Brocard Champagne Saignée de la Côte Extra Brut 2014

Côte des Bar is Champagne’s southernmost subregion and was once considered part of Burgundy, a fact that informs its winemaking and gastronomic culture to this day. Thibaud Brocard is the fifth-generation to work his family’s estate of 6.5 hectares divided among 11 unique parcels, but otherwise he eschews tradition by making mostly single varietal vintage champagnes that get extensive lees aging and minimal sulfites, while also converting the estate to organic viticulture since 2012. The estate lies mostly on limestone soils.

Saignée de la Côte is made from 100% Pinot Noir, harvested in 2014 from the Frillon vineyard, which was planted in 1962, on Kimmeridgian and Portlandian limestone and clay soils, located in a valley surrounded by forests with good ventilation. It is a lush, old school Rosé Champagne that drinks almost like a light red with hibiscus on the nose leading into bright berries, earthy, brioche-y undercurrents, and deep minerality.