Organic. 100% Meunier. The first of the single-vineyard Pinot Meunier bottlings that are flagships of the Nowack estate holdings; ‘La Fontinette’ is a mid-slope vineyard on clay-limestone soils, along with sand and marne; two meters beneath the surface the bedrock is pure ‘marne blanche.’ Vines were planted from 1960-1965, 1ha total. All fruit is from harvest 2020; no dosage. RS 2 g/L. Vinification is with fully spontaneous/natural yeasts; the base wine is unfined and unfiltered. Aging is done in small oak barrels. Disgorged Jan ’24. Notes of violet, honey, chalk on nose, with salt and dried caramel on the palate. A deeply powerful wine, but very fine as well.

Organic. 100% Pinot Noir. The only sparkling fully from Pinot Noir produced at Nowack that is from an estate single-vineyard. ‘Les Bauchets’ is on very pure white marne soils; Flavien mentions it’s visible right at the surface of the soils. The Pinot Noir at Bauchets was planted in 1980. Fruit is from harvest 2019; no dosage; 2 g/L RS. Vinification is with fully spontaneous/natural yeasts; the base wine is unfined and unfiltered. Aging is done in small oak barrels. Pink and purple florals are palpable on the nose; round and robust sensation on the palate, with a touch of richness in this vintage.

Organic. 100% Chardonnay. The only Blanc de Blancs at Nowack produced from a single-vineyard owned by the domaine. ‘La Tuilerie’ is on “whiter,” very sandy limestone soils over top of marne bedrock that’s only one meter below the surface. All fruit is from harvest 2019; dosage is .8 g/L. Flavien says that the Chardonnay in 2019 in particular was “perfect.” Vinification is with fully spontaneous/natural yeasts; the base wine is unfined and unfiltered. Aging is done in small oak barrels. An opulent palate, very pretty and compelling wine.

Organic. 60% Meunier, 40% Chardonnay. The single-vineyard cuvée ‘Arpents Rouges’ is one of Nowack’s more progressive cuvées, where pushes the boundaries of his own winemaking; vinification is done entirely in small barrels with a combination of spontaneous yeasts and selected yeasts from a friend or two in the Jura (transported in lees like a mother). The vineyard site is planted at the bottom of the Vandières slope, hence the bolded ‘Bas-côteau’ on the label. Vines are between 70-80 years of age. Soils are heavier clay on top of grès, a specific sort of limestone you’ll see in the Jura and Alsace. Nowack takes a particular interest in this site, as he mentions it’s very difficult for the vines to grow here with all the stones; berries on the vines are always tiny. Historically the vineyard was used to produce still red wine, hence Les Arpents Rouge. In this release, all fruit is from harvest 2020; RS 7 g/L. The base wine is unfined, unfiltered, and unsulfured; secondary fermentation is triggered with natural grape must. Aging is done in small oak barrels. An extraordinary wine, uncommon in Champagne: nose and palate with red and golden fruit tones, lots of power, and enduring salinity. Echoes of red wine here are amply clear.

Organic. 100% Meunier. The top Pinot Meunier of the single-vineyard wines at Nowack, on sable and a particular fossil-rich limestone called terres bleues. The vineyard is planted at 180m, the very top of the best slope Flavien owns at his estate in Vandières, hence the bolded ‘Haut-côteau’ on the label. All fruit is from harvest 2020; 2 g/L dosage. Vinification is with fully spontaneous/natural yeasts; the base wine is unfined and unfiltered. Aging is done in small oak barrels. 2020, Flavien adds, was a bruisingly hot vintage with slightly lower acidity; as a result he’s chosen to do a dosage with this release to accent complexity and length.

Organic. 50% Meunier, 50% Chardonnay. ‘S.A.’ stands for ‘Sans Année,’ or non-vintage. Base 2021, with 10% reserve wines blended in (vintages 2012 to 2020). The vineyards are selected to be a reflection of Flavien’s home village. Vinification is with both spontaneous yeasts as well as selected strains from the estate; all aging is done in oak barrels and vats. Dosage 1g/l. Medium weight, with lots of yellow fruit and a salty finish. Typically this cuvée is built closer to 75% Meunier, 25% Chardonnay, but 2021 was a very difficult Champagne vintage; in Flavien’s home vineyards of Bauchets and Tuileries there was a fair amount of loss from fungus pressure.

Organic. 100% Chardonnay. The idea of the ‘Cru d'Origine’ range is to select parcels that are worked organically or are in conversion; they’re tiny parcels which either belong to Nowack (at the moment, not many of these) or other respected farmers and vignerons who have particular terroirs with which Nowack doesn’t typically work. Selection of parcels is obviously quite rigorous for this series, as each cuvée is tiny, and Flavien hopes to ‘laisser s’exprimer le terroir à 100%,’ through such focused windows onto particular cru and parcels. ‘Cuis’ was produced in quantities of only 528 bottles, from a parcel of 10 ares (>.1ha), vines aged 40+ years old; it’s a slice of Cuis vineyard that is on deep chalk bedrock. The wine was fermented with native yeasts, unfined and unfiltered, then rested in small neutral oak barrels for one year. Secondary fermentation is triggered with grape must, then the wine is aged under cork for at least five years (!). Base vintage 2015, disgorged May 2021.

Lutte Raisonnée. 100% Pinot Noir. This bottling from a single parcel in Les Riceys in the Cotes de Bar represents Nowack’s curiosity about other terroirs outside of his particular home of Vandières. This vineyard was planted in 1980 and 1985 on a southern exposure at 280 meters on marnes franches (clay/calcaire soils very close to the surface covered by only a little soil). Vinification is with fully spontaneous/natural yeasts. Base wine is unfined and unfiltered w/no cold filtration; secondary fermentation is triggered with natural grape must. Aging is done in small oak barrels. Disgorged March 22 after 60 months on the lees. No dosage- RS 3.4 g/l

Biodynamic. 100% Chardonnay. This is a rare late release of the vintage ‘Tuilerie’ bottling; here ‘L.V.’ stands for super long lees aging. 119 months in cellar on lees (under capsule, not cork as in some of the other Nowack bottlings). Dosage 0 g/L.

Organic. 100% Meunier. Base vintage 2021; a small amount of reserve wine from ’20 blended in. In 2021, the terroirs for ‘Autre Cru’ is a selection of vineyards from villages located on both the left and right banks of the Marne Valley, outside of Flavien’s home village of Vandières. Vinification is with both spontaneous yeasts as well as selected strains from the estate; all aging is done in oak barrels. Dosage 1g/l, disgorged Jan ’24. This release is steely, with an iron undertone, full of salt, herbs, and savoriness. A great showing for this vintage despite the difficult season.

Organic. 100% Meunier. This new bottling from the single parcel Les Cayons in the village of Oeuilly represents Nowack’s curiosity about other terroirs outside of his particular home of Vandières. It’s the first vintage in the site and therefore the first-ever release of this wine. Fruit is all from harvest 2017; the parcel is on friable chalk, much closer to what exists in the Côte des Blancs (it turns out some of this exact same famous chalk exists in the eastern mouth of the Marne valley, not only in the special stretch we all know). Base wine is unfined and unfiltered; secondary fermentation is triggered with natural grape must. Aging is done in small oak barrels. Disgorged Mar ’23, so almost the full five years on lees in bottle after tirage that Flavien hopes for with all his wines.