Roland Piollot and Dominique Moreau are serious winemakers who are just as serious about the quality of the soil in which their vines grow – they each have their own vineyards and make their own Champagne but help and advise each other.
Roland assiduously attends to his long mounds of organic compost (see photo below) that he prepares with care for application to his vineyard. The vineyard is being converted to biodynamic practices therefore no chemicals are used, no chemical fertilisers are used and no herbicides are used.
Working with his wife Dominique their compost recipe involves starting with the left overs from the press after harvest then adding manure in January, followed by a biodynamic preparation towards the end of winter. Everything in the compost comes from within 12 kilometres of Polisot, including straw and sawdust.
Roland explains that unlike chemical fertilisers, once applied, their home-made slowly-matured compost “brings what the vineyard needs but slowly”. It make more even growth, not a quick burst and they also like the assurance of knowing exactly what we are putting in the vineyards. He also thinks that the vines like the warmth that comes from the compost.
His vineyard is a special place with sweeping views across the valley in which his home village of Polisot nestles. Here ducks swim contentedly in the tranquil upper reaches of the Seine River and vegetable gardens line its banks. It is an idyllic location. The nearest major town is the ancient city of Troyes.
Dominique has a smaller vineyard than Roland therefore her wines are produced in smaller quantities. She does, however, farm using the same biodynamic practices. This ensures the quality of the fruit is exceptional and we are delighted to be able to offer two of her Champagnes for sale in limited quantities. Dominique is certified as organic and biodynamic by Ecocert and Demeter.
Dominique and Roland also etch the lot numbers of each wine on the bottom of the bottles. You will be able to see a number etched into the glass such as LR15D1117. The letter L stands for “lot”, the R stands for “Réserve”, 15 stands for 2015 which is the vintage of the wine and D stands for the date of disgorgement which in this example was “1117” which means that the wine was disgorged in November 2017.
If you quickly want to see what wines from Roland and Dominique we currently have in stock you can click here to go directly to our “Buy Natural Wines” page.
Piollot Champagne Côte des Bar Cuvée de Réserve Brut
When we first tasted this elegant Piollot Champagne we remarked on its beautiful light golden colour, the citrus aromas and the silky freshness on the palate and very good length. This is partly due to the excellent Kimmeridgean limestone soils where the vines flourish and then the expert wine making techniques that Roland and Dominique exercise.
The base wine is made from direct press Pinot Noir (70%) and Chardonnay (30%) providing additional richness. The bottles were disgorged in July 2023.
We should add here that the more we experience wines that have been carefully made from direct press red grapes the more we are with the texture of such wines.
This is an ideal aperitif and represent amazing value at this price.
This wine is certified organic through CERTIPAQ FR-BIO-09.
RRP: $112
Piollot Champagne Côte des Bar Cuvée Come des Tallants 2019
The Come des Tallants is an exciting cuvée from Roland Piollot that represents a step-up in quality in a range that is already very, very good. The parcel of land called Come des Tallants is less than one hectare on a hill behind the town of Polisot that has direct southern exposure and scree slopes of Upper Jurassic chalky marls.
This champagne is a classic “Blanc de Noir” – a white Champagne made from a red grape variety, namely 100% Pinot Noir picked from 40 year old vines. This Champagne has small but persistent bubbles, a beautiful golden hue, a bracing freshness, and great length that you would be lucky to find in wines of twice the price. It also reflects the care taken with the health of the soil, displaying intense minerality and depth of fruit flavour.
It is a perfect aperitif wine that can be used to break the ice at the beginning of the evening but it also pairs very nicely with a range of foods, especially rich seafood dishes such as crab and lobster.
Matched with smart new labels and the fact that there is not any added sugar in the wine (zero dosage), we have here the perfect wine for a celebration at an amazingly good price. The wine was disgorged in February 2023.
Chambers Street Wines in New York are big fans of Roland’s wines. They say of this release:
“The palate is finely chiseled with a nervy minerality, buoyed by a weighty concentration and a full aromatic range of wild flowers, which continues through to a finely pointed finish. A fantastic effort and Champagne from Roland Piollot! “
This wine is certified organic through CERTIPAQ FR-BIO-09.
RRP: $134 (SOLD OUT)
Piollot Champagne Côte des Bar Cuvée Champs Rayés Brut Nature 2018
The Champs Rayés is another new cuvée from Roland Piollot and is the finest Champagne from that estate. The Champs Rayés cuvee comes from an area known as Noé les Mallets where Roland has two plots of vines “Champs Rayés” and “Derrière le Bois” planted entirely to massale selection Chardonnay and both of which have clay, marl and limestone soils.
The resulting Champagne is a fine, elegant and rich wine of incredible finesse.
By the way, the Champs Rayés vineyard gets its name (striped field) from the two different types of marl rocks found in this area.
Notice that this Champagne bears the term Brut Nature on the label. This can only appear in wines that have had no sugar added at any time during the maturation of the wine. The wine has neither been fined or filtered.
As with the Come des Tallants, this wine sports a new label. It was disgorged in February 2023 after spending around four years on lees.
This wine is certified organic through CERTIPAQ FR-BIO-09.
RRP: $115 (SOLD OUT)
Piollot Champagne Côte des Bar Extra Brut Pinot Blanc Cuvée Colas Robin 2017
This is a special new cuvee for Roland Piollot made entirely from Pinot Blanc grown on his estate. The vines thrive on the slopes near the village of Polisot overlooking the upper reaches of the Seine River.
The Colas Robin vineyard was planted entirely to Pinot Blanc (with a little of the very rare Arbane as well) by the Piollot family in 1955 using selection massale rather than clonal varieties, meaning that the vines are an incredible 66 years old.
The vineyard is one of the best in Roland’s care. It has wonderful southern exposure so the grapes ripen easily and the soil is based on limestone with a mix of red clay which provides the minerality that is so obvious in this very special wine. Approximately 80% of the juice was transferred to tank and the rest to oak barrels on lees for 5 years.
This is a very elegant, savoury wine with lots of fresh fruit aromas and lovely, balanced acidity. It has a very fine bead and you also notice the light golden colour. There is a complexity in both the aroma and the flavour with lots spice and citrus notes and the intense minerality that we mentioned above.
It is very rare to find a Champagne made exclusively from the Pinot Blanc grape, however once you taste it you will wonder why more producers don’t do it!.
The wine was disgorged in February 2023.
This wine is certified organic through CERTIPAQ FR-BIO-09.
RRP: $145 (SOLD OUT)
Piollot Champagne Côte des Bar Les Protelles 2019
The Les Protelles is an exciting new cuvée from Roland that is a Rosé de saignée (meaning that it is a rosé that has gained the pink colour through a short, 3 day maceration which was enough time to extract colour from the skins to produce the vibrant pink colour of this wine). It is made entirely from Pinot Noir.
The juice was transferred to a tank for the fermentation (both the alcoholic fermentation and the malolactic fermentation) prior to bottling.
It spent two years on lees before being disgorged in November 2022. After disgorgement 3 grams per litre of dosage was added to create an Extra Brut wine.
The Les Protelles vineyard has a beautiful southern exposure that ensures the grapes ripen well. The age of the vines is a minimum of 45 years.
Roland recommends drinking this Champagne with a chocolate dessert and we don’t think too many people would disagree with the concept!!
This wine is certified organic through CERTIPAQ FR-BIO-09.
RRP: $150 (SOLD OUT)
Piollot Champagne Côte des Bar Cuvée Chevry 2019
This is an amazing Champagne that really shows off the benefit of two important parts of the Champagne-making processes. The first is the benefits that accrue when the wine is allowed to age gracefully on lees for a long period of time. This wine is from grapes harvested from the 2019 vintage and it has only just been released.
The second positive about this wine is that two out of the three grape varieties were red (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) that were direct pressed to produce white juice. We find that this process provides a more interesting texture than just direct pressing white grapes and here the combination of the three most popular Champagne grapes works very well indeed.
As mentioned above, the Roland Piollot Cuvée Chevry is a blend of the three main Champagne grape varieties, namely Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
The wine was made in 2019 and the bottles were disgorged in March 2023.
This wine is certified organic through CERTIPAQ FR-BIO-09.
RRP: $154
Piollot Champagne Côte des Bar MePetit 2018
This cuvée from Roland Piollot is made entirely from Pinot Meunier, but has been direct pressed so that the juice is white and hence is named as a Blanc de Noir (white from black).
This term has been designed to signify that the wine has been made from red grapes (even though the juice is red, the colour of the grapes is often closer to black, viz Pinot Noir). Similarly, the term Blanc de Blanc indicates that it is a white wine made from white grapes.
The grapes for this cuvee were sourced from the MePetit vineyard which faces south-east and hence has good exposure. The soil is clay made from calcareous rocks (limestone which is quite common in this area) which provide good minerality for the wine.
Note: When we talk about minerality we do not imply that minerals from the soil are transported into the grapes, however with biodynamic and organic soils there is a myriad of life such as bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi which can break down components of the soil into salts and other compounds and pass these through to the vines.
The wine was aged for nearly 3 years on lees and then bottled with no dosage and no residual sugar, hence it can display Brut Nature on the label. The wine was disgorged in March 2023.
This wine is certified organic through CERTIPAQ FR-BIO-09.
RRP: $165 (SOLD OUT)
Piollot Champagne Côte des Bar Les Gravelées Rosé 2013
It is back!!! This stunning rosé Champagne sold out very quickly in the previous shipment, but we have been able to secure another small allocation.
The Côte des Bar region of Champagne is slowly emerging as an area capable of producing some of the finest wines, due to the mild climate and excellent terroir which consists of marl and Kimméridgian limestone.
Les Gravelées Rosé is testimony to the search for quality in this region. It is a “rosé de maceration”. The grapes (only Pinot Noir is used) are first crushed by foot and the grapes then macerate for up to two days before the juice which, by this time, has developed cherry, strawberry and raspberry overtones is taken out of the tank. However there is more! This wine has had no sulphites added at any time during production resulting in a Champagne that is very lively and very fresh due to not having the dampening effect of sulphites. It was disgorged in March 2015 and has had no sugar added at any time.
This wine has an appealing intensity and a lingering freshness. It is a Champagne of true elegance and one that we are delighted with. It is difficult to stop drinking this lovely wine.
RRP: $86 (SOLD OUT)
Marie Courtin Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2018
This is a new wine for Dominique made from three of the four white grapes allowable in the Champagne appellation, namely Chardonnay(60%), the very rare Arbane (5%) and Pinot Blanc (35%). The only white grape they do not have available is Petit Meslier. The fact that it is a white wine made from white grapes is the reason they label it as a Blanc de Blancs.
The differences with this Champagne are two-fold. The first is that they have not produced a Champagne with this combination of grapes before. The second is that the wine was matured in an amphora rather than barrels or tanks which is what they normally use.
The wine was allowed to mature in the amphora for almost three years before being disgorged and bottled in June 2021. There is no dosage added to this very dry Champagne.
RRP: $257 (SOLD OUT)
Marie Courtin Champagne Blanc de Noirs 2018
This is a new wine for Dominique made from direct pressed Pinot Noir. The fact that it is a white wine made from red grapes is the reason they label it as a Blanc de Noirs.
The wine was matured in an amphora rather than barrels or tanks which is what they normally use.
The wine was allowed to mature in the amphora for almost three years before being disgorged and bottled in June 2021. There is no dosage added to this extra dry Champagne.
RRP: $257 (SOLD OUT)
Marie Courtin Champagne Cuvée Présence 2016
Présence is a blended Champagne which is unique for Marie Courtin cuvées. This wine is a blend of two-thirds Chardonnay and one third Pinot Blanc to which no sulphites and no sugar (dosage) has been added. The wine was fermented in tank.
It is interesting to have a look at the lot number inscribed in the glass at the bottom of the bottle (you have to look quite hard)! You will see the following code – LP16D0921ND. This code indicates that the vintage is 2016 and that no dosage (ND) was added. The middle part (D0921) indicates that the wine was disgorged in September 2021.
RRP: $165 (SOLD OUT)
Marie Courtin Champagne Efflorescence 2017
Marie Courin’s Efflorescence is made from 100% Pinot Noir and hence is classified as a Blanc de Noir. The wine spent over 5 years in old wooden barrels and then bottles before being disgorged in March 2023.
This wine has had no dosage added.
RRP: $167
Marie Courtin Champagne Résonance 2019
The Marie Courtin Resonance 2019 is a lovely Champagne made from grapes picked from vines that grow at the top of the slope where Dominique’s tiny parcel of vines lies. The vines that have been grown from cutting selected using the sélection massale process from existing vines on the property.
The wine was made from 100% Pinot Noir and hence is classified as a Blanc de Noir (namely a white wine made from red/black grapes). After being pressed directly the juice was transferred to tank where it underwent natural fermentation.
The secondary fermentation is carried out using yeasts that Dominique cultivates locally to preserve the effect of terroir rather than using commercial varieties.
The wine was disgorged in December 2021, no dosage was added and is rated as Extra Brut. The term Extra Brut can only be displayed on a Champagne label if it has a very low level of residual sugar in the range 0-6 grams of sugar per litre.
RRP: $101 (SOLD OUT)
Marie Courtin Champagne Eloquence 2017
The Eloquence is an extra dry Champagne made from 100% Chardonnay grapes, picked from vines that have been grown from a sélection massale from the property. The vines have been tended using both organic and biodynamic approaches. Dominique is certified for both organic and biodynamic viticulture.
The wine was matured for over 4 years (fermented in old barrels) before being disgorged in September 2021. There was no dosage added.
The name Eloquence reflects the wine – it is very persuasive, you only need a sip to make you realise you are drinking something very special!
RRP: $153 (SOLD OUT)
Marie Courtin Champagne Cuvée Concordance 2017
Another exceptional biodynamic Champagne from Dominique Moreau. This one comes from Pinot Noir vines and is therefore classified as a Blanc de Noir. The vines are 50 years old and grow in the famous Kimmeridgean limestone on a slope that faces east.
The wine matured in a tank for three years before being bottled without the addition of any sulphites. It was disgorged in May 2022 and had no dosage.
RRP: $204
Marie Courtin Champagne Cuvée Indulgence 2018
Indulgence is a rosé de maceration which is traditional in the Cote des Bar in the south of Champagne where the vineyards of Dominique are situated.
The grapes were trodden by foot (foulage au pieds) to extract the juice and the fermentation occurred very rapidly. The maceration was only carried out for about four days before the juice was removed. The grape variety for this wine is Pinot Noir.
The resulting Champagne is a deeply pink wine of some intensity and lots of poise and grace. It is a wine that you want to keep on sipping until you realise that it has disappeared!
The 2018 Cuvée was disgorged in August 2021 and had no dosage.
RRP: $164 (SOLD OUT)
Marie Courtin Coteaux Champenois Blanc 2019
Dominique and Roland have produced a still wine from the Coteaux Champenois appellation which is a sub-appellation in the Champagne region famous for the still wines produced here.
The Coteaux Champenois appellation rules allow the production of red, white and rosé wines from the same seven grape varieties as in Champagne, namely Arbane, Chardonnay, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir with the first four being white grapes, one being grey and the last two red. The two red grapes can be direct pressed to produce white wine as is the case with this wine.
This wine is derived from Pinot Noir grapes that are 40 years old and which benefit from southern exposure. The wine was direct pressed to create white juice then naturally vinified and aged in two amphora, one of which was made from clay and the other from sandstone.
It was aged in the amphora before bottling without the addition of any sulphites and without fining or filtering.
It is a very sophisticated wine with racy, yet controlled, acidity and great length. Try it with just about any food.
This wine is certified organic through CERTIPAQ FR-BIO-09. The vines are also managed biodynamically.
RRP: $151
We also suggest that you have a look at the Piollot Web site where you will find interesting facts about their vineyards and methods of production. Click this link.
