Domaine Nowack

We love finding these producers that do just one thing differently, one thing that sets them apart. Flavien Nowack, the eighth generation of his family to helm the domaine, has ten hectares of vines over 35 plots; the difference? Where's the chalk??

In Vandières, Flavien's vineyards are mainly sand & clay. I think about another of our favorite producers, Chartogne-Taillet in Merfy - an hour away from Nowack - where a variety of sands and a surprising lack of chalk helps sculpt wines of a nature that is wildly complex, similar to Flavien's own. For nearly a decade now, the entire estate has been organically farmed, and he's imbued a lush, healthy feel to all of the vineyards with some reforestation & encouraged biodiversity, which in turn spurs a real sense of life in the wines. 

He's not dogmatic in the cellar, but generally all of the base wines are vinified in oak, and little is added; a relative absence of sulfur means his wines do go through malo-lactic conversion (not super common in Champagne), and all fermentations are allowed to occur naturally with ambient yeasts; in the occurrence that it doesn't start quickly enough, Flavien has managed to isolate his native yeast strain, and that is used for inoculation. Beyond that, he allows a touch of sugar to remain in the finished wines (not dosage, but instead not fermented completely dry), much like salt to fine cuisine, as he feels it frames the juicy flavors brilliantly; usually his wines will enjoy 3-5 years sur lie, as well, which provides a great balance to those lush flavors. 

Flavien has started to. create cuvees from villages outside of his own, his endless curiosity another arrow in his quiver. As the quality of his wines has fascinated us for years already, we're pretty huge fans of anyone who does things differently, as long as the intention is as strong and pure as Flavien's.