Until the 2022 harvest, Géraldine Lacourte sold grapes from this vineyard to other houses. This is the only white Champagne from the village of Ormes, located 7 km from Écueil. Ormes mainly produces rosé, and another iconic producer, Raphael Bereche, also uses grapes from Ormes in his wines. This Champagne is slightly oily with hints of quince and pine needles and a light body. Cherry pits, shortcrust pastry, and nectarines play on the palate.
Region: Champagne, Montagne de Reims, Ormes village, Les Montées plot
Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir,
Vinification: 100% in 228l oak barrelsThe 2022 vintage, but declared as non-vintage champagne.
Why is Lacourte-Godbillon Champane special?
The house is located in Ecueil Premier Cru village where the soil is sandy, not chalk. This contributes more fruitiness and finesse to Pinot Noir - the main grape of the village. Also, there is a nursery of Pinot Noir plantings in Ecueil meaning that lion's share of the Pinot Noir plantings in Champagne came from Ecueil.
Geraldine Lacourte and her husband Richard transformed the house into biodynamic since 2006. Both spouses have diplomas in oenology from the Avize school. Geraldine and Richard are guided by the principles of caring for the environment and biodiversity in the vineyards. The processes are organized according to the gravitational principle and take place under the influence of gravity without pumps. The fermentation goes only with native yeasts. The winery uses oak barrels made from wood from its own village Ecueil, which is very rare for Champagne. Each still wine is aged on lees for 9 months before secondary fermentation to add complexity and additional flavor characteristics. All wines from the estate are not filtered, not fined and have a low sulfur dioxide content.