Grand Vallée de la Marne – a sub-region of Champagne located southwest of Reims, situated on the banks of the Marne River. Soils here are less uniform than in the other sub-regions of Champagne, with a variety of clay, marl, and limestone. The dominant grape variety is Meunier. Varieties 100% Meunier Farming Certified Organic (Ecocert - EU), transitioning to Biodynamic (Demeter - EU). Hand-harvested. Vineyards & Site Estate fruit. Fruit comes from the top of a single vineyard at 180m on fossilized limestone soils called “terres bleues.” Vinification & Aging Base wine is from 2020 – fermented with native yeasts, aged in small oak barrels, unfiltered and unfined. Tirage 7/2021. No dosage. Disgorgement 01/2024. Vandières, Vallée de la Marne (Rive Gauche) — Champagne Flavien Nowack’s family has been making traditional, blended champagnes in the Marne Valley for generations in the village of Vandières. Approximately 75% of the family’s vines are planted to Meunier, with the remaining 25% planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In 2011, having studied with younger generation grower-producers like Emmanuel Brochet, Flavien gradually began moving his family’s estate’s production, parcel by parcel, in a new grower-oriented direction – focusing on organic farming, minimal intervention champagne-making, and single parcel, single vintage bottlings. Each year, he selects a single parcel from the family estate to rehabilitate and transition into organic farming, choosing to vinify in a way that he feels best captures the individual site. Passionate about the idea that nothing should come between the purest expression of terroir – he farms organically, does not chaptalize, and does not seek malolactic fermentation for his base wines. He relies on the natural yeast of unfermented grape must as his prise de mousse for secondary fermentation in bottle. As a result, these Champagnes are lower in pressure than typical, creating a noticeable vinous quality in these exceptionally soft and delicate wines. He is a young talent with a clear vision.