Ambre de Solemme Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature Millésimé 2016

A dry vintage champagne made from pure Pinot Meunier, drawing its tension from acidity and chalk. Its rosé-to-copper appearance with lively perlage already signals this unusual approach in the glass.

The grapes come from a chalk-and-limestone vineyard in Villers-aux-Nœuds. This is where Champagne Solemme's 6.11 hectares of Premier Cru lie, in the heart of the Petite Montagne de Reims, a cool, rain-prone corner. Chalk, limestone and flint define the soil.

Single-varietal Pinot Meunier from old vines: 70 percent are over 50 years old, 30 percent over 30 years. Olivier Langlais treats the variety as a character in its own right rather than a blending component. The base wines ferment spontaneously in small batches, some in 228-litre barriques, some in steel, and age at least 36 months on the lees. A brief maceration accounts for the colour. There is no chaptalisation, no filtration and no tartrate stabilisation; no sulphur was added at disgorgement, and the wine receives no dosage at all — Brut Nature in the strictest sense.

The nose stays understated, with barberry, redcurrant, pomelo and herbs, backed by almond pastry and nougat. On the palate, the same acid-driven berry notes carry through, joined by pomegranate seeds and the pleasantly bitter tang of grapefruit and pomelo. Chalky and saline, with a fine mousse and pleasant pressure.

Recommended with sea snails with shiro miso mayonnaise, poultry liver terrine with thyme and almonds, or snails with mushrooms and cream.

Langlais farms biodynamically, applying the preparations at night according to the lunar calendar and disgorging by the same calendar. The vineyards are ploughed with a horse, and weeds are removed by hand. Each vintage is bottled separately, with annual production running to around 30,000 bottles.