Blanc de Noirs

When Rémi Leroy returned to his family's Côte des Bar estate in 2006 after completing a Masters in Oenology at Bordeaux, he made a deliberate choice to vinify parcel by parcel and age far beyond appellation minimums — a Burgundian operating philosophy applied to Champagne's most underestimated sub-region. The Blanc de Noirs draws exclusively from the oldest Pinot Noir plots across Meurville, Bergères, and Fontaine, planted on Kimmeridgian clay-limestone — the same Jurassic geology that defines Chablis — whose shallow, calcium-rich structure limits vine vigour and concentrates mineral tension into the fruit. Meurville's east and southwest-facing hillsides, divided by the Le Landion tributary, introduce a diurnal contrast that preserves acidity through full ripeness. Grapes are pressed on a PAI horizontal Coquard press and moved entirely by gravity; fermentation proceeds with indigenous yeasts in a 60% stainless steel / 40% used Burgundian barrel split (sourced from Hubert Lamy of St-Aubin and Thomas Pico of Chablis), with full malolactic fermentation. The 2018 then spends a minimum five years sur lie before disgorgement, released at just 2 g/L dosage — unfined and unfiltered. No grower Champagne house in the Aube ages its Blanc de Noirs this long as standard practice. The 2018 vintage delivered even, generous ripeness across the Aube; expect a wine of textural density and saline drive, drinking well now through 2030.