Coteaux Champenois Blanc
Riceys Blanc "En Valingrain" 2021

The Coteaux Champenois Blanc En Valingrain by Olivier Horiot is a still wine that tells the most hidden and singular face of Les Riceys, the only village in Champagne authorised to produce three distinct appellations. It comes from the En Valingrain parcel, a lieu-dit with marl soils on hard Kimmeridgian limestone that imprint on the wine a sharp minerality and an almost Burgundian identity, yet deeply rooted in the Côte des Bar. It fits into an enological vision grounded in biodynamics and in an idea of wine reduced to the essential, where the co-fermentation of the grapes becomes the key gesture to return the intact voice of the terroir.

This edition, 2021 harvest, expresses a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc from just 600 vines of the En Valingrain (lieu-dit) parcel, where the grapes are co-fermented together in 3 oak casks, where the wine matures on the lees, before being bottled on 19 April 2023. Vinification is carried out with very few sulphites and without fining or filtration, in full coherence with the Domaine's artisanal philosophy.

On the palate, the wine displays a straw-yellow hue with luminous reflections, leading into a crystalline and taut nose that weaves ripe lemon, white apple, delicate flowers and a note of fresh hazelnut, completed by a very clear stony minerality. The entry is fresh and sharp, with an elegant texture that balances a slight gras against natural tension, supported by a cutting acidity and a salinity that runs through the entire sip. The balance plays on the contrast between aromatic purity and mineral depth, while the finish closes long, precise and rhythmic, leaving an aftertaste of rare elegance. Production in a limited run of 1,100 bottles and 30 Magnums.