Salima & Alain Cordeuil

About

Owner & winemaker: Salima & Alain Cordeuil
Vineyards: 4ha across six parcels
Vineyard management: Certified organic since 2015
Soils: Calcareous clay
Grapes grown: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc
Annual production: 10,000 bottles

Quick facts:

• The village of Noé les Mallets, where they’re located, has the highest slopes in Champagne.
• All of the wines are spontaneously fermented and made with little to no sulfur and zero dosage.
• All of the cuvées are aged for a minimum of four to five years.
• “From our experience and our observations, we’ve learned to leave an essential part to ‘the invisible’, to surprise, to listening–allowing our wines to express themselves naturally and cultivating the vineyard like a garden, with care and attention.” – Salima & Alain Cordeuil

Ten years ago, Alain Cordeuil and his wife Salima returned to his native Champagne to establish their own winery. Alain and Salima have been working hand in hand, in both the vineyard and the cellar, ever since. “From the start, we freed ourself from dogmas and from technology, and we created our own personal structure,” Salima and Alain explain. They say they cultivate the vineyard “like a garden,” which involves practices such as green composting, a rotation of native cover crops, and gentle winter pruning to respect the natural cycle of the vine. They work the soils exclusively with horses to the extent possible, to protect the soil, and keep yields low (40-50hL/ha) to ensure high quality fruit. They’ve been practicing organic since 2012, and certified since 2015.

At harvest, grapes are picked by hand and carefully sorted–it is essential to use only healthy fruit, because they vinify without adding sulfur. The wines ferment spontaneously without any additions, and malolactic fermentation happens naturally as well. After fermentation, the base wines remain on the lees and settle naturally, with no fining or filtration. Secondary fermentation in bottle takes place with no added yeast nutrients. All of the champagnes are brut nature, with zero dosage, and see little to no sulfur added at any point.