It's the biodynamic grower’s last time bottling this wine.

Vincent Couche doesn't follow a playbook – he’s sort of a mad man in the cellar. Each cuvée with a specific intention, élevage, dosage...nothing prescribed. And he doesn’t mind waiting for the wine to be exactly right prior to release (which is why we're so lucky to have vintage releases as old as 25 years in stock...)

And it's why, when tasting the most recent release, I was sad to hear he planned to stop bottling the Chardonnay de Montgueux cuvée. It's an insanely delicious wine that's only made more unique when you see the price and learn that the wine is almost always 10 years old upon release, despite being bottled as “non-vintage.”

More detail below!

BIODYNAMICS + CHALK

Next to Emmanuel Lassaigne, Couche is one of the few producers who highlight the famously chalky terroir of Montgueux, in the Aube. It’s here where you find a small island of Chardonnay-on-chalk amongst a sea of Pinot-on-Portlandian limestone. Like the whole Couche estate, the fruit for ‘Chardonnay de Montgueux’ is demeter-certified biodynamic. All hand harvested, fermented with native yeasts in a mix of barrel and steel. And all going through malolactic naturally before resting for 9 years on the lees and being disgorged without dosage.

A POWERFUL VALUE

It’s a golden, luxurious yet chalky wine that could only be from this special terroir. With immense power and length, it shows how special Champagne can be when made patiently, without fear of oxygen or need for dosage. And, it’s an incredible value. Simply put, you don’t see farming, patience in the cellar and wines that taste like this at this price anymore.

WHAT'S NEXT

For the curious, the fruit used for this wine will now go into his entry 'Elegance' cuvée to elevate the quality there. Also in stock right now: vintage bottlings from 1999, 2002, 2010 and 2014 🙌

SHOP VINCENT COUCHE