Champagne Barbichon Blanc de Noirs Brut NV

Location: France, Champagne, Côte des Bar

Winemaker: Thomas & Maxime Barbichon

Grapes: 93% Pinot Noir, 7% Pinot Meunier

Soil: Kimmeridgian marl

Winemaking: A blend of 90% from 2017, 10% from 2016. Fermented in stainless steel, aged in steel and oak vats for 8 months, then in bottle on the lees for 36 months. Disgorged 6 months before release.

Disgorged: 1/6/2018

Dosage: 2 g/L

From us at M&L: Barbichon’s Blanc de Noirs is always a single vintage bottling typically made up of Pinot Noir and Meunier. Fresh but leesy with effective brioche-y qualities.

4th-generation winemakers and brothers Thomas and Maxime Barbichon carry on the Barbichon legacy in this remote part of Champagne. Gyé-sur-Seine used to be quite the hub for Champagne back in the 19th century, though because of its distance from the rest of the region has become somewhat forgotten. Not so in the hands of Thomas and Maxime! They cultivate a total of 9 hectares in Gyé-sur-Seine across the Côte des Bar, planted to 6.5 hectares of Pinot Noir, the rest to 1 hectare of Chardonnay, slightly less than a hectare of Pinot Meunier, and .5 hectare of Pinot Blanc, with the vines averaging about 30 years old. The brothers have dedicated their work to converting all practices to organics and biodynamics beginning in 2005, now with Ecocert and Demeter certification.