Champagne Stephane Coquillette Carte d'Or 1er Cru NV
Champagne, France
$50.00
In stock
SKU
CV-STECOCHCDO
The latest release of Stéphane Coquillette's NV Brut Premier Cru Carte d'Or is showing beautifully, wafting from the glass with a complex bouquet of crisp yellow orchard fruit, lemon oil, dried white flowers and a delicate hint of praline. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, with a fleshy but youthfully tight-knit core of fruit, ripe but racy acids, a pinpoint mousse and a long, intense finish. Elegant and classy.
Stéphane Coquillette is a fourth-generation winemaker in Champagne. His father, Christian, has been running the Saint Chamant Champagne house since 1950, and he lovingly sent his son out to start his own estate when Stéphane was 25. Though mentored by his father, Stéphane developed a very different style of expression at his own house, creating leaner, drier Champagnes, primarily from Chouilly (Grand Cru), Cuis (1er Cru 99%) for Chardonnay, and d'Aÿ (Grand Cru) and Mareuil/Aÿ (1er Cru 99%) for Pinot Noir. Meticulously committed to organic practices, Stéphane avoids herbicides at all costs. Everything is done by hand, including trellising and pruning, which helps avoid disease and allows for a healthy crop. With more than 10 different parcels, he produces several single-vintage and single-vineyard Champagnes - a rarity in this region - and all his wines are smallproduction. Stéphane Coquillette Champagnes are characteristically precise, fresh and lively.
VITICULTURE & VINIFICATION
Grape Variety: 2/3 Pinot Noir, 1/3 Chardonnay
Soil: Limestone on top of 10 inches of arable earth and directly on the mother rock made of chalk descending for tens of meters
Farming: Organic
Vineyards & Viticulture: A blend of pinot noir from Aÿ and Mareuil/Aÿ and chardonnay from Chouilly and Cuis. The vineyards are worked in part by plough and then the ground is covered with bark in order to stop erosion and prevent weeds from sprouting.
Harvest & Vinification: Grapes are slowly pressed, and the wine undergoes malolactic and ages in stainless steel tanks.