Champagne J.M. Goulard Sereine Rituel Intemporel Vendange

When Damien Goulard took operational control in 2012, he introduced parcel-by-parcel vinification and selective oak barrel ageing to a house his father Jean-Marie had built from scratch after leaving the cooperative in 1995 — a deliberate break from the cooperative model that now defines the Goulard identity as a Récoltant-Manipulant. The Sereine Rituel Intemporel draws fruit from the Massif de Saint-Thierry northwest of Reims, where south- and southeast-facing parcels at approximately 130 m elevation sit on sandy-clay soils over chalk — a profile that strips Pinot Meunier of the broad, jammy character it shows in the Marne Valley and pulls it toward leaner, more mineral expression. The 2021 blend is 35% Pinot Noir, 35% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay, pressed in a traditional 4,000 kg Coquard basket press, cold-settled, fermented in stainless steel with full malolactic fermentation completed, then aged a minimum of 3 years on lees in bottle — well above the AOC minimum — before disgorgement at 7 g/L dosage (Brut). Reserve wines from a solera system anchor the blend's continuity across harvests. What sets Sereine apart within the Goulard range is its position as the house's structured, multi-varietal expression from a terroir the broader market has only recently begun to recognize, neighboring Chartogne-Taillet on the same plateau. The 2021 vintage, the first to carry organic certification, brings the freshness of a cool-leaning northern harvest to a wine built for 2–5 years of further development.