Vouette et Sorbée Textures (champagne)

Vouette et Sorbée Textures

Pinot Blanc

Champagne, France

“Following advice from Croatian and Italian friends, Bertrand decided to experiment skin-maceration vinifying in a buried Georgian qvevri (pinot blanc) and a couple of Italian dolia (chardonnay). This pinot blanc is planted on a deep limestone-rich clay, an extremely qualitative plot owned by his brother. The ten months long maceration in qvevri enhance flavours from a rather discreet variety, as well as creating a savoury, voluptuous and multi-layered mouthfeel.

The jovial and outspoken Bertrand Gautherot is a vigneron at heart. He started back in 1986 tending his family’s vines in Buxières-Sur-Arce, on Jurassic limestone hillsides nearer to Chablis than Reims, selling grapes to Champagne houses. A deep respect for his terroir and concern for his young family triggered a conversion to biodynamic farming (Demeter certified as early as 1998) leading the way to sustainable viticulture in the Côte des Bar and the Aube region as a whole - a long-lasting inspiration for the younger generations of local growers.

Meticulous viticulture has been practised for more than two decades, yields are tiny, grapes are pressed by an old traditional wooden Coquard press, the wine isn’t pumped or fined and filtered, low SO2 is added at press only, ageing occurs in new to 8yo barrels (fûts for pinot noir and 500/600ltr barrels for chardonnay), and all his champagnes benefit from a couple of years bottle age after being disgorged without dosage.

Bertrand also likes to point out that all the operations in the cave are carried out by people who work in the vines – definitely not the golden rule in the region!” -Vine Trail