Champagne Dosnon Recolte Brute

When Davy Dosnon founded his micro-négociant house in 2007, he made a single defining decision: every cuvée in the range — including this entry-level NV — would be fermented and aged exclusively in old Burgundian oak barrels (minimum 5 years old), using only natural yeasts. No other Champagne house applies this protocol across its full lineup. The base wine spends approximately 10 months in 228-litre barriques, 500-litre, and 600-litre demi-muids sourced from Puligny-Montrachet producers, with both alcoholic and malolactic fermentation completed in barrel — micro-oxygenation without wood tannin transfer.

The vineyards sit in Avirey-Lingey, Côte des Bar, on hard limestone over Kimmeridgian and Portlandian clay-marl packed with fossilized Exogyra Virgula oysters — the same geological formation as Chablis premier cru, 40 km to the south, and entirely unlike the chalk of Reims or Épernay. Vines average over 30 years old; yields are controlled by Cordon de Royat pruning. The blend is approximately 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, incorporating roughly 30% reserve wines. Only the cuvée (first pressing from an ancient basket press) enters the wine — the taille is sold off. Dosage is kept to 3–7 g/L, unfined and unfiltered. Minimum 20 months on lees in bottle before disgorgement. The result is consistently described as 'Chablis with bubbles' — a mineral, vinous Champagne that prioritizes terroir over effervescence.