Cuvée "Ailleurs" Brut Nature 2019

Bottled without dosage, with zero grams of residual sugar, the 2019 vintage stands with no padding: chalky, finely built, with sharp edges. Olivier Horiot's signature is uncompromisingly dry, laying the origin bare rather than covering it up.

Les Riceys in the Côte des Bar is the only village in Champagne permitted to produce three appellations: Champagne, still wine, and Rosé des Riceys. The Horiot family has cultivated vines here since the 17th century; Olivier Horiot took over the estate from his father Serge in 1999 and immediately switched to organic farming. Since 2010 the estate has worked biodynamically: the soils are ploughed with horses, and synthetic additives are excluded. Beneath the plots lies Kimmeridgian chalk, which gives the wines their pronounced minerality.

The attack stays spare and cool, with toasty and yeasty notes over yellow peach and lemon zest. The acidity is fine-grained and carries the wine straight through, while the mousse remains restrained. In the finish, limestone lingers, dry and long.

Pairs with oysters and scallops, as well as steamed turbot. As an aperitif, toasted almonds are all it needs.

Each plot is harvested and vinified separately, with spontaneous fermentation using wild yeasts in used barriques. The wine is neither fined nor filtered, and only minimally sulphured. All of the estate's Champagnes are bottled as Brut Nature, meaning entirely without dosage. Olivier Horiot belongs to the winegrowers' association Terres et Vins and vinifies all seven grape varieties permitted in Champagne, including the nearly extinct Arbane.