Les Fontaines Rosé Brut Nature 2022

A rosé Champagne with drive and deep fruit that needs no dosage at all. Raphaël and Hannah Piconnet bottle all of the estate's Champagnes as Brut Nature, meaning no sugar is added after disgorgement. Here this lets the fruit shine between red notes and citrus, carried by very fine tannin. Despite the saignée component, the wine drinks beautifully on its own, though its real strength shows at the table.

The estate's eight hectares lie in Neuville-sur-Seine and Gyé-sur-Seine, where Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier grow on the chalky soils of the Côte des Bar. Raphaël Piconnet grew up in the lieu-dit Bichery, on the slopes above the meandering Seine that his grandfather Charles farmed for decades. The guiding principle in the cellar: one parcel, one wine.

Pure Pinot Noir from the 2022 vintage, blended from white-pressed Pinot Noir and saignée. The base wine fermented spontaneously with wild yeasts, roughly 60 percent in barrel and 40 percent in stainless steel, then aged in Burgundian pièces. No fining, no filtration, minimal sulphur. Every bottle rests at least 24 months on the lees; disgorged in February 2025 with zero grams of dosage. 12.5% vol.

The start is fresh, juicy and vigorous, then the Champagne turns more wine-like, the texture silky, the mousseux elegant. Crisp cherry, raspberry and grapefruit lead the nose, alongside red apple and peach, with praline and warm puff pastry beneath. A light salinity lingers on the finish.

The 2022 vintage is not stated on the label. Raphaël and Hannah Piconnet took over the family estate in 2015 and switched immediately to organic farming; volumes remain very small.