Aromas of white fruit, citrus, subtle red fruit, and delicate toast lead the nose. The palate is taut and harmonious, with fine carbonation, lively freshness, and a precise, persistent finish.

Hélène Charbaut works from a family cellar in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ built in the 1800s and owned by her family since 1937. She studied viticulture and worked at other Champagne houses before returning home as winemaker, farming with a regenerative approach that includes grazing animals and cover crops, and going fully organic in low-disease years.

La Charbauterie draws on three villages in the Grande Vallée de la Marne: Bisseuil, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, and Avenay Val d'Or, on clay-limestone, with vines averaging around fifty-two years and some plantings dating to 1921. Fermentation is with ambient yeasts in oak, partly in 228-liter barrels with no more than 10% new wood, then blended with a perpetual reserve held in large foudre. The wine spends roughly nine months in barrel and eighteen on lees, and is bottled unfined and unfiltered at 12% alcohol.

Pairs well with oysters, fresh seafood, roast white meats, washed-rind cheeses, charcuterie, and fried appetizers.

Serve well chilled. Enjoy now for freshness and precision, or cellar short term for added depth.