Rose de Solemme, 1er Cru Brut Nature, Millésimé 2020

A vintage rosé that corrects nothing after the fact: Brut Nature means no dosage liqueur and no sugar after disgorgement. Olivier Langlais bottles almost exclusively this way at his estate in Villers-aux-Nœuds, also forgoing chaptalization, filtration and cold stabilisation.

The 6.11 hectares of Premier Cru lie at the heart of the Petite Montagne de Reims, a cool corner with plenty of rainfall. The chalk, limestone and flint soil shapes the champagnes just as much as the biodynamic work does: ploughing with a horse, hand-weeding, preparations applied at night according to the lunar calendar.

Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier make up the blend. In the estate's varietal mix, Meunier accounts for 62 percent, Chardonnay 30 percent and Pinot Noir 8 percent; Langlais views Meunier as a variety in its own right rather than a filler grape. The base wines ferment spontaneously in small batches and age partly in 228-litre barrels, partly in steel, followed by at least 36 months on the lees. Disgorgement follows the lunar calendar.

Delicate salmon pink in the glass, with a fine and lasting mousse. On the nose, strawberry and raspberry, along with brioche, white blossom and chalk. The wine is bone dry, the acidity vibrant, the texture creamy; citrus fruit and red berries carry through to a long mineral finish.

Oysters and seafood, salmon tartare, grilled scallops or sashimi. Goat cheese and creamy soft cheeses also work well. Serve well chilled as an apéritif.

The estate has been organic-certified since 2013 and has carried Demeter certification since 2015. Each vintage is bottled separately as a Millésimé, with no blending across years. Annual production is around 30,000 bottles.