Nicolas Maillart : Montchenot 1er Cru Blanc de Noirs 2020

Characteristics and Tasting Tips for the Montchenot Blanc de Noirs 2020 by Nicolas Maillart

Tasting

Appearance
This Champagne reveals a pale hue, with a delicate bead of fine bubbles and a persistent mousse.

Nose
The nose offers notes of fresh apple, a pronounced minerality and hints of wild berries, evoking the freshness of the Monchenot terroir.

Palate
The attack is crisp and reveals remarkable amplitude, driven by a lively acid tension. The wine then unfolds with a profile that is fruity, mineral and fresh, leading to a long, vibrant finish.

Food and Wine Pairing

This Blanc de Noirs pairs ideally with seafood such as oysters, fish carpaccio or shellfish, whose freshness and saltiness it highlights. It is also a wonderful match for simply prepared noble white-fleshed fish, as well as for white meats or roast poultry served with root vegetables or mushrooms. Its minerality and tension also make it an excellent companion to lightly aged soft cheeses.

Serving and Cellaring

The Montchenot Blanc de Noirs 2020 is best served between 8 and 10°C, in a glass that allows you to appreciate the finesse of its bubbles and the complexity of its bouquet.

A Blanc de Noirs from the Montagne de Reims, Combining Minerality and Parcel-Specific Precision

The Estate

The Champagne House Nicolas Maillart was founded in 2003 in Écueil, when Nicolas Maillart, an engineer and oenologist, returned to take over the family vineyards in the Montagne de Reims. The estate, run today by Nicolas Maillart, farms around fifteen hectares spread across the Premier Cru and Grand Cru villages of Écueil, Villers-Allerand and Bouzy. Certified Haute Valeur Environnementale Level 3 and committed to sustainable viticulture, the estate stands out for its parcel-by-parcel approach inspired by the Climats of Burgundy, vinifying each lieu-dit separately to reveal the diversity of the terroirs of the Montagne de Reims.

The Vineyard

The Montchenot Blanc de Noirs 2020 cuvée comes from the hamlet of Monchenot, located in the Premier Cru of Villers-Allerand, in Champagne. This terroir enjoys a remarkable location at the junction of the Petite and Grande Montagne de Reims, on soils combining sand, clay and chalk. This geological diversity gives the wine its characteristic blend of freshness, body and minerality.

The Vintage

The 2020 vintage in Champagne was marked by generally warm and dry conditions, leading to rapid ripening and high natural sugar levels. Thanks to the clay that retains water and the sand that ensures good drainage, the Monchenot terroir helped preserve a satisfying balance between ripeness and freshness throughout the growing cycle.

Vinification and Ageing

The Montchenot Blanc de Noirs 2020 is fully vinified in oak barrels, in keeping with the estate's philosophy of systematically favouring work in wood. This ageing allows for gentle micro-oxygenation, refining the texture of the wine while preserving its acid tension. The cuvée is presented with a very low dosage, of the Extra Brut or Brut Nature type.

Grape Variety

This cuvée is crafted from Pinot Noir, which is by far the dominant grape variety and, depending on the bottling, sometimes the only one, sourced from various parcels in the hamlet of Monchenot.