Stéphane Coquillette 'L’Entrecoeur' Premier Cru Champagne

Stéphane Coquillette is a fourth-generation grower in Chouilly, in the Côte de Blancs. His father ran the family estate for 70 years and encouraged Stéphane to start his own when he was just 25. Stéphane wanted fresher, drier Champagnes. He wanted to farm without herbicides and do everything by hand. He works more than ten different parcels and produces single-vineyard and single-vintage Champagnes, which is still a rarity in this region. You can guess that everything is small production.

L'Entrecoeur is a blend of Grand Cru and Premier Cru. 65% Pinot Noir from Aÿ, 35% Chardonnay from Chouilly. Dosage is low, 5 grams per litre, and he does not use any reserve wines (reserve wines in Champagne are still wines from previous harvests, stored and held back to be blended into new non-vintage Champagnes!) But every bottle here comes from a single vintage, even though it doesn't say so on the label, because they don't rest on lees for the mandatory three years. Rules are rules, but Stéphane has his own way of doing things.

The wine itself is elegant and light, with an extremely fine bead. Delicate. Pretty. It's what I want to drink when I've actually taken the time to set the table with napkins, when I've spent one or two days cooking in advance for a very special group of friends.