Barrat-Masson Grain d'Argile Extra Brut, Champagne, France NV

In 2005, Loïc Barrat took over the family farm and began to replace conventional herbicides with organic treatments and vineyard practices. Supported by his wife Aurélie Masson, a trained oenologist, they had fully committed his vineyards to organic winegrowing by 2009. By 2010, they had left the cooperative in which both families had been producing wines for generations to strike out on their own, and it has certainly paid off.

Combining traditional techniques with modern technology, Loic is able to more effectively manage his organic vineyards with precision. In the cellar, Aurélie uses the same approach: they use a traditional ‘Coquard’ wooden basket press, but she has installed a computer to monitor the pressing times. Each plot is vinified separately to carefully monitor the variations in terroir, and provide the largest palette for the final blend. When we visited in 2018 and tasted the separate vin clair plots, we were shocked at how vibrant and unique each barrel was. The concept is to make vintage and site specific wines here, the bubbles just happen to be a nice addition.

100% organic farming, a bright and focused champagne with notes of dried pears and hazelnut.