Despite Champagne Saint-Chamant being one of our all-time favorite grower estates, you’ve probably never seen a bottle of their Brut Rosé—well not here, anyway. While it sounds like negligence, I can assure you it is through no fault of our own: This is their rarest cuvée by far, since the overwhelming majority of their production is destined for a stellar lineup of Blanc de Blancs. It is, after all, what solidified their status in Champagne’s Hall of the Fame. However, when the rare occasion arises, they will set aside a tiny portion of their fabled Grand Cru Chardonnay and blend in a thimble’s worth of Pinot Meunier to yield a breathtaking Brut Rosé that is known by only a few and experienced by far fewer.
Best of all, they sacrifice nothing in the way of tradition: This killer rosé matures in their 200+-year-old, mile-long cellar; riddling, disgorging, and labeling is carried out by hand; and the final product mirrors their famous “house” style. It is resoundingly energetic, exploding with rich, transfixing layers of fruit and minerals that practically sizzle on the finish. Now, the cold hard facts: Our Saint-Chamant contact tells us less than 80 cases initially entered the country and about 10% of that remains...
My heart was heavy when I learned that after 70 uninterrupted years of complete dedication to Champagne Saint-Chamant, Christian Coquillette, the humble yet grand old man of Épernay, passed away in 2020. A longtime disciple of tradition, he made sure every wine slowly matured in his ancient wine caves, and each one was individually disgorged by his own gnarled hand. To say that Christian Coquillette was an unwavering champion of “old-school” authenticity, or that his vintage releases rank among my all-time favorite values, is a vast understatement. He will be greatly missed in the world of fine wine. That said, his son Stéphane, who grew up learning by his side, has since taken the torch and will bear it strongly.
Today’s Brut Rosé is largely Grand Cru Chardonnay (92%) from their holdings in the famous village of Chouilly. The wine is vinified in stainless steel and easily exceeds the 18-month sur lie aging requirement for non-vintage Champagnes. While most wineries now use machines for the process of remuage (slowly rotating the bottle to send the sediment to the neck) Saint-Chamant continues to riddle their wines by hand, marking each slight movement with chalk until the sediment is ready to be expelled via a manual disgorgement. The remaining 8% of the wine of this wine is Pinot Meunier from their parcels in Épernay, which is added post-disgorgement (along with a sensible five-gram dosage) to obtain the signature salmon-pink hue of Rosé Champagne. The labels are applied by hand before leaving the cold security blanket that is their ancient cellar.
Saint-Chamant is renowned for disgorging wines on command, meaning every batch that arrives stateside is the freshest possible so you can rest assured that each wine you order is in a perfect drinking window. For today’s rare Brut Rosé, pull the bottle at around 50 degrees and serve it in flared tulips to best experience everything it has to offer. The soft, lively mousse fills the glass with vigor so please allow 15-30 seconds for it to settle before sticking your nose in and discovering rich, lifted aromas like wild strawberry compote, white pear, Rainier cherry, crunchy red apple skin, citrus blossoms, fresh cream, brioche, and finely crushed chalk. The palate is medium-bodied and extremely vibrant but don’t mistake that buoyancy for a lack of texture and complexity. This is a beautifully nuanced Brut Rosé with impressive depth (remember, 92% of it is Grand Cru Chardonnay!) that is ready to impress the moment it arrives on your doorstep. Buy as many as you can and savor them over the next five years. Cheers!
