Agrapart, Laval, Marie-Courtin and More!
10/9/25 -
We have a slew of new arrivals from Champagne arriving this week and we couldn't help but just offer them all alongside one another! These showstopping producers highlight some of the best wines out there between the Cote de Blancs and and Marne. In addition to these incredible producers we have included a very special Coteaux Champenois from Benoit Dehu, a Blanc de Noirs of Pinot Meunier, this is an incredibly rare bottle that I tasted in Champagne a few months ago. After a year in barrel Benoit will sometimes pick one barrel of his 'la Rue de Noyer' to set aside to make Coteaux, he then ages it an additional year in barrel before bottling. He only makes this wine in some vintages, this one comes from 2020 and showcases the Meunier grape beautifully! An intense, concentrated wine with strong minerality with purity of fruit and a long finish.
Dominique Moreau (pictured above) established Marie Courtin in 2005 setting out to create a series of single-vineyard, single-variety, and single-vintage champagnes from biodynamically farmed grapes. With a goal like that it is no wonder we are so happy to highlight her incredible wines today. Located in the village of Polisot in the Cote de Bar/Aube the soils are Kimmeridgian and limestone, drawing a closer relation to their neighbor, Chablis. Pinot Noir is prominent here and has the tendency of making incredibly powerful Champagnes. The bulk of her small production is 'Resonance' and 'Efflorescence', the former comes from the top of the slope and is aged 24 months sur lattes while the later is from the bottom of the slope and is aged 36 months sur lattes. Dominique says that the bottom of the slope, "has greater power and potential," providing a wine of body that can age beautifully. Her trio of Blanc de Noirs is rounded out with 'Concordance', her zero sulfur bottling of great complexity! In her two decades of making Champagne Dominique has risen to incredible heights, as fantastic as her wines are production is quite limited so snag some while you can!
Pascal and Ambroise Agrapart
From Avize, in the heart of the Cote de Blanc comes Agrapart. The estate was founded in 1894 and today is represented by the fourth and fifth generations Pascal and his son Ambroise. For four decades Pascal has been creating powerful wines of chalky minerality. He is passing his incredible talent and knowledge onto Ambroise who now manages approximately 10 hectares of the family's vines. They create an incredible range of Champagnes starting with three non-vintage blends: 7 Crus that showcase the seven villages surrounding Avize, Terroirs that is a blend of Grand Cru holdings from Avize, and Complantee a blend of six varieties co-planted in Avize. This moves into three vintage dated parcellaires (two of which we have today!) Mineral which comes from the lower part of the hill and has soils of pure chalk, while L'Avizoise comes from the top of the hill where there is more clay. Rounding this out is Venus that is made from the middle of the slope. These three are all vinified exactly the same allowing their terroir to shine through. These are very limited production wines.
Vincent Laval
Moving further north to the village of Cumières is the famed Vincent Laval of Georges Laval known for making Champagnes of terroir driven intensity. The estate has been certified organic since 1971-not a small feat for the region! Due to challenging weather conditions, Vincent made almost no wine in 2021 so there are no single vineyard wines to offer but we are seeing a second release of the base '22 Cumières 1er Cru, this year aged an additional year sur lattes. The nose has exotic fruit with a bit of coconut and brioche. This is a full, bold style of Champagne with a long finish. Drink now or let it age for many years to come! 50% Chardonnay with 25% each Pinot Noir and Meunier. But on the bright side there is a new addition to his lineup! 'Les Vignes de Mon Oncle' is from a plot that Vincent has been farming for more than twenty years. During that time he has been trying to buy the production from his uncle but the negotiations took nearly 20 years! Finally Vincent is able to produce this wine of 60% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Meunier. Disgorged in April 2025, the wine has incredible concentration of flavor with ripe peach and apple with chalky notes and some brioche. This is a complex, and vibrant wine with a lot to give.
With so much amazing wines available today stock up for years to come (as so many of these wines will age beautifully) or grab an extra for your holiday table, you wont regret it!
-Hanna Krilov Cohen
