Champagne Brut Nature
Le Trou d'Enfer "Face Nord" Magnum

The Champagne Le Trou d’Enfer “Face Nord” by Sacy Sœur & Frère is the more austere and vertical expression of the namesake plot (lieu-dit) from Cernay-lès-Reims, on the northern slope of the Montagne de Reims. Here Yaël and Jonathan Sacy, siblings at the helm of the family estate, pursue organic viticulture guided by the conviction that living soils make living wines. The vines face north and receive a softer, more slanting light that slows the ripening of the grapes and preserves their acidity, freshness and aromatic finesse. The result is a single-plot Blanc de Blancs that converses with its south-facing counterpart, telling the story of the same soil from a tauter, cooler and more luminous perspective.

This edition, 2023 harvest, is made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes and undergoes spontaneous vinification and fermentation in small stainless steel tanks, an essential approach that entrusts indigenous yeasts with the most faithful possible reading of the plot and its exposure. After tirage under cork, the wine ages on the lees for around 24 months, while the absence of final dosage, in Brut Nature style, lets the natural tension of the fruit and the mineral imprint of the soil emerge without mediation.

On tasting, Le Trou d’Enfer “Face Nord” shows a pale straw yellow colour with greenish highlights and a fine, tight perlage. The nose is clear and lifted, with notes of green apple, crisp pear, lemon and grapefruit, joined by white flowers, hawthorn and subtle hints of chalk and wet stone that heighten their purity. On the palate the attack is taut and incisive, with a lean, sharp substance that unfolds along a vibrant acidic backbone and marked salinity, leading to a long, dry and mineral close of great rigour and persistence.