Working with just over two hectares of vines in the Côte des Bar, the southerly subsection of Champagne, Dominique Moreau epitomizes the ‘vigneron-as-gardener’ ethos behind the greatest natural wines. Moreau only released her first Champagnes in 2006, and yet, in an appellation not only dense with competition but steeped in history, her star has been steadily ascendant.
Alongside small-scale contemporaries such as Cédric Bouchard and Vouette & Sorbée, Moreau and her Marie-Courtin Champagnes—so named for her great-grandmother, whom she describes as being “one with the earth”—are emblematic of a “vineyard-first” approach to Champagne wine. This bottling, called “Efflorescence,” is an opulent expression of ripe, meticulously hand-farmed Pinot Noir, from a producer who eschews the addition of dosage (the corrective dose of sugar used by most Champagne houses) to her finished wines. And although it doesn’t say so, this wine is the product of the 2012 vintage, and delivers a mixture of creaminess, depth, and mature/maturing ‘secondary’ notes that is unheard-of at this price point.
With warmer temperatures, a Chablis-like terroir, and southeast-facing vineyards on sloping hills, many growers have flocked down from Champagne’s epicenter to the Aube, the region to which the Côte des Bar belongs. Just 16 years ago, in the soporific town of Polisot, Moreau started leasing a third of a small vineyard her father-in-law cultivated in the early 1970s. She has increased her ownership to the above-mentioned 2.5 hectares, while her husband, Roland Piollot, makes a wonderful Champagne of his own with the remaining piece. Unlike others, her biodynamic approach has been less idealistic and more hands-on. She endures back-breaking work in the vineyard in order to achieve a perfect harmony with nature.
While most of the soil in Côte des Bar is similar to nearby Chablis (limestone-rich Kimmeridgian), “Efflorescence” comes from the clay-dominated lower hill of her six-acre parcel, which she believes produces the most age-worthy and powerful Pinot Noir. Her vines are roughly 35-40 years old and, come harvest time, yields are kept incredibly low (she could be picking almost twice the amount of grapes!). In the winery, intervention is minimal. Yeasts were grown herself in 2003, a traditional Coquard basket press is used for pressing, and neutral Burgundian oak is implemented for vinification and fine lees aging. After three additional years of resting in bottle, the final product is sent off without fining, filtration, or added sugar—but you would never guess it. When you experience the texture of this wine, it’s hard to believe that no dosage was added. (Moreau labels the wine Extra Brut, which is drier than Brut but indicates a trace amount of residual sugar, but it is derived from the ripeness of the fruit in the base wine, not from dosage).
“Efflorescence” is a great name for an artisanal grower Champagne such as this: The word refers not only to a white, powdery deposit that forms on rocks and soil, but to a “bloom,” or blooming—not just of a flower but of a person’s intellectual/artistic capacities. This 2012 from Marie-Courtin delivers on that promise, even more forcefully than the 2010 did. We got this update from the wine’s West Coast importer, Nadia Dmytriw:
“2012 is a very strong vintage and Dominique told me she feels it’s the best vintage she’s worked with for Efflorescence and believes it is the most ageworthy vintage she’s made. In fact, for that reason, it is the first vintage that she has bottled large format (Magnums & Jeroboams). I had been asking her to bottle Magnums for quite some time and her reply was always along the lines of “when there is a sufficiently strong vintage to justify it and support it, I will.” That vintage is 2012. Also, of note, I have never had a vintage of Efflorescence that has shown so well so young. The wine arrived in California in fall 2016 and it was delicious right out the gate, showed its power, finesse, ripeness of fruit and minerality without any imbalance. Whereas every other vintage of Efflorescence we’ve had since the 2008 vintage has needed about 6 months from arrival to settle down and come together.”
In the glass, it’s a brilliant gold-yellow in the glass with flits of copper. A bright nose of citrus blossoms, apple skin and white peach starts it off, but upon feeling the richness and weight of this wine it’s clear it can stand boldly alongside the Pinot-driven powerhouses up north in Reims and Epernay. The wine is round and fleshy, yet reveals a softness due to the fruit’s ripeness and carefully calibrated oxygen exposure from old Burgundian barrels. The palate delivers red currant, white cherry, ripe apricot, yellow flowers and plum, but if you have the patience to allow the wine to open up for 30 minutes, better things will come. As the carbon dioxide slowly dissipates, the vinous side of the wine emerges: savory notes of beeswax and chamomile; shortbread; cream; and almond butter. The wine will continue to evolve over the next decade-plus, developing more savory notes as time moves forward. Let it come up to around 50 degrees and drink in an all-purpose white wine stem, or even a red wine stem. Pair it with something suitably bold, maybe an oilier type of fish like mackerel as prepared in the attached recipe. The textures and flavors are well-matched, I think. Enjoy!
