Roger Bischof from Secli Wein is one of Switzerland’s great Champagne experts, especially for Grower Champagne. He is less loud than many other self declared bubble experts of the local scene. Friendly, self-effacing, Roger prefers depth over noise. His tasting series are peerless if you want to learn more about Champagne and discuss with knowledgeable people. See www.champagnerfreund.ch. They helped me greatly with my WSG Champagne Master studies where, among other things, a deep dive into the Grower scene was required.
On this afternoon we explored the “Coteaux Champenois”, Champagne’s still wines. Here is my takeaways:
- Given the northerly location, expect fresh and crispy wines, you need to like red Burg and Chablis. If your starting point is Super Tuscans, forget it.
- There is a lot of potential here, especially with global warming
- Given the high prices for Champagne the market price of these still wines will always be at the upper end because you need grapes from the best plots to make a still wine. These plots are also in demand for Prestige Cuvées, so a high price is required for the producer not making a loss by selling a still wine. This is the biggest draw back and therefore we will not see this category to become a mainstream one.
Line up of the evening (photos in this report are from Roger Bischof)
Wines tasted at the event
Aperitiv and encore Wines
NV Bourgeois-Diaz Haute-Marne BD´3C Brut Nature 93 Points
Served in MAG as aperitif of this fabulous tasting. Very much in the grower style with bruised apples, good density, low dosage finish.
2021 Étienne Calsac Coteaux Champenois Photogramme 91 Points
100% Petit Meslier. Flinty nose with herbs, citrus. This is really acidic, even more than a Chablis, but not thin, just very intense acidity. Different, not bad, but definitely not for the faint hearted.
2020 Karine Prélat Rosé des Riceys Parcelle La Sourde 90 Points
The color is translucent ruby, not pink, more like a Poulsard de Jura than a Rosé de Provence. The palate has lots of pine, resin aromas. The palate feels more like a light red as well.
2013 Bérêche et Fils Champagne Premier Cru Le Cran Ludes 96 Points
A “true Champagne with bubbles” to finish this fabulous tasting. From MAG. This was very expressive, lots of bruised apples intermixed with spices and pears. I was guessing Montage de Reims blind due to the sheer richness, but also wonderful freshness. Top drawer. 96-97
Flight 1 – Still Whites made from Chardonnay or Blends
2019 Marguet Coteaux Champenois Ambonnay Chardonnay 93 Points
Chardonnay grapes from Ambonnay. This tasted very different than the rest. Next to citrus there was lots of other spice, quince, cedar aromas. Flintstone as well. The fruit here has good ripeness, balancing the acidity. WEll made.
2020 Brice Coteaux Champenois Bouzy Blanc Le Poteau 92 Points
Muted nose, lemon curd, butter, feels like a Meursault aon teh nose. Fresh palate, chalky finish. Solid.
NV Les Fabulleuses De Champagne Coteaux Champenois Cuvée ISOS Blanc 93 Points
Lots of matchstick on the nose, like a Coche. Expressive, citrus fruit, searing acidity, spice on the finish. Intense but good.
2020 Alexandre Bonnet Coteaux Champenois Blanc les Riceys “Hardy En Vigneron” 88 Points
Expressive nose with citrus, very light on the palate though, like a base line Chablis. I prefer a bit more stuffing.
Flight 2 – Still Whites made from Pinot Noir / Meunier
2018 Déhu Père & Fils Coteaux Champenois Cuvée La Rue des Noyers Blanc 93 Points
Blanc de Meunier. Discrete nose, lots of fruity and floral aromas, orange, mandarin, some caramel on the finish pointing to oak. Interesting and different.
2018 Marie-Courtin Coteaux Champenois Le Blanc du Tremble 89 Points
Aromatic nose, but with a lot of farmyard, reductive, some rose petals on the finish. A bit all over the place.
2020 Charles Dufour & Françoise Martinot Vin Blanc Bicheret 87 Points
“Vin Blanc Chervey” is the cuvee I had. A still white wine made from Pinot Noir. Felt a bit too oxidative and musky for my taste. Not a fan.
2019 Grethen Champagne Coteaux Champenois Blanc Zephyr 93 Points
Blanc de Meunier. Citrus nose, some toasty oak, feels like a white Burg. Phenolic palate, flinty, mandarin. Really well made.
Flight 3 – Still Reds from Pinot Noir only
2019 Marguet Coteaux Champenois Ambonnay Pinot Noir 94 Points
The best red for me in this tasting. Very competent. Like a Corton. Towering tannins wrap the ripe red and dark fruit. Some gingerbread, earthy elements. Generous palate. Best after 2030.
2020 Brice Coteaux Champenois Rouge Bouzy 93 Points
Discrete nose, earthy, red fruit, pine notes. Cool fruit, precise palate. Well made and together with the Marguet Ambonnay my favorite wine of this flight.
2018 Louis Roederer Coteaux Champenois Camille Hommage “Le Charmont” 87 Points
Tastes commercial, very oak/vanilla dominated, like a supermarket Pinot from Chile or Argentina. No way, especially for the 150 EUR price tag. Others liked it more but if there is one wine from today’s tasting I would not put into my cellar than it is this one.
2020 Domaine de Bichery Coteaux Champenois en val ligé Val Ligé 90 Points
Pale, cloudy color, very light indeed. Nose of fennel, cumin, light palate, good aromatic intensity, almost feels like a natural wine from Jura made with Poulsard. Interesting but mainly for geeks.
Flight 4 – Still Reds from Pinot Noir / Meunier
2018 Laherte Frères Coteaux Champenois Rouge Les Vinages 93 Points
100% Meunier. Dark fruit, some well integrated oak noticeable. The palate is well judged, red fruit, ripe tannins. A competent wine that could do well in a Beaune 1er Cru line up.
2020 Pierre Deville Coteaux Champenois Rouge 92 Points
The nose is very spicy with red fruit, alpine herbs and cumin. Cote de Beaune like palate, tannins present but well managed.
2021 Brocard Pierre Coteaux Champenois 91 Points
Pale, cloudy color. The nose has lots of funky farmyard notes and some VA and years, like a natural wine almost. On the palate reminiscent of a Trousseau of Jura. Light, but not thin. Good aromatics.
2020 Charles Dufour & Françoise Martinot Vin Rouge 94 Points
100% Meunier “Vin Rouge Chervey” is the Cuvée served. Dark color. Dense like a Meo Camuzet Corton, red and dark fruit, lots of iron and iodine, pine. Structured palate, very pure with a touch of bitter gourd on the finish. This needs time but I really liked the Corton strictness here. Best after 2030.
Coteaux Champenois tasted on other ocasions
2017 Egly-Ouriet Coteaux Champenois Cuvée des Grands Côtés Vieilles Vignes Rouge Ambonnay 94 Points
My 6000th tasting note and a worthy and interesting wine to celebrate it. Coming from left field (a dry, non-sparkling Pinot table wine) made by one of my favorite Champagne houses, Egly-Ouriet. Discrete nose of spices, earthy elements with red fruit. Structurally and aromatically I feel this is like an elegant Corton Grand Cru like the styles of Cornu or Tollot-Beaut.
2019 Geoffroy Coteaux Champenois Cumières Rouge Les Chalmonts Cuvee Parcellaire 93 Points
Excellent wine in the glass here. A lot of chalky minerality, like we are use to from Champagne and then there is also this beautiful bonbon nose we know from Comte Liger-Belair with raspberry bonbon. Rally well made. A precise, cool terroir wine. I would give this a few years in the cellar and see where it comes out. 92-94
2019 Bérêche et Fils Coteaux Champenois Les Monts Fournois 91 Points
During a Domaine visit which confirmed that Bereche is a very strong, upcoming producer to look out for. Lots of gooseberry and citrus aromas here, very expressive, apparently ph is 2.25 (!) but the wine is not lean, more like a blend of a Chablis Grand Cru and a NZ Sauvignon Blanc. I am not really a white wine person but this wine confirmed that the vin clair material this house produces is first class.
2015 Dehours Coteaux Champenois Les Vignes de Mizy 89 Points
During a Champagne tasting session. Still white Chard. Very chalky mineralic nose with a stemmy side to it. Some bitterness at the finish. The lees aging made this round eonough. As acidic as a Chablis, more textured in the mouth but also greener. Not for the everyday palate but I liked it.
NV Brice Coteaux Champenois Bouzy Blanc Les Hautes 87 Points
At assette Champenois dinner. A still Blanc de Noir so to say, blend of 2018-2019-2020. Feels more like a Rosé from Provence than a serious white wine. Raspberry notes but not much aroma, a bit flabby. Confirms that the method of pressing a red grape into a still white wine almost never yields to something substantial.
NV Drappier Coteaux Champenois Urville Rouge 87 Points
Light garnet. Very light color. Interesting nose with farmyard, red fruit, some earthy elements. The palate is very acidic though, even for a cool climate wine lover.
Author: Christian Raubach, WSET III, FWS, WSG Champagne Master
November 2023