Coessens Largillier Coteaux Champenois Vendange Entiere - Rouge

When Jérôme Coessens sought to make a serious Coteaux Champenois rouge from his Matière (Substance) sub-parcel, he turned not to Burgundy's Côte de Nuits in theory but in person — enlisting Yves Confuron of Domaine Confuron-Cotétidot, Vosne-Romanée, to advise directly on vinification. That collaboration defines this cuvée's identity.

The Largillier monopole sits on a south-east-facing slope above Ville-sur-Arce in the Côte des Bar (Aube). Excavations in 2011 confirmed the soil as Kimmeridgian Marl No. 2 — alternating clay and chalk-limestone strata geologically identical to Chablis Grand Cru. The clay fraction builds density and grip; the chalk drives the mineral length that distinguishes Largillier from lighter Marne terroirs.

The Vendange Entière protocol calls for whole-bunch maceration of 20–32 days (vintage-dependent), extracting both the structural tannins of the stems and the aromatic lift of uncrushed fruit. After fermentation, the wine ages 33–41 months in old Burgundian oak barrels (4–6 years), with zero new wood, allowing slow oxidative development without imparting primary oak character. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

What no peer in Champagne does: produce two distinct still reds — one destemmed, one whole-bunch — from a single 3.36-hectare monopole, with direct Vosne-Romanée winemaking input. The 2018 vintage, from a warm, generous Aube growing season, delivers ripe Pinot structure with the clay-driven weight Largillier is known for; drink 2024–2030.