Champagne, Chavost, Blanc d'Assemblage Brut Nature
About Producer
Champagne Chavost is a co-op founded in 1946 by 20 winegrowers in the village of Chavot-Courcourt, 5km south of Epernay. As an alternative to selling their grapes to big champagne houses, they decided to team up their efforts to produce champagne that would be the best possible renditions of their terroirs. Today, the co-op has 100 members, totalling 70ha of vineyards around the village, who are committed to sustainable viticulture and artisanal winemaking. After 10 years in different New World estates, oenologist Fabian Daviaux joined Chavost in 2019 as chef de cave at the age of 30, with the aim to produce personality-driven champagne with minimum intervention.
Varietals
Blend of 47% chardonnay, 47% meunier and 6% pinot noir, from a north-facing 5ha vineyard on clay and limestone soils. 8,896 bottles and 315 magnums produced.
About Appellation
One of the first mentions of vines in the region was made by Saint Remigius, the Bishop of Reims who baptised the King of the Franks Clovis I in 496, who listed in his testament a vineyard in the suburb of Reims. Much has been written about the key roles of Dom Pierre Pérignon (1638-1715), a Benedictine monk at Hautvilliers Abbey, and Frère Jean Oudart (1654-1742), from Saint-Pierre-aux-Monts Abbey in Pierry, in the development of Champagne as we know today. In 1690, 'Champagne Wines' were first mentioned to designate sparkling wines of the region, and it was also the first time in France that a wine was identified as produce from a specific region. Today, the vineyards covers 34,300ha in four sub-regions, Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des Blancs and Côte des Bar. Within the three first sub-regions, there are 17 Grand Cru communes. While the main grape varieties are pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier, four other varietals are also used in some blends, arbane, petit meslier, pinot blanc and pinot gris (known locally as fromenteau).
Tasting Notes
Enticing nose of red fruits, citrus, cotton candy, toasted bread, yeasty notes, flint and white flowers, round mouthfeel with creamy texture, firm structure and excellent precision, oodles of flavours of strawberry, raspberry, pear, sapid stone fruits, freshly baked pastry and hints of marzipan liberally laced with pleasant chalky undertones, racy acidity and refined bubbles carrying through a long, seamless finish. This is a cracking champagne with beguiling charm and mouthwatering freshness, walking a tightrope between understated power and delicate finesse. It’s firm and vinous yet effortlessly balanced, supple and vivacious with a delightful feel of weightlessness imparted by the zero dosage and no added sulphites winemaking process. (12/2023)