“Jerome Coessens’ Champagne Coessens Largillier Blanc de Noirs Brut NV, which is grown in a family-owned vineyard on the Champagne region’s southern frontier, is one of my current favourites.” - Ned Goodwin MW in Esquire Magazine

We’ll be honest – when we tried this Champagne at HQ, it was a REVEALATION. It was crystal clear. We couldn’t not offer it. Super small production, super under-the-radar. And it will BLOW YOUR MIND!

Jérôme Coessens is a madman. And his Champagne – this Champagne – is like no other you have ever tried. One vineyard, one variety, one vintage. In a region that usually blends across one to all of these categories, Coessens produces Champagnes that are, in a word, SINGULAR.

This is White Burgundy meets Champagne – effortlessly emanating white florals, red and tree fruits, toast, roasted nuttiness, and stoney minerality. Only two producers make a single-vineyard Champagne from Largillier – Coessens and Selosse. And you can nab 8 bottles of this for the price of Selosse’s!

The magic starts in the vineyard. In 2003, at the tender age of 28, Coessens took over his family vineyard in Ville-sur-Arce, ‘Largillier’. Before long, he decided they should break with five-generations of tradition and bottle their own. The fruit was too good.

And when we say too good, consider that none-other than cult Champagne pioneer Selosse has bought fruit from them for years! Their single vineyard Largillier goes for an eye-popping $695!!!

You see, while many chase wines from the Grands Crus of Champagne, insiders are increasingly drawn to the depth of expression and richness of the Côte des Bar, in the southern stretch of the region, where Largillier is sited.

“Jérôme Coessens handcrafts stunningly individual Pinot Noirs from one single vineyard, Largillier, a 3.5-hectare plot in Ville-sur-Arce, Côte des Bar, which is located on calcareous clay, Kimmeridgian soils structured with a high content of limestone. Jérôme has identified four different sections of the different textures of the soil, enabling him to create a range of diverse styles and flavors.” Wine Advocate expounds.

Blessed with the same Kimmeridgian limestone that makes Chablis sing, the Pinot Noir here is structured but dense and dangerously good. The grape is the specialty of the Côte des Bar. One taste, there will be no doubt. Richer, deeper, more textured than Pinot Noir from more northern sub-regions, this wine possesses red berry fruit and serious minerality that makes it a serious wine – more reminiscent of top Burgundy than Champagne!

One of the truly special, unique things about this wine is that it’s from a single vintage – despite not being a Vintage Champagne. As a well-informed Operative you probably know that there are minimum aging requirements for Vintage Champagne. BUT, in order to make the best wine he can, Coessens throws out the rule book – Super-Tuscan style – electing for a shorter aging to preserve a denser vinous character in the wine that is unlike anything else you can find from the region.

Because of this, you’ll note the vintage is only on the back label. And the 2021 vintage was one that defied expectations. Difficult weather conditions at the start of the vintage acted to severely limit yield, but this Pinot Noir from the Côte de Bar (thanks to the obsessive quality-consciousness of Coessens) wound up beautifully balanced and elegant, with red fruit and spicy notes that linger long.

In short: Coessens makes declamatory, uncompromising wines with the kind of intensity and purity that sommeliers geek out over and collectors hoard. Which is, sadly, why we only have five cases…

If you haven’t bought any for the holidays by now, know that we have.

Hoard it while you can!