Description & elaboration
The Coteaux Champenois Rouge 2017 cuvée from Nowack is a still red wine. Made from 100% Meunier, it reveals notes of cherry and spice, reflecting a gentle whole-cluster maceration. On the palate, the texture is supple, carried through to a chalky, salivating finish. Flavien Nowack deliberately limits production to a handful of barrels, making this cuvée a rare and sincere edition.
The Terroir
The village of Vandières, in the Vallée de la Marne, benefits from slopes exposed to the sun from dawn. The vines are farmed using Organic Agriculture. Flavien Nowack also follows the principles of biodynamics, encouraging deep root development below the cultivated horizon.
The subsoil alternates between marl and chalk. The clay-limestone layers retain the minerals essential to the vine, while Meunier thrives particularly well here. The local microclimate slows the vegetative cycle at the end of the season.
The clay stores water from summer rains; the chalk, meanwhile, drains August storms rapidly. The calcareous substrate leaves its signature on the finish as a fine saline edge.
Winemaking
The grapes macerate as whole clusters for three weeks, gradually releasing colour and structure. Fermentation is triggered by indigenous yeasts (yeasts naturally present on the grapes, with no external addition).
Ageing takes place in oak barrels for twelve months. The older wood provides gentle micro-oxygenation without any vanilla character, softening the tannic backbone of the Meunier. The wine then rests on its fine lees until spring.
Also worth discovering: Blanc de Noirs.
The 2017 vintage
The year 2017 began with two weeks of frost in April, destroying many buds across the Vandières area. The vegetative cycle resumed with a three-week delay, before summer temperatures quickly surpassed the ten-year averages.
July proved particularly dry for the Meunier. Stormy rainfall hit the vineyard at the end of August.
The 2017 harvest yielded a taut wine. The natural acidity stretches the finish over several seconds, a nervous thread that barrel ageing works to balance.
Tasting Notes
Colour
The robe displays a light ruby red hue, enlivened by tawny reflections at the rim of the disc.
Nose
The first nose opens on aromas of fresh cherry, blackberry and morello cherry. With aeration, notes of pepper and aged leather emerge.
Palate
The attack is supple, carried by melted tannins that coat the palate with a gentle grip. Notes of cinnamon punctuate the mid-palate.
Food Pairing Suggestions
- Wild boar terrine
- Comté gougères
- Chicken rillettes
- Oven-roasted pigeon
- Pâté en croûte
- Pork tenderloin
- Aged Brie de Meaux
- Raw-milk Chaource
- Blueberry tart
The Plus de Bulles Expert's View
Why I love it
This red won me over with its vibrant fruit, evoking Burlat cherry and wild berries. I love its infused texture, supported by a mineral tension and silky tannins that deliver a finish of great elegance.
My recommendation
Serve it at 10–12 °C in a wine glass to release its full brilliance. It pairs beautifully with Bresse poultry or a selection of fine charcuterie.
Advice
How to store this wine?
Plus de Bulles ships this bottle (75 cl) in reinforced cartons specially designed for wine transport. After delivery, store the bottle on its side, away from light. Ideally in a cellar; if not, in a cool, not too dry place at a stable temperature.
Ageing potential
The COTEAUX CHAMPENOIS ROUGE 2017 from Nowack rests on a structuring acidic backbone. This bottle will evolve serenely over a decade in the cellar.
- Until 2027: the cuvée will deliver notes of cherry and white pepper.
- From 2028: the wine will shift towards woodland and undergrowth aromas.
- Around 2029: the tannins will reveal a profile of macerated dark fruits.
Serving suggestions
This cuvée is best enjoyed at a temperature of 10–12 °C. A Pinot Noir glass encourages the full aromatic expression of the Meunier. A thirty-minute decanting disperses the slight reduction on opening and relaxes the structure of the vintage.
An anecdote about this cuvée
The expertise of Nowack is concentrated here in a distinctly parcel-driven approach. The Meunier benefits from a winemaking style traditionally reserved for Burgundian crus. Only a few old barrels are selected for ageing, limiting distribution to a few hundred bottles.
Through its winemaking and aromatic profile, this cuvée is not unlike this vintage coteaux champenois rouge.
Also worth discovering: Meunier Rouge - Le Rû Bailly 2021.
