Champagne Chavost Assemblage Brut Nature (Methuselah) (6 L)

In 2019, chef de caves Fabian Daviaux — great-grandson of a founding member of this 1946 grower cooperative — persuaded over 70 multi-generational families to abandon sulphur additions, dosage, and conventional inputs entirely, converting Chavost into one of Champagne's only cooperatives operating a fully zero-sulphur-added, zero-dosage portfolio from certified organic fruit.

The 22 plots of Chavot-Courcourt sit at the geographic junction of the Côte des Blancs and the Vallée de la Marne, where a dual mosaic of clay-limestone and chalky-limestone soils on a north-facing aspect produces wines with a taut, saline mineral frame and slower phenolic development — structural tension that makes zero-dosage viable without austerity.

The Assemblage Brut Nature blends 47% Chardonnay / 47% Pinot Meunier / 6% Pinot Noir, drawn exclusively from first-press cuvée juice. Spontaneous alcoholic fermentation at 17°C in thermoregulated stainless steel is followed by spontaneous malolactic fermentation at 20°C — both with indigenous microflora only. No enzymes, no chaptalization, no acidification, no fining, no filtration, and naturally occurring SO₂ measured at 6–18 mg/L total. Second fermentation proceeds without added liqueur de tirage sugar; lees aging runs a minimum of approximately 20 months in bottle.

The Methuselah format (6L) dramatically slows oxidative exchange and extends autolytic contact, producing a textural depth and bead fineness that the standard 75cl disgorgement cannot replicate — an unusual proposition for a cooperative whose entire annual Assemblage production is approximately 9,000 standard bottles.

Technically single-vintage in character but unlabeled as such under AOC rules, the wine rewards patience: the compact acidic frame and citrus-driven fruit of current disgorgements will integrate further with 2–4 years of additional cellaring in this large format.