25/07/2021 14:42
Can champagne exist without its bubbles? Well, yes, kind of. Although it isn’t called champagne. Please, let me explain.
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. But that was centuries ago – literally. It all started with the Romans who planted the first vineyards, before moving onto the Bishops. Clovis, France’s first King, was baptised and coronated in the fifth century under the superstructure of the Cathedral of Reims in Champagne’s capital. Still wine from the area played an important role in the ceremony. From that point on, Champagne wines earned a kind of joie de vivre reputation with nobility who would travel to the capital and celebrate for days or weeks leading-up to the crowning of new Kings.
Wines were eventually labelled by their village, Bouzy or Aÿ for example, and did so because of their sought-after and illustrious status for quality, their influence prevailing long after champagne was made deliberately effervescent in the 1700s. Today, however, they are rare and unusual specimens from a place seldom appreciated for anything other than its pop and sparkle.
Now classified as Coteaux Champenois, Champagne’s still wines have a dedicated Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) alongside the wider Champagne AOC, better known for production of their famous sparkling wine. In other words, they are an exception.
There is a third AOC, Rosé de Riceys, which is a still version of rosé heralding from the Côte des Bar located in the far south of the region. And, more recently, a dessert wine known as Ratafia Champenois, was granted its own AOC status.
Coteaux Champenois can be white (blanc) or red (rouge), and generally constitutes a bottling of single village or vineyard pinot noir, meunier or chardonnay.
There is something quite extraordinary about them – like a window into Champagne’s soul - free from the distraction of CO². Their profile is easily recognised as crystalline minerality akin to the plunging, salty depths of the region’s unparalleled chalk subsoil - the most important contributor to Champagne’s defining character which supports crispness, salinity and finesse. For the most part, they are light and dry, with high acid. Pinot noir, in particular, needs warmer years to be good. The best is often sourced from Bouzy, Ambonnay, Sillery and Aÿ – all grand gru – whereas Cumières is home to some excellent meunier. Chardonnay, on the other hand, gets its repute from Montgueux, Vertus and Ambonnay.
Because fruit is sourced from specific parcels of land to convey soil-derived character, Coteaux Champenois is largely produced by smaller winegrowers who also make their own wine, as opposed to champagne houses.
Benoit Marguet, one of the finest organic growers from Ambonnay in Champagne’s Montagne de Reims, released his first Coteaux Champenois from the 2015 vintage. He says he loves still wines from Champagne because they are so special.
“The red ones can be spicy, together with a fine bone structure and delicate fruit. That won’t move much with time, so there’s potential for ageing, if you like subtle styles.”
He goes onto say that good Coteaux Champenois needs “massale selection, planted on clay for pinot noir and clay/limestone/chalk for chardonnay.”
And while soil plays a critical role, so too does climate. Ripeness of juice and skins is necessary for obtaining wines that are pleasant and drinkable (and not austere) in the world’s most northerly location for growing grapes where the acidity races and soars. Bottlings, therefore, typically occur from warmer years that are good for pinot noir, such as 2012, 2015 and 2018.
Increasingly, producers cite climate change as inspiration to dabble in still wine production. Even some of Champagne’s bigger players have shown their hand.
Charles Heidsieck, for example, last year released a series of all-chardonnay wines from Montgueux, Vertus, Villers-Marmery and Oger - four crus selected as favourites by Cyril Brun, their cellar master, to offer a comparative tasting experience. Louis Roederer is another. On the back of its ‘adaption to climate change’ strategy launched in 2000, the house entered a program of experiments spanning two decades. A warm, sheltered plot in Mareuil-sur-Ay for pinot noir, and an old pre-clonal vineyard on compact chalk in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger for chardonnay, have produced wines from 2018 that are so good, they launched two single vineyard, single variety Coteaux Champenois this year.
Lanson, Ruinart, Moët et Chandon and Pommery are others that have produced Coteaux Champenois, though none have reached the stardom of Bollinger with its legendary and full-bodied pinot noir, La Côte aux Enfants.
Take a closer look at the wines of Champagne, minus the bubbles, with these fine suggestions.
Hommage à Camille
These bottles are as rare and hen’s teeth. Louis Roederer’s debut Coteaux Champenois, Hommage à Camille, is named after a remarkable woman, the great grandmother of Chief Executive, Frédéric Rouzaud, who commandeered the House for over 40 years following her husband’s death in 1932.
One is blanc, the other rouge. Both single varietal, single vineyard, still wines from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ respectively. These are sophisticated and delicate wines, as you might expect from Louis Roederer. Behind each there are years of trial and error, perseverance and passion, to get to this point – and it shows.
Volibarts 2018
Volibarts is 100 percent chardonnay taken from a lieu-dit in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. It presents a ripeness on the nose and palate that is quite stunning – sweet white peach and nectarine with overtones of honeysuckle and almond. Really pure and pretty. On the palate there’s a fruit-led juiciness, followed by mineral energy, ending with a taut and chalky finish. RRP $275
Charmont 2018
“I don’t want a classic wine,” says chef de caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon about Charmont. “Our stylistic idea is about being delicious and adventurous, something that is modern. This means fine tannins, round texture and making a wine that you want to drink with food. I think that’s what Champagne can offer to the world of still wine – wines that are soft, easy to drink and low alcohol (compared to Burgundy).”
Camille used to make some Bouzy and Cumière Rouge, but Lécaillon doesn’t like Bouzy for its cherry-like character. Pinot noir from the lieu-dit of Charmont, in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, fits the bill.
Loaded with youthful raspberry, violets and just a hint of leather. The palate is medium-bodied, very smooth and delicate, with finely grained tannins - a testament to its finely tuned elevage. RRP $310
Geoffroy Coteaux Champenois Cumières Rouge Meunier
100% bottlings of meunier are as rare as hen’s teeth, and this is a fine example. Fruit was sourced from one of meunier’s most celebrated sites, south-facing Cumières, paradoxically wedged between pinot terrain to the right and meunier territory to the left. The nose is youthfully fruity and exotic, lit-up by summer-ripe cherries, raspberries, hibiscus, vanilla and just a touch of minty freshness. The palate is equally as juicy, offset by some rhubarb tartness, and cigar box spice. Its light to medium body makes it particularly easy to drink, even with its tannic grip, and especially when paired with fish or lamb accompanied by a tomato and balsamic reduction. RRP $120
Bollinger La Côte aux Enfants
There is a small white chalk cliff in Champagne’s historic village of Aÿ that lays claim to the best-known single vineyard for pinot noir. La Côte aux Enfants (the children’s hill) may only be four hectares in size but its low-yielding vines produce the most momentous red wines in Champagne. The delight starts with the rumbling depth of its ruby appearance and a nose redolent of sweet raspberry and glorious rose petal. A seriously serious pinot noir, bearing witness to lusciously ripe fruit of mouth-filling depth coupled with profound elegance. Bollinger’s DNA extends to black fruit and mocha nuances, rounded out by velvet tannins, and finishing with considerable length and intensity. This really is the king of Coteaux Champenois. RRP $295
Marguet Coteaux Champenois Ambonnay Chardonnay
There is 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, located on the Montagne de Reims. The palate is refreshingly pure and mineral, unheeded 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 does not detract from its mineral core. Underneath there is 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. RRP $160
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 paw paw. 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 is 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. RRP $105
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 a place called Montgueux, located 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. A delicious wine with many layers, remarkable poise and a long saline finish. RRP $170
Words by Sara Underdown