Vouette & Sorbee

One of the great producers of the Aube, Bertrand Gautherot farms his vineyards biodynamically, preserving the intensity of fruit from his steep, cool hillside. Indeed his cuvée Fidèle, made from Pinot Noir on Kimmeridgian soil, may remind as much of Chablis as of Champagne. THE SOMMELIERS ATLAS OF TASTE

Like many artisan Champagnes, the Vouette et Sorbée are wines first and foremost. They should be opened in advance, given some air and served in regular white wine glasses, never flutes. All of the wines are fermented in barrel, using only indigenous yeasts. There is no cold stabilization, fining or filtering and the wines are bottled with no dosage. When the wines are on, they are among the most exciting wines being made in Champagne. Bertrand Gautherot crafts gorgeous, handmade wine loaded with personality. The Vouette et Sorbée Champagnes are rich, full-bodied wines built on meticulous vineyard work and a non-interventionalist, Burgundian-inspired approach in the cellar. ANTONIO GALLONI

The Champagnes of Vouette et Sorbée are uncompromisingly original, possessing deep, vinous aromas and assertive personalities. These are wines before they are Champagnes, and their intensity of character makes them more suitable to contemplative drinking or to accompanying food than to casual sipping. They are clearly the products of a natural philosophy of viticulture, with all that that implies in the French wine world… PETER LIEM, Champagne Guide