CHAMPAGNE COESSENS LARGILLIER, Les Sens Boises Brut

In two words: powerful and spicy, says Jérôme Coessens. Coessens divides his 3.5ha monopol vineyard, Largillier, into four, roughly-equal parts, depending on the style of wine each plot produces. He has named them Mineral, Fruity, Flowery and Substance (meaning power or richness). The Largillier soils are combinations of clay and limestone, in varying proportions, as in nearby Chablis. The Largillier vineyard is in the town of Ville-sur-Arce, in the Côte des Bar region, in the far south-east of Champagne. Vineyards here have been in the Coessens family since the 1800s.

Les Sens Boisés (literally ‘Senses of Wood’) is 100% Pinot Noir from the Substance vineyard sector. It is matured on lees in five and six-year-old Chablis barrels and typically has a soft and silky-textured palate, following on from aromas of citrus (hints of marmalade), mirabelle plums and cinnamon spice notes. Les Sens Boisés is typically bold and assertive, with marked and refreshing minerality and a long finish. It is a complex wine that will match with a wide range of foods, especially strongly-flavoured cheeses. Recommended serving temperature is 12 deg C -- and in a large standard wine glass rather than a flute.