Champagne Brut Nature
Largillier Nature 2020

The Champagne Largillier by Coessens tells the story of a single place in the Côte des Bar with rare purity. It comes from the climat of Largillier in Ville-sur-Arce, in the Aube. The vineyard covers 3.36 hectares and is owned exclusively by the family. Jérôme Coessens has farmed it since 2006 with an openly Burgundian approach built on one grape variety, one terroir and one vintage. The poor, marly Kimmeridgian soils alternate layers of clay and limestone very similar to those of the great crus of Chablis. They are home to Pinot Noir vines, some of them planted in 1972, farmed organically with certification since 2021. The result is a reading of the land that puts phenolic ripeness and the geological truth of the soil first.

This Nature edition, from the 2020 harvest, is a Blanc de Noirs made only from Pinot Noir grapes. The grapes come from the most calcareous and mineral parcel of the monopole, in its western section, which is kept for vintages of full ripeness. After gentle pressing in a traditional Coquart press, vinification and fermentation take place in stainless steel. Malolactic fermentation is completed in full to ensure balance and precision. After tirage, the wine ages on its lees for at least 36 months, longer than the other cuvées of Largillier. It is released with no final dosage, in the Brut Nature style, so the character of the soil comes through unfiltered.

On tasting, Largillier Nature 2020 opens with a light reductive note that soon gives way to aromas of chalk, citrus, sour cherry and just-ripe plum, with a clear flinty imprint. On the palate it shows a slender, taut structure, driven by vibrant acidity and a savoury limestone minerality that brings depth and freshness. The finish is dry and very persistent. It conveys the identity of the Kimmeridgian soils with clarity and suggests considerable potential for development in bottle.