Cose Nowack VDR R.23 Champagne 2023

Champagne Cose is the project of Victor Allier and Gil Conejo, founded in 2022 in Chouilly as a micro-négociant. They source small quantities of grapes from trusted growers and produce site-, variety- and vintage-driven wines rather than following a single house style.

Their approach is based on minimal intervention, natural fermentations and ageing in used oak barrels, including barrels sourced from Jacques Selosse. Production is extremely limited and, so far, their wines have been made without added sulphites, with the aim of showcasing the diversity of Champagne through different terroirs, grape varieties and growers.

Cose Nowack VDR R.23 2023 is a 100% Meunier Blanc de Noirs Champagne made by Cose from grapes supplied by Flavien Nowack, from the Les Terres Bleues lieu-dit in Vandières, Vallée de la Marne. The vineyard was planted in 1975 and sits high on a south-facing slope at around 180 metres, with clay-limestone marl soils, sand and distinctive fossil-rich limestone. VDR refers to Vandieres, while R.23 stands for the 2023 harvest.

The grapes are pressed at Nowack's winery using a vertical Coquard press, and the must is transferred directly into used 225-228 litre oak barrels, many sourced from Jacques Selosse. It undergoes spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts and matures in oak, followed by secondary fermentation under cork and 18 to 24 months ageing on the lees. Disgorged in July 2025, it is released as an Extra Brut with just 1.5 g/l dosage. Production was limited to only 1,632 bottles.

This is a Meunier that moves well beyond the variety's more straightforward fruit-driven expressions: broad, deep and saline, with firm structure and pronounced mineral energy. Old vines, the distinctive Vandières terroir and barrel ageing bring texture and depth, while the wine's acidity maintains tension and precision. A very limited single-vineyard Champagne for those looking for terroir, identity and distinctive small-scale winemaking.