After starting out as vineyard manager for a major regional group, Jérôme Coessens chose to found his own champagne house – with a very particular vision. In fact, he grows exclusively Pinot Noir, making it into single-plot and single-vintage wines. In short, it’s a very Burgundian approach, allowing wine lovers to discover the identity of the terroir in a unique way. Each plot has its own personality, which Jérôme Coessens identifies according to four categories of resulting wine style: ‘Mineral’, ‘Fruit’, ‘Flower’ and ‘Body’.
The vines planted using mass selection between the 1970s and 1980s are cultivated in a low-intervention manner, and the winemaking process follows the same philosophy. The soils are tilled to enable the roots to develop and reach the bedrock, to extract its very essence. Harvested when just ripe, the grapes undergo full malolactic fermentation and the wine is matured for a long time on its lees. In addition to the sparkling wines, the estate also produces some rare red wines under the Côteaux Champenois appellation, made with the advice of Burgundian winemaker Yves Confuron.

The Blanc de Noirs from Coessens is, as its name suggests, made exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes. The grapes come from the Largiller vineyard which Coessens owns in its entirety and are grown on two sub-plots that Coessens has named “Fruit” and “Flower”. The wines are made from plot selections and are not blended until April or May of the year following the harvest.
As the names of the two sub-plots suggest, the 10,000 or so bottles produced each year have a fruity, floral bouquet. On the palate, red fruit mingles with a bouquet of white flowers in beautiful harmony, with a liquorice finish adding its signature touch. This fruit-forward, generous Champagne is full-bodied, with decisive minerality due to the clay in the subsoil. This Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne can be enjoyed directly on release or laid down for a few years to develop full, vinous notes. It makes the perfect pairing for a veal chop with morel mushrooms.