Grains de Celles

In 2021, Aurélien Gerbais made a decisive break: zero sulphur added during vinification or ageing, with only a minimal adjustment at bottling (total SO2 ~25–30 mg/L) — a transparency move that repositioned this fourth-generation Côte des Bar house firmly among Champagne's low-intervention vanguard. The estate's 18 hectares sit entirely within Celles-sur-Ource at the confluence of four river valleys, on Kimmeridgian marl and limestone laced with fossilised ammonites — the same geological backbone as Chablis — which drives the wine's saline, chalky tension. Grains de Celles blends 50% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, and 25% Pinot Blanc, the latter sourced from Gerbais's 4 hectares of estate Pinot Blanc, the largest holding of this near-extinct Champenois variety anywhere in the appellation. Primary fermentation proceeds in stainless steel with indigenous pied-de-cuve yeasts; full malolactic fermentation is completed in tank; reserve wines rest in used demi-muids from Domaine Olivier Lamy within a perpetual reserve system initiated in 2011. The wine ages sur lattes for a minimum of 30–36 months, then rests at least six months post-disgorgement before release, bottled unfined and unfiltered with Extra Brut dosage at 3 g/L using rectified grape must rather than cane sugar. The 2021 base vintage, drawn from both south-facing endroit and north-facing envers slopes of the Ource valley, delivers the structural contrast that defines the cuvée: richness from riper fruit offset by the vivacity of cooler exposures.