The Pinot Noir de la Côte des Bar 2021 cuvée crafted by Louise Brison is a champagne made entirely from Pinot Noir. It is a Blanc de Noirs with a frank, vinous character.
This cuvée speaks of red fruit and spiced notes, lifted by a touch of oak. The palate reveals itself as vinous and mineral, with hints of brioche and almond in the background.
This is a bottle you can serve from the aperitif onwards, alongside comté gougères for instance, before bringing it to the table with a roast duck breast.
The Terroir
The Pinot Noir de la Côte des Bar 2021 is a Blanc de Noirs, meaning it is made entirely from Pinot Noir.
These Pinot Noir grapes come from the Côte des Bar terroir, a southern zone of Champagne where Louise Brison tends her vines.
This vineyard, closer in climate to Burgundy than to the region's historic heartland, produces grapes that ripen fully and gain in generosity, a characteristic that comes through in the glass.
On this terroir, Pinot Noir lends the wine an enveloping roundness and aromas of ripe red fruit that define the style of the cuvée.
Organic certification guarantees vine-growing free from synthetic fertilisers and pesticides.
Winemaking
Delphine Brulez, the winemaker at the helm of Maison Louise Brison, chose to ferment this 2021 Pinot Noir entirely in oak barrel. This vessel, by allowing more generous contact between wine and wood, develops toasty notes that give the cuvée its structure. Malolactic fermentation was carried through to completion: it softens the wine's acidity and gives it a velvety mouthfeel, rather than a sharper profile.
No sugar was added at dosage: at 0 g/L, this cuvée belongs to the Brut Nature category, the driest and most direct style, which lets the grape express itself without any added roundness. At Louise Brison, this choice reflects a commitment to purity, where every stage of winemaking remains in service of the fruit and the work of the wood, with no sweetness used to mask or soften the final result on the palate.
The 2021 Vintage
In 2021, the Côte des Bar saw a spring marked by April frosts, followed by a wet June that put the vines to the test with mildew (a vine disease linked to humidity). These setbacks reduced yields, concentrating the Pinot Noir berries, which were then able to ripen under kinder skies during the harvest, with mild days and cool nights. This temperature swing allowed for a slow ripening, preserving a lovely freshness.
Every vintage is a genuine source of inspiration, a truly unique composition, a melody that plays with balance and time. The 2021 vintage lends this cuvée a taut freshness and a saline precision that offer nuance, emotion and singular pleasure.
