wooden open vat called Belon for maceration and fermentation, followed by gentle press and transferred into barrels of different sizes, ages, origins, toasts, etc. for 18 to 24 months. When aging in barrels is finished, the wines rest in tanks that sit in the quiet cellar before bottling and waiting for their release.
The veteran Coteaux producer enthusiastically comments, “2022 was an exceptional vintage for Coteaux Champenois - remarkable conditions for healthy grapes and very homogeneous maturity. It is only necessary, as usual, to select the plots dedicated from the beginning to making red to make great wines. It's a pleasure to make Cumières Rouge in years like 2022!”
Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy
The Geoffroy family has been growing grapes here since the 17th century and crafting the regional specialty of Cumières Rouge as a family tradition with dedication and passion for many years.Back to The Roots
Like how artists paint freely on a blank white canvas using imagination to create their artwork, the production process of Coteaux Champenois is open to each producer’s winemaking philosophy and decisions. However, one thing that every single Coteaux Champenois producer speaks about is the importance of quality fruits, which come from healthy vines resulting from their work in the vineyard and the soil. Before sparkles found their way into a bottle, the wine of Champagne started as a still wine with no bubbles. It is exciting to witness how producers are returning to their roots to create and explore the diversity of this region and how they challenge our perception of what champagne is and what champagne can be.
Other great Coteaux Champenois
Marguet Coteaux Champenois Ambonnay Chardonnay
There’s something special about growing chardonnay on first-rate pinot noir soil. Take, for example, this lovely supple chardonnay from Benoît Marguet, who produces some of the finest organically farmed, pinot noir-dominant Champagnes in Ambonnay, on the Montagne de Reims. The palate is refreshingly pure and mineral, unhindered by the hand of the winemaker, revealing a direct line to the earth from where it came – chalk! The fruit – notably pear – is juicy and sweet and doesn’t detract from its mineral core. Underneath there’s subtle richness and seamless texture, a lesson in judiciously applied barrel work, the kind that allows soil-driven complexity to shine. Expect a long and saline finish. Delicious.
Dehours & Fils Coteaux Champenois Les Vignes de Mizy
From the land of meunier comes a tiny bottling of old-vine chardonnay taken from a clay-based, north-facing single vineyard in Mareuil-Le-Port, located west along the Marne River. It offers a pronounced nose of pear and pawpaw. The palate casts a mineral and linear line on first impression before giving way to an expansive mouthfeel thanks to 23 months on lees in small barrels. There’s good fruit concentration, notably ripe pear and lemon, and even some creamier notes – like fruit custard – along the way to a flinty finish. A lovely crisp and mineral chardonnay balanced nicely by fruit.
Jacques Lassaigne Coteaux Champenois Haut Revers du Chutat
This all-chardonnay beauty is a big step away from Champagne’s more classic blanc profile with its rich and succulent tropical notes reminiscent of nectarine, mango and pear and a pretty hint of white florals. It comes from Montgueux, in the region’s deep south, where chardonnay is more akin to Montrachet in Burgundy than the Côte des Blancs known for its cut-through purity and racy acidity. The soils here are chalk, too, but with its more southerly and south-facing position at higher altitude, this Coteaux Champenois possesses a convincing nexus between rich flavours, fresh salinity and granular chalk minerality.
Article by Yoko Ota-Sawyer
Tasting notes by Sara Underdown
