Mi-Pentes Premier Cru Brut Nature L2022+Réserve

A Champagne that gets straight to the point. Pale straw yellow in the glass, bright and clear, with lemon curd, salted lemon and zest on the nose, followed by almond and brioche, herbs, stone and fresh as well as slightly overripe stone fruit.

Écueil lies in the Petite Montagne de Reims, between limestone slopes and a small forest that shelters the microclimate. The vines for this cru grow on sand and light clay soils at mid-slope height. Géraldine and Richard gave up their jobs in Paris in 2006, completed their oenology diploma in 2007 and took over the family vines in 2008: 8.5 hectares of Premier Cru in Écueil and Les Mesneux, ninth generation of winegrowers, third to bottle under their own label.

100% Pinot Noir, hand-harvested, spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts. Six base wines from two vintages make up the blend, 70% from 2022, 30% reserve wines. The base wine aged for nine months in large oak casks, bottling took place in July 2023, disgorgement on 21 January 2026 with 0 g/l dosage, making it a Brut Nature with no sugar addition whatsoever. 12.5% ABV.

Charming and sensuous, with good acid drive that, together with the minerality, provides freshness. The mousse stays fine, the texture feels lightly yeasty and creamy, and despite the absence of dosage, a subtle sweetness reminiscent of lemon sorbet still comes through.

In the cellar, stainless steel tanks stand alongside oak casks made from wood from the Écueil forest, whose trees grow just a few hundred metres from the vines. Work is done biodynamically, using preparations made from nettle, horsetail and valerian instead of synthetic chemistry, with no pesticides and no herbicides.