Champagne, France
Lacourte Godbillon
Géraldine Lacourte’s family has been growing grapes in Champagne for many generations and selling them to the large Champagne houses. Subsequently, in 1947, her mother’s side (Godbillon) and father’s side (Lacourte) of the family produced their own wines. Today, the winery is run by her and her husband, Richard Desvignes, in the Premier Cru village of Écueil in the Montagne de Reims.
Géraldine and Richard are grower-producers, with no outside contractors and all of their wines are crafted from their own vineyards. The vineyards are predominantly on free-draining sandy soils, giving finesse to their Pinot Noir. The vineyards were certified organic in 2020 and biodynamic in 2022, and are shared with sheep, bird boxes, fruit trees and cover crops. Minimum intervention viniculture is practiced with the use of gravity where possible.
Terroirs d'Écueil
This is the latest offering in Vinalia’s love affair with Champagne! This Premier Cru wine is a blend of Pinot Noir (85%) and Chardonnay (15%) from the 2021 vintage, with 70% reserve wines from 2019 and 2020. The base wine is aged on lees for 9 months (with 25% in used oak barrels) for texture. After tirage,the wine is aged on lees for 24 months. It is dosed at 3 g/l (extra brut) and aged for a further 6 months before release.
