Like his mentor, Anselme Selosse, Bertrand Gautherot casts everyone’s favorite celebratory drink in a radical new light.

If too much Champagne is more about style than substance, the sparklers of Vouette et Sorbée are a profound reminder that Champagne is wine, that it comes from grapes that come from vines planted in soil.

There is an uncommon rigor at Vouette et Sorbée: Gautherot has famously been farming his vineyards both organically and biodynamically since 1998. Yields are miniscule, none of the wines receive any dosage and they are bottled unfiltered under lower pressure than most Champagnes.

While the limited production (around 1,200 cases) has already become fiercely sought out by the wine avant-garde, we encourage all curious palates to try one of each of the three bottlings on offer today.

Few Champagnes articulate such a nuanced and honest expression of site. Chablis is the obvious comparison, the expression of mineral, salt and stone in these wines is revelatory. (Indeed, Gauthard's vineyards feature both Kimmeridgian and Portlandian limestones and Chablis is only 60 kilometers away while Reims over 160!)

The other reference point, especially for the "wild one" - the Saignée de Sorbée - is red Burgundy and even the red wines of the Jura: This unique bubbly can be savory and spicy, with rich red fruit and even gamey notes.

We've included tasting notes from both Richard Juhlin and Peter Liem below.

All the Vouette et Sorbée Champagnes benefit from air - decanting is strongly recommended. Better than Champagne flutes, white wine glasses allow the wines to express themselves more fully and even more than most Champagnes (which are, contrary to popular opinion, superb with food) these Champagnes absolutely excel with a wide array of dishes.

The ascendancy of Vouette et Sorbée has been quick: Gautherot released his first vintage in 2004. It took only a matter of months to achieve cult status at home and abroad. Make no mistake, at the moment these are among the most difficult grower Champagnes to find. Only a handful of stores in the U.S. see even a few bottles and prices start at $85 and break the $100-barrier. As stated above, his entire annual production comes down to about 15,000 bottles.

Today we are thrilled to offer out a recently acquired parcel which includes the entire range of wines. While our collection is small, given the rarity of the wines it has to be considered a windfall. Please give us your maximum order and we will do our best to allocate - all orders are subject to confirmation.

As prices on grower Champagnes steadily creep up, we have negotiated strongly - you will note these prices are easily the lowest in the nation, and by a good amount. To order, email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits

Special Email Price: $58.50
Net / No further discount
The Fidele is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from the Kimmeridgian soils of the Vouette vineyard along with earlier-picked grapes from the upper section of the Portlandian soils of the Sorbée vineyard. Got that?

Peter Liem: “Fidèle is a fine introduction to the style of the estate, showing the vibrant fruit and vinous, soil-driven intensity that characterizes Vouette et Sorbée’s champagnes. Of Gautherot’s three cuvées, this is the one that shows the most overt influence of wood when it’s first released, and personally, I prefer to put it in my cellar and wait until at least a year after disgorgement before drinking it, in order to allow the fruit to evolve and integrate itself.”

Special Email Price: $71.73
Compare at $92
Net /  No Further Discount
100% Chardonnay from Biaunes, a Kimmeridgian vineyard (perfect for Chardonnay) planted in 2000. In a vintage known for high yields, Argile’s were a paltry 15hl/ha!

Richard Juhlin: ”A speciality of a wine made from cuttings from Selosse's vineyards at Avize and Valmur in Chablis. Richly influenced by Chablis but perhaps even more inspired by Selosse with an aroma of dwarf banana, dried fruit, straw, Brazil nuts and oak. Intensive and exciting."

Peter Liem: “The Blanc d’Argile is a rich, powerfully vinous wine, needing decanting to open up its flavors and bring the components into balance. It’s full and ample in body yet it also feels energetic and tense, as if coiled and ready to pounce at any moment."

Special Email  Price: $88.98
Compare at $107
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Made with the absolute ripest Pinot Noir grapes from the lower portion of the 1 hectare, single-parcel Sorbée vineyard - a site rich with Portlandian limestone soils. Gautherot feels that Portlandian is ideal for Pinot Noir. Made with carbonic maceration and generally described as the most ‘wine-like’ of the three bottlings. Think of  a far-out blend of Chambolle, Savigny, and Poulsard!

Richard Juhlin: “A gorgeously intensive and great rosé with Selosse-like overtones and Burgundy-like depth. Only a little downswing in the aftertaste lets on that we are not in a Grand cru area.”

Peter Liem: “Its vinosity and depth of fruit make it feel almost like a red wine, and it can exhibit flavors that are distinctly unusual for champagne, with savory, spicy, peppery and even gamy notes under the concentrated red fruit aromas. It’s a wine that you either love or you don’t.”

Vouette et Sorbée parcel arrives late spring 2010
Net / No further discount