Fabian Daviaux has redefined the concept of a co-op as his numerous growers have committed to his preferred biodyamic viticulture, in turn creating beautifully pure, ripe and delicious Champagnes. What's more, with strong vineyard work comes the need for little - if any - sulfur addition, and most of his wines are never sulfured at all. In the winery, the grapes are allowed to ferment naturally in stainless steel tanks after pressing, with only the Coteaux Champenois Blanc and the Saignée Rosé seeing time in barrel. The rest of the range is crafted to be immediately enjoyable, with incredible freshness and purity of fruit.

Chavost

In Champagne, there is a big generational shift similar to Burgundy. The new generation is taking their families’ domaines and making drastic changes. Being the avid Champagne lovers we are, we couldn’t be more excited.

Fabian from Champagne Chavost is one of those generational movers. He is making quite a splash in defining the idea of a grower, negociant and/or co-op. The trend in recent years has been to look for the term RM, or focus on growers, but this is evolving. Buying land in champagne isn’t easy. Young winemakers are looking for other ways to follow their dreams; buying grapes from growers they trust and operating under negoce is a very suitable option. For example, Fabian still operates under his family’s co-op. Fabian sits on the board of their 5ha co-op and made the decision to declare, “We are going organic”. Albeit aggressive, it was the only way to sway them into organic farming and show that it is the way of the future. Fabian took the time to invest in sharing his goals and passion with members through a series of tastings and educational conversations. This approach has worked quite well. They have gotten a nice portion of their growers to farm organically since 2016. These grapes have since been included in the new wines of Champagne Chavost.

It is Fabian’s goal to add nothing to his wines. He currently adds no sulfur at bottling (a feat quite rare in Champagne). After tasting the wines, we clearly see why. The wines are pure, transparent and easy to drink. In his arsenal, he makes a series of “glu glu” champagnes and wines that are fully no addition. The wines that are sans soufre are the Rose de Saignee, Coteaux Champenois, and the cuvee Eurêka.

Champagne Chavost is located in Chavot-Courcourt. It is an interesting place in Champagne; technically, the village is part of the Coteaux-sud d’ Epernay which acts as a continuation to the Côte de Blancs. When you stand at the top of the vineyard you understand why you are a bit unsure of where you are - you are in the center of Champagne. To your right, the Côte de Blancs, straight ahead is the Montagne de Reims just over the mountainside, towards the left and continuing further you see the Vallee de la Marne. The top of the vineyards are full of limestone moving to more chalk mid slope.

His “Glu Glu” Champagnes are 'made' in the vineyard using organic farming and spontaneous yeasts. Starting fermentation is usually done by gravity. Never seeing any barrel, the wines are drinkable, pure, and all about freshness.

FERMENTATION

Spontaneous yeasts

Temperature controlled to preserve the indigenous yeasts

AGING

4 months in stainless steel tank

At least 20 months in bottle - No sulfur at bottling - ever!

Though Etienne Bodet’s “Clos Durandiere” is a relatively new undertaking, with its first bottling in 2020, the project has plenty of excitement. It may partly be due to Etienne’s immense expertise, having trained under icons of French non-interventionist viticulture, or from his “full-time job” as the winemaker of Clos Rougeard. This knowledge guides Etienne to craft an elegant and savory Cabernet Franc from the 1.3 Clos de la Durandiere vineyard in his native village of Montreuil-Bellay.

Etienne Bodet

Etienne Bodet is a Samur native, and his family owns a domaine in Montreui sur Bellay. He honed his understanding of viticulture by training with Sylvain Pataille, Aurelien Gerbais, Bernard Baudry, Francois Dal, and Roman Guiberteau (also his stepfather). Etienne is also currently one of the winemakers at Clos Rougeard.

In 2015, Etienne received the 1.4 ha of Cabernet Franc planted in Clos Durandiere as a wedding present. This is the only vineyard planted on hard Jurassic limestone in Samur, whereas the remaining vineyards are on soft Cretaceous limestone, also known as tuffeau.

Etienne focuses on softening Cabernet Franc’s tannins through maceration with low levels of extraction, low SO2, extended elevage, and seasonal temperature variations in his cellar.

Etienne farms organically and biodynamically and will pursue certification. Uncommonly for Samur, Etienne utilizes up to 35% of whole clusters in his fermentation. He vinifies without SO2 additions and only ads 20 ppm in total. Macerations last 26-28 days without any punchdowns or pumpovers.

Coudert and their Clos de la Roilette lieu-dit in Fleurie is likely one of the best Beaujolais producers you have never heard of. In a region that is finally getting some recognition for fine wines, Alain Coudert's wines have flown under the radar, but that is a damn shame. This producer, with clay and manganese soils in Fleurie (as well as vineyards in Brouilly and Moulin a Vent), not only represents a Beaujolais with such structure that it can age like a fine Burgundy but is also an insane value for the price even in a relatively competitive price-market of Beaujolais.

Coudert

The Clos de la Roilette, a lieu-dit in the village of Fleurie, covers nine hectares of one of the best slopes in the Beaujolais Crus. The clos has an eastern exposure that borders the Moulin-à-Vent appellation and produces beautiful wines when young. They can be aged 5-10 years, depending on the year.

In the 1920s, when the Fleurie appellation was first formulated, the former landowner was infuriated with losing the Moulin-à-Vent appellation, under which the clos had previously been classified. He created a label using a photograph of his racehorse Roilette and used “Clos de la Roilette” without mentioning Fleurie.

The owner vowed not to sell a single bottle of his wine in France, and the production went to Switzerland, Germany, and England. By the mid-1960s, the owner’s heirs had lost interest in the vineyard, and a large portion of the land had become unkempt. In 1967, Fernand Coudert bought this poorly maintained estate and replanted the vineyards. His son Alain joined him in 1984 and has been the winemaker since.

With the 1998 vintage, the Couderts introduced a new wine, "Cuvée Christal" (recently renamed "Cuvée Christie"), which is lighter and meant to drink younger. A few years later, they started a selection of old vines cuvée. They call this "Cuvée Tardive," meaning it needs more aging time and has even greater longevity than the regular Fleurie cuvée.

Finally, the most recent addition is a wine called "La Griffe du Marquis", made from the same old vines that produce "Cuvée Tardive" but vinified and aged exclusively in Burgundian barrels. The name, meaning the signature of the Marquis, is tongue in cheek, as Alain’s parents were not descendants of royalty but were often referred to by the titles of Marquis and Marquise in their village.