Voirin-Jumel is a small family grower with vines in Cramant and Chouilly, way up at the northern tip of the Côte. The V. 1 is their “calling card” wine – an introduction, as they see it, to the universe of Côte des Blancs Chardonnay. 

The Chardonnay (the wine is all Chardonnay) comes from Grand Cru sites, and you get the mineral signature on both the nose and the pallet, interwoven with the bright citrus and floral hint of the Chardonnay in this cool northern climate. 

But it isn’t just chalk and other high tones. There’s a distinct richness in the midpalate, an almost decadent contrast to the more linear elements, which is a signature of Chardonnay from these villages (especially Cramant), where many of the vineyards face south, not east, and get warmer mid-day sun. 

The Voirin-Jumel family makes many choices to accentuate this special expression of the Côte des Blancs. For this bottling they use a gentle 5 g/L of dosage — well within the extra brut window of 3-6 g/L — but happy to practice a tradition that long predates today’s focus on zero dosage wines. Make no mistake though, this is just a subtle touch that brings out the terroir’s more luxurious side as a  complement to the bright acidity and cooling minerality.The blending of vintages is at least as important. The family combines three vintages for every release of this bottling, not just to make the wine more complete); it also allows them to find just the balance they want for this unique expression of the marriage of variety to terroir. In this case 40% of the blend is from 2019 and 2020, which bring sunny Chardonnay accents to the cooler, leaner 2021 backbone. 

We love to drink Champagne with food, and the V.1 is lovely with a whole range, from shellfish to lighter meats to creamy dishes (chicken thighs braised in cast iron with morels sounds particularly good to us!). 

But you don’t have to fuss over pairings to enjoy this bottle. The family themselves treat it as their perfect aperitif wine, something to sip on while you cook dinner (or wait for your delivery). So open a bottle, maybe with a salty snack of potato chips, and whet your appetite while you wonder at the balance of chalky definition and ethereal Chardonnay decadence.

If there’s one name in the Côte des Blancs that wine lovers know, it’s Mesnil. Home to both Krug’s Clos de Mesnil and ultra-exclusive Salon, the village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger sits in the middle of the Côte with almost no topsoil over the chalk and one of most purely east-facing slopes. No wonder it is renowned for a style that is pretty much the polar opposite of Cramant: intense minerality, brilliant high-toned complexity, and gorgeous linear texture.Moncuit’s roots run deep in Mesnil.. The domaine is run by the mother and daughter team of Nicole and Valérie Moncuit, daughter and granddaughter of Pierre.  But the estate dates all the way back to the 19th century. This is a family dedicated to preserving the traditional expression of the village.

The domain’s roots also go deep in the literal sense. With some of the oldest vines in the village (the average age is around 60), root networks have worked their way through the chalk. And you can taste that pure terroir in the wine. At their core, these wines exude laser-focused  cut, and a  savory saline minerality Nicole and Valérie protect all the terroir purity, fermenting in steel and adding just a tiny dosage (3 g/L).That intensity and natural complexity also makes Mesnil wines some of the longest-lived Champagnes, and the 2012 is absolutely singing now. The vintage is considered one of the finest in recent memory g in Champagne, scintillating and intense with the perfect balance of ripeness and cut. . Now, 13 years on, it is still bright and fresh but is beginning to show some early mature flavors: the Chardonnay shows hints of almond paste, like a Grand Cru Chablis might, and the classic brioche comes with a seductive umami note.

Would this be stunning with a briny oyster? Of course. Would it make a fried chicken dinner into something magnificent? Yes it would. If you want to do something fancy – maybe grill the oysters New Orleans style and serve them topped with parm – this is the wine to open. But it’s also a wine you can just open and drink it on its own while you contemplate the magic of chalk and time.