Champagne Clandestin (2020) Boreal Brut Nature Champagne

100% Pinot Noir.  "The NV (2020) Brut Nature Boréal is a pure Pinot Noir, grown on north-facing parcels only, fermented and aged in barrel. Both apple blossom and creamy red apple flesh mark the scented nose. The relatively short tirage means that the mousse is frothy and very lively. A yeasty backdrop adds more texture to this bone-dry and very pure, bright wine. Impressive despite its youth, bright, superbly pure and with lasting freshness. A winemaker to watch. Zero dosage.  91 PointsAntonio Galloni, Vinous November 2023  Zero Dosage

For all the wines in the Clandestin line up, there is a unique density, freshness and complexity that sets them apart. These are not “pop and pour” Champagnes, but rather wines that require the drinker to pay attention and to let the wines reveal themselves with time and aeration in the glass.

Champagne Clandestin is a new joint project between Bertrand Gautherot of Vouette & Sorbée and his right hand man, the young, energetic, Burgundian-trained Benoit Doussot. Needless to say, both Bertrand and Benoit have a lot of experience with the terroirs around their village, so much so that their neighbors in Buxières-sur-Acre have been turning to them for assistance in setting their vineyards to rights after years of neglect.

Clandestin means hidden or secret and it refers to the source of this Champagne: the long-overlooked, west-facing parcels of Pinot Noir on Kimmeridgian soils as well as Chardonnay on Portlandian soils above Buxières. Southerly, easterly and southeastern-facing parcels have long been favored in the Aube because they are bathed in more sunlight for a longer portion of the day while their western counterparts were seldom prized or utilized fully. Clandestin is made entirely from these cooler, west-facing vineyards – Pinot Noir on Kimmeridgian while the Chardonnay comes from a single, south-facing vineyard site planted on Portlandian clay. All of these sites are farmed organically and certified by ECOCERT and are vinified according to the exacting standards for which Vouette & Sorbée has been rightly praised. Harvest 2020. Importer Notes