Vouette et Sorbée Textures Extra-Brut, Champagne

Bertrand Gautherot's Vouette et Sorbée is one of the benchmarks of the Côte des Bar, a grower estate that helped redefine Champagne as a wine of place. Textures is a rare Champagne made entirely from Pinot Blanc, grown on Kimmeridgian soils in Buxières-sur-Arce. The fruit is hand-harvested, fermented and matured in oak without dosage, bottled without filtration or fining, and disgorged by hand. Gautherot farms biodynamically and works with the precision of a Burgundian vigneron rather than a large Champagne house. The result is a wine of purity and depth, driven by orchard fruit, citrus zest and savoury grip. On the palate, it shows breadth from time on lees and oak, balanced by taut acidity and saline freshness. Textures sit outside Champagne's conventions yet express its origin with clarity, offering both authenticity and intrigue for collectors who value craftsmanship over conformity.