Domaine Nowack "L'Arpent Rouge" Extra Brut Champagne 2020

Importer's Notes

(2/2025) 60% Meunier, 40% Chardonnay. The single-vineyard cuvée ‘Arpents Rouges’ is one of Nowack’s more progressive cuvées, where pushes the boundaries of his own winemaking; vinification is done entirely in small barrels with a combination of spontaneous yeasts and selected yeasts from a friend or two in the Jura (transported in lees like a mother). The vineyard site is planted at the bottom of the Vandières slope, hence the bolded ‘Bas-côteau’ on the label. Vines are between 70-80 years of age. Soils are heavier clay on top of grès, a specific sort of limestone you’ll see in the Jura and Alsace. Nowack takes a particular interest in this site, as he mentions it’s very difficult for the vines to grow here with all the stones; berries on the vines are always tiny. Historically the vineyard was used to produce still red wine, hence Les Arpents Rouge. In this release, all fruit is from harvest 2020; RS 7 g/L. The base wine is unfined, unfiltered, and unsulfured; secondary fermentation is triggered with natural grape must. Aging is done in small oak barrels. An extraordinary wine, uncommon in Champagne: nose and palate with red and golden fruit tones, lots of power, and enduring salinity. Echoes of red wine here are amply clear.