Goutorbe-Bouillot “Noir Coteaux” is a new grower Champagne find from the Vallée de la Marne village of Damery, made by a small family estate whose roots in Champagne go back to the 1700s and that began bottling under its own name in the early 1900s after the Goutorbe and Bouillot families united. The domaine farms roughly 8 hectares across dozens of small parcels on clay and limestone hillsides, and this cuvée is deliberately Pinot Noir–driven (about 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay) to deliver a more vinous, hillside-structured Brut. This is also a blend of the current base year with a perpetual reserve that was started in 2000, giving extra depth and consistency without losing freshness. Malolactic is blocked to keep tension, and the wine ages about three years on the lees, and it’s finished at a classic Brut dosage around 8 g/L, giving excellent texture and breadth with a clean, mineral finish. This is a rare find and a great buy for the category, not to miss!

 

Jeb Dunnuck (Audrey Fick) 92 pts! The NV Champagne Noir Coteaux Brut is pure and inviting with ripe boysenberry liqueur, purple flowers, and wet asphalt. On the palate, it is dry and savory, with fantastic saline minerality and grapefruit zest. This is a wonderful wine in the range to drink over the next 10-15 years. (Drink between 2022 - 2037)