Champagne J.M. Goulard Origine Blanc de Noirs Vendange

When Damien Goulard took operational control of this Prouilly estate in 2012, he introduced parcel-by-parcel vinification and a low-dosage philosophy that reframed what the Massif de Saint-Thierry could express — a plateau northwest of Reims that most négociants had long treated as bulk-wine country. The Origine Blanc de Noirs 2021 is the clearest argument for that reframing.

The estate's vineyards sit at roughly 130 m on south- and southeast-facing slopes where sandy-clay soils dominate — a composition that strips Pinot Meunier of the broad, jammy character it shows in the Marne Valley, producing instead a leaner, more mineral expression. The 2021 growing season, cool and precise, reinforced that tension.

The blend is 60% Pinot Meunier and 40% Pinot Noir, pressed in a traditional 4,000 kg Coquard basket press, cold-settled for approximately 12 hours, then fermented in stainless steel with full malolactic fermentation completed. Dosage is held to 4 g/L Extra Brut, leaving the sandy-soil minerality fully exposed. Lees aging follows the Origine protocol.

What separates this from virtually every other Blanc de Noirs in Champagne is the terroir itself: Meunier as the dominant variety on sandy soils in the Massif de Saint-Thierry produces a structural profile — taut, mineral, red-fruited — that no Marne Valley or Montagne de Reims Meunier replicates. The 2021 vintage's natural acidity makes this a candidate for 3–5 years of further development, though the precision of the fruit is already compelling.