Jérôme Coessens handcrafts stunningly individual Pinot Noirs (Champagne, of course, but also red wines) from one single vineyard, Largillier, a 3.5-hectare plot in Ville-sur-Arce, Côte des Bar, which is located on calcareous clay, Kimmeridgian soils structured with a high content of limestone. Jérôme identifies four sections of the different textures in the soil, enabling him to create a range of diverse styles and flavours within the lieu-dit Largillier.
The work in the vineyards is guided by two principles: to respect all living things and to intervene a little as possible. The wines are the fruit of a single village, Ville-sur-Arce, a single vineyard called Largillier belonging to the Coessens family, of a single varietal: Pinot Noir, of a single vintage (except for our solera wines) and of a single 'Burgundy-style' philosophy.
In 2011 the Coessens undertook a number of excavations in Largillier and discovered that the soil in this vineyard that is so dear to us, is a type called Kimmeridgian Marl No. 2. The soil, the sub soil and even the exposure, down to the very last detail, are exactly the same as in the very best areas of Chablis.
The soil is made up of alternate layers of clay which gives structure and body to the ‘attack’ on the palate, and layers of chalk from which the roots of the vines can draw their minerality which accounts for the long finish of the wines.
In more general terms, the soil in Largillier is a chalk and clay mix which is not very fertile and which restricts the energy and the development of the vines; as a result the grapes that are produced attain a high level of maturity with all the potential to make a great wine.
A close friend of Jerome Coessens, Guilluame Selosse (from Champagne Jacques Selosse), has vinified a wine called Guillaume S. (Champagne Extra Brut Largiller) with grapes from Coessen's vineyards. Needless to say, Guillaume's wines are now high in demand!
Jérôme Coessens handcrafts stunningly individual Pinot Noirs (Champagne, of course, but also red wines) from one single vineyard, Largillier, a 3.5-hectare plot in Ville-sur-Arce, Côte des Bar, which is located on calcareous clay, Kimmeridgian soils structured with a high content of limestone. Jérôme has identified four different sections of the different textures of the soil, enabling him to create a range of diverse styles and flavors. Namely, the NV Brut Nature (based on the 2013 harvest) is a beautifully round, highly finessed and elegant Côte des Bar with a long, intense and charming finish. The NV Caresse d'Automne Brut is from a perpetual reserve and represents a highly finessed and complex Largilier due to its lingering salinity and mineral tension. And the the 2014 Rouge Vendange Entière, which was fermented with whole clusters, is a really impressive (red) wine that needs a bit of time in the glass or in the cellar but is very promising.
Stephan Reinhardt - RobertParker.com
Champagne Coessens Brut Nature
WINE MAKING
- Selective harvesting of grapes at optimum maturity
- Malolactic fermentation always carried out
- Ageing on lees
- Only 2,000 bottles in selected years
- 7g/L fruit/flowers/22mths
From a single vineyard called Largillier; from a single varietal : Pinot Noir and from a single vintage.For this wine we use only grapes from the plot we call MINERAL. No dosage is added to this wine which is characterised by aromas of citrus fruit, chalk, and flintstone.
The mineral character of this wine is more pronounced due to the higher limestone content of the soil in this plot.
Bold on the attack (thanks to the clay in the KM2 soil) ; refreshing with marked minerality and a long finish (thanks to the limestone content of the KM2 soil).
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Magnificent as an aperitif and an excellent match for roast poultry and cheeses with soft rind such as Epoisse.
WINE MAKING
We create this rosé de saignée champagne only in years when the grapes reach perfect phenolic maturity and are in perfect condition. Vinification is carried out in the traditonal way which invloves crushing the grapes by foot. The grape skins can then release all their aromas, tannins and colour into the juice.
- Selective harvesting of grapes at optimum maturity
- Malolactic fermentation always carried out
- Ageing on lees
- Only 3,000 bottles produced in selected years
- 7g/L rich, indulgent, 19 mths.
Other notes:
Champagne Coessens Millesime 2015: 5g/L Substances/43mths
Champagne Coessens "les Sens Boises" 6g/L 5yr Burgundy Barrel, 26 mths
Champagne Coessens Exogyre "Solera" '2006-2014": 6g/L mineral/fruit/substance/50mths
As previously stated, all of Coessens's champagnes come from the lieu-dit of Largillier. All are made of pinot noir, exclusively from vines over 30 years old, and all come from a single year, with no reserve wine included in the blend. These are rich, full-bodied champagnes, demonstrating the bold ripeness and broad flavors of Côte des Bar pinot noir, but at the same time, they are marked by a powerful expression of Kimmeridgian soils, giving the wines a strongly saline, flinty intensity. "I'm looking for depth [of fruit]," says Coessens, "but this must also be balanced with minerality." The wines benefit significantly from ample post-disgorgement aging, and Coessens tries his best to keep them in the cellar as long as possible before release, although with such a tiny production, this is not always easy.
The Brut Nature is a fine introduction to the Coessens range, showing an expressive depth and an excellent balance for a non-dosé. It's a very different wine from the Blanc de Noirs, with the two sourced from separate sub-parcels within Largillier and released at radically different dosage levels. However, the Blanc de Noirs demonstrates an equally intense minerality, and its intelligently judged dosage brings out more completeness and complexity in the fruit.
The only one of Coessens's cuvées to see any wood is Les Sens Boisés, which is partially fermented in four-year-old Chablis barrels and kept in cask until May, just before bottling. Like all of Coessens's wines, it's made in small quantities: Coessens has just four barrels in his cellar, and makes only about 2,000 bottles of Les Sens Boisés each year.
Coessens makes a vintage-dated champagne as well, which is released as an extra brut. The first release is from 2006, and as expected, it shows a greater complexity and a more powerful structure than the estate's other wines. Finally, the rosé is a saignée of pinot noir, trod by foot and macerated on its skins to create a bright, pungently fruity champagne.
Tasting - Peter Liem
WINE MAKING
This wine is made with the help and advice of Yves CONFURON-COTETIDO. We only make our red coteaux Champenois still wines in years when the grapes reach perfect pheniolic maturity and are in perfect condition.
- Making this wine requires 20 days maceration of whole bunches
- Selective picking of grapes at perfect maturity
- Aged in 228 litre oak barrels for 21 months
- No filtration, no fining
- Malolactic fermentation always carried out
- Ageing on lees
- Only ~1000 bottles produced of the vintage
From a single vineyard called Largillier; from a single varietal : Pinot Noir and from a single vintage.
For this wine we use only one plot: SUBSTANCE.
An appealing first impression on the nose with aromas of strawberry, red berries and a well-integrated suggestion of oak that is also found on the palate. A powerful, energetic wine with all the breadth expected of Pinot.
Bold on the attack (thanks to the clay in the KM2 soil) ; refreshing with marked minerality and a long finish (thanks to the limestone content of the KM2 soil).
The Champagne Extra Brut Largiller by Guillaume Selosse is a Blanc de Noirs from 100% Pinot Noir Grapes harvested in the same-name parcel, owned by the friend and vigneron Jerome Coessens. Cossens is locaed in Ville-sur-Arce in Cote de Bar.
This Champagne is a blending usually two different vintages, both vinified in "tonneaux", at least for 36 months on their own yeast resulting in an Extra Brut dosage of less than 2 g/L for this deep and elegant Blanc de Noirs. First limited edition production of only 3500 bottles.
