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Champagne Newsletter

Today I am happy to welcome back a popular and sought after Champagne producer that has been unavailable for long time now. Dominique Moreau of Champagne Marie Courtin makes light, elegant and dry wines of incredible nuanced beauty.  We were lucky to get a rare Magnum as well!

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Champagne Marie Courtin.

Champagne Marie Coutin is located in the village of Polisot, in the Côte des Bars at the extreme southern reach of Champagne. Dominique Moreau makes the iconic wines of Champagne Marie Courtin in a style that plays with the line between tradition and innovation. This area, often referred to as the Aube, tends towards slightly warmer temperatures, making it well suited to Pinot Noir. The Kimmeridgian limestone subsoils, reminiscent of those found in Chablis (about 30 minutes south by car), impart a distinctive mineral freshness. The Aube continues to amaze with delicate and precise wines with seemingly dichotomous density and mineral drive swirling under the surface of the lacy cloud-like structure found on the palate. I find many of the best Aube champagnes have these characteristics that set them apart from those of Epernay or Reims.

Founded in 2005 by Dominique Moreau, Champagne Marie Courtin is dedicated to producing single-vineyard, single-variety, and single-vintage Champagnes from biodynamically grown grapes. If this sounds familiar, this approach is used by a number of the most collectible champagne growers today, e.g., the highly collectible Cedric Bouchard. This of course, is very different from the typical blending that dominates in Champagne, where consistency is created by blending different grapes, vineyards, and vintages. For Dominique and like-minded growers, the terroir is their style, emphasizing clonal selection and the vineyards in which their vines struggle.

Dominique’s vineyard of about 2.5 hectares, features 40–45-year-old massale selection Pinot Noir vines planted in clay-limestone soils with Kimmeridgian bands and an east/southeast exposure. This unique combination yields wines of remarkable power and focus, characterized by intense brininess and minerality. Harvested entirely by hand, the grapes are then fermented using natural yeasts cultivated in her vineyards, ensuring a true and full expression of terroir. No dosage further highlights the purity of place shining through.

Today I am pleased to offer two of Domninique’s estate’s cuvées. Résonance and Efflorescence.

Résonance, which refers to the balancing energies of earth and sky that affect the creation of a wine from its surrounding terroir, is fermented in stainless steel and aged sur lattes for 24 months.

Éfflorescence refers to something that evolves in perpetuity, which starts with the micro-oxygenation “rounding” and adding texture in the barrel. Dominique feels that this wine has the greatest aging potential and will unfold quite differently over time.

These two cuvées represent the bulk of her production, but even then, they are extremely limited. She also produces a few other cuvées, in tiny amounts: Blanc de Blancs with Eloquence (barrel-aged Chardonnay) and Présence (Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc), along with two macerated Rosés, Indulgence, and Allégeance (zero sulfur). Which we may see in tiny amounts later in the year.

Her wines are renowned for their electric and chiseled style, blending complexity, power, and delineation. It has been some time since we have been able to acquire any of these wines, and it will probably be at least the end of the year before we get any more. These wines make great food pairing opportunities and represent some of my all-time favorites for pairing with sushi.

Efflorescence

Light yellow with aromas of smoke chalk, mushroom, hazelnut, dark citrus baking spice and berry. Apple, raspberry, citrus, brioche and driving minerality on the palate. Very long even finish. Youthful, drink now to 2035.

To your Happiness and Health,

Robert Hayes

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