Champagne Jeaunaux-Robin 'Instinct Meunier' 2018

While the northernmost villages of Champagne’s Côte de Blancs – Le Mesnil, Oger, Cramant, and Avize ¬– are home to stark white chalk soils that are among the planet’s most acclaimed Chardonnay terroirs, the slopes around Talus-Saint-Prix in the south tell a different story.

Here, Cyril and Clémence Jeaunaux-Robin use biodynamic farming methods to tend 5ha of 40-year-old Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir vines as an extension of their garden. The combination of flint-rich, silex soils (rarely found in Champagne) and oak vinification lends a silky texture and smoky minerality to their deliciously opulent wines.

As Pinot Meunier and the region’s lesser-known villages are finally getting their share of the spotlight, fans of grower Champagne should make a beeline for Jeaunaux-Robin’s well-priced bottles.

Complex citrus and orchard fruits woven with layers of savoury spice and smoke. Just 1,000 bottles produced.