Champagne Brut Nature
Barbaries "sous bois" 2018

The Champagne Barbaries by Ponson expresses the contemporary sensitivity of a young vigneron from the Petite Montagne de Reims, an area that in recent years has gained increasing attention for the precision and freshness of its wines. This Blanc de Blancs comes from Premier Cru vineyards rooted in predominantly limestone soils, capable of giving Chardonnay a tense and luminous profile. Maxime’s approach aims to preserve authenticity and territorial identity through low-intervention practices and a direct interpretation of the vintage.

This “sous bois” edition, Vintage 2018, is crafted exclusively from Chardonnay grapes and interpreted through vinification and maturation in 500-liter barriques, a choice that accompanies the wine with delicate micro-oxygenation capable of enhancing complexity and depth without altering the precision of the fruit and the mineral expression of the terroir. Fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts and without filtration or cold stabilization, while after tirage the wine rests on its lees for around 4 years, contributing greater breadth and texture while preserving the wine’s tension. Without final dosage, in Brut Nature style, it retains a rigorous, vertical and deeply territorial character.

In tasting, Barbaries Millésime 2018 stands out for its refined and vibrant profile, marked by notes of citrus, white flowers, yellow-fleshed fruit and chalky nuances reflecting the limestone origin of the terroir. On the palate, the texture is sleek and precise, supported by a fine mousse and a pronounced saline component that drives the progression toward a long, tense and persistent finish. The balance between fruit maturity, freshness and expressive purity makes this cuvée a contemporary and highly personal interpretation of Chardonnay from the Petite Montagne de Reims. Production in a limited run of 500 bottles.