Voile de Petit Morin Brut Nature L19/20

A Brut Nature, meaning it's bottled without any dosage, yet its austerity never tips into harshness: built on a mineral, saline core, soft and generous at its centre, while remaining lively and eminently drinkable.

The plots lie on the slopes above the Petit Morin near Talus-Saint-Prix, between the Côte des Blancs and the Côte de Sézanne. The limestone and clay soils carry an unusually high proportion of flint, known locally as "meulière", once quarried to make millstones. The risk of late frost here is high. Ageing takes place in a cellar that Cyril's parents, Michel and Marie-Claude, dug by hand into the chalk in 1986; it holds a constant 12 degrees.

80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir from the 2019 and 2020 vintages, with no reserve wines. Hand-harvested, pressed on a traditional Coquard press, spontaneous fermentation. Around 20% matures in used oak barrels, the rest in stainless steel, with several years on fine lees.

Pale yellow in the glass, with the perlage rising in a long, fine thread. The nose leans towards pome fruit: crisp green apple and fully ripe yellow pear, followed by yeasty notes of fresh brioche, sweet cream butter and flakes of sea salt. The entry is clear and precise, the saline pull given contour by fine phenolics, the texture staying soft, almost downy.

Oysters and sole with lemon butter, as well as sushi with white fish or Comté at a young to medium stage of maturity.

Cyril Jeaunaux and Clémence Robin run the estate in its third generation, farming it organically and in part biodynamically; consultant Jacques Mell has advised them since 2013. Cyril Jeaunaux is a member of the Terres et Vins de Champagne association. The used oak barrels are at least ten years old: these wines are not meant to taste of wood.