Nowack

Coteaux Champenois Blanc - Fontinette 2018 | Bottle 75cl

Description

Description & elaboration

The Coteaux Champenois - Blanc Fontinette 2018 cuvée from Nowack is a still white wine born on the Fontinette lieu-dit, in Vandières, in the Vallée de la Marne. It is a wine with notes of apple and wet stone — a direct minerality, unfiltered and still. On the palate, its silky texture makes it a fine companion at the table. Flavien Nowack runs this family estate with an authentic vision, producing only very limited quantities.

The Terroir

The vines are located in the village of Vandières, on the right bank of the Marne. The Fontinette lieu-dit benefits from a south-east orientation that ensures consistent grape ripening. The soil is composed of clay-limestone sands, with a deep marl subsoil. The clay acts as a natural water reserve, feeding the vines throughout the summer cycle. The roots plunge deep to extract minerals, imparting a characteristic saline finish to the wine.

Flavien Nowack tends his vines using practices that respect the living environment: mechanical soil tillage, cover crops between the rows, and natural preparations to stimulate microbial life. Biodiversity thrives here, directly benefiting the expression of the terroir.

The winemaking

Flavien Nowack carefully selects his Pinot Meunier bunches. The harvest is carried out in perforated crates, with rigorous sorting in the vineyard. Slow pressing extracts a clear must without colouring the juice — a technique characteristic of a still Blanc de Noirs. Alcoholic fermentation is initiated by indigenous yeasts (the yeasts naturally present on the grapes), then continues in oak barrels. This porous vessel allows the wine to evolve slowly and progressively.

Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in wood. Ageing on the lees builds texture and complexity over several months, while the oak softens the Meunier's acidic structure. Racking is carried out by gravity. Bottling takes place without filtration or added sulphur. Production volumes remain extremely limited.

The 2018 vintage

The 2018 vintage offered a particularly favourable growing cycle. A rainy winter thoroughly recharged the underground water table, building a precious reserve for the months ahead. Budbreak came early in spring, and the June flowering took place under clear skies. Summer settled in warm and dry, reducing disease pressure to near zero.

On the clay-limestone soils of Vandières, the clay gradually released the water accumulated over winter, preserving the vines' hydric balance. The Pinot Meunier ripened under continuous sunshine, while cool nights maintained a natural acidity. Harvest began in late August. The bunches displayed significant sugar concentration and an impeccable health status. The wine captures the solar warmth of this vintage while retaining a persistent tension.

Tasting notes

• Appearance

  The colour of this still wine reveals a pale gold hue.

• Nose

  On the nose, aromas of ripe apple come through clearly. Citrus notes add a lively, fruity touch. With aeration, complex scents of wet stone emerge. The time in barrel adds a subtle brioche nuance.

• Palate

  On the palate, the attack is straight and direct. The silky texture envelops the mouth with elegance. Salinity draws out the finish with persistence. The length on the palate exceeds ten caudalies.

Food pairing suggestions

Aperitif bites

• Marennes oysters
• Raw scallops
• Sea bream tartare

Main courses

• Pan-fried veal sweetbreads
• Roasted line-caught sea bass
• Bresse chicken

Cheese and Desserts

• Aged Chaource
• Fresh ash-coated goat's cheese
• Beaufort d'alpage

The Plus de Bulles expert's opinion

Serving & storage advice

How to store this still wine?

Plus de Bulles ships this bottle (75 cl) in reinforced packaging specially designed for transporting champagne. Upon receipt, we recommend storing the bottle on its side, away from light. Ideally in a cellar, or at the very least in a cool, not too dry place with a relatively stable temperature.

Ageing potential

The natural acidity of the Nowack Blanc Fontinette 2018 ensures a long evolution in the cellar. This cuvée has a cellaring potential of 15 years, taking it through to around 2033.

• Until 2028: the wine unfolds its aromas of crisp white fruits — apple, pear — against a vivid mineral backdrop.
• From 2029: tertiary notes of undergrowth and mushroom begin to emerge, and the texture gains in breadth.
• Around 2033: the colour deepens and honeyed, spiced notes develop, marking the cuvée's peak.

Serving suggestions

Serve at a temperature of 11 °C. Use a Burgundy-style wine glass: the wide rim encourages oxygenation. A thirty-minute aeration is recommended before serving.

A note on this cuvée

The Champagne vineyards originally produced still wines, long before sparkling wine rose to prominence. King Henri IV was particularly fond of these local productions. The Coteaux Champenois AOC keeps this historic tradition alive today. The Fontinette cuvée reconnects with this past by showcasing the potential of Meunier on this singular terroir, in very limited volumes. This wine finds a direct echo in the sparkling version of this single-vineyard cuvée: the wine lover can thus compare the Vandières terroir with and without bubbles.

Also worth discovering: a vintage champagne from the Marne.