At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Champagne
- Vineyard area
- 2.24 hectares
- Grapes
- Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay
- Named wine
- Noir Essentiel 2016
- Defining feature
- Kimmeridgian soils with argilo-calcareous marls
The Producer
Colette Bonnet works organic vines across Éguilly-sous-Bois and Noé-les-Mallets. The plantings include Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay, with Pinot Blanc rare in Champagne. The range includes Noir Essentiel 2016, a Pinot Noir led wine, and Assemblage 3 Cépages 2020, a sparkling wine made from all three varieties.
Place
The vineyards lie in Éguilly-sous-Bois and Noé-les-Mallets. At Noé-les-Mallets, the ground is Kimmeridgian, with argilo-calcareous marls containing a high proportion of clay. The geology is the same as that found in Chablis, linking the site to a limestone and marl formation familiar from another French wine region.
Wines
Noir Essentiel 2016 is 94% Pinot Noir and 6% Chardonnay. It has a luminous, dense straw gold color. The palate is rich and fresh, with creamy effervescence, pulpy and crunchy fruit, and acidity marked by citrus and pomelo.
Assemblage 3 Cépages 2020 combines 54% Pinot Noir, 31% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Blanc. It is the sparkling cuvée that brings all three planted varieties into one bottle, including the rare Champagne grape that distinguishes the vineyard plantings.
Final Word
Colette Bonnet's wines come from organic vines in two Champagne communes, with Kimmeridgian marls at Noé-les-Mallets and Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay in the vineyard. Noir Essentiel 2016 and Assemblage 3 Cépages 2020 put those grapes into two distinct sparkling cuvées.