La Meunière '22

Hélène Charbaut is a small grower-producer making some of the most quietly compelling Champagne in the region — a domaine built on old vines, precise farming, and a winemaking philosophy that prioritises expression over intervention. La Meunière is her single-variety statement in Pinot Meunier — a grape long dismissed as a blending workhorse, now recognised by the best growers in Champagne as a variety capable of producing wines of extraordinary character, freshness, and depth when it comes from the right place and the right hands.

Meunier is the most aromatic and immediately expressive of Champagne's three main varieties: where Chardonnay gives structure and minerality and Pinot Noir gives power and body, Meunier gives fruit, florality, and an approachable generosity that makes it one of the most seductive varieties in the region. In Hélène's hands, vinified from old vines with minimal intervention, it produces something far more complex and age-worthy than the variety's reputation might suggest: expect red fruit, violet, brioche, and a subtle spice, with a creamy, fine mousse, bright natural acidity, and a long, precise finish. A wine that argues convincingly for Meunier's place among Champagne's finest.