Etienne Calsac
CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE
In 2010, when he was just 26 years old, Etienne Calsac took control of his grandparents’ 7.5 acres in and around Avize. The fruit from those vines had long been sold to large négociant houses, and no one in his family had made wine since his grandfather retired, so Calsac’s project was threefold: recreate the domaine from the ground up, convert the vineyards to organic farming, and build a physical winery from scratch. In a short amount of time, he has quickly risen to the top echelon of grower-producers not just in the Côte des Blancs but in the region of Champagne itself.
Since over 95 percent of his vineyard area is planted to Chardonnay, Calsac’s aim is to showcase the individual character of his terroirs, which places farming at the forefront of his process. Each plot is planted with grass cover crops and plowed to work the soils—in some cases by horse. All harvesting and vineyard work is manual; one plot, the Clos des Maladries (quite literally his grandfather’s backyard) has an entrance so small no tractor could fit. Sites are vinified separately in a combination of stainless steel tanks and oak barrels, and in addition to the perpetual reserve for his nonvintage cuvée L’Echappée Belle, he also keeps a reserve tank for his single-vineyard Les Rocheforts.
The Wines
L’Echappée Belle Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut
variety: chardonnay soil type: Kimmeridgian avg vine age: 30 years
L’Echappée Belle is a blend from Calsac’s plots in Grauves, Avize, and Bisseuil that were planted in the ‘80s and ‘90s. The base wines ferment primarily in stainless steel tanks, with 25% in 300- to 600-liter barrels. They spend 7 months on the fine lees before bottling and 18 to 24 months in bottle before disgorgement. 30% of the final blend is reserve wine dating back to 2011.
Rosé de Craie
variety: chardonnay & pinot noir soil type: Kimmeridgian avg vine age: 30 years
Literally a “rosé from chalk,” this pink Champagne tastes like a blanc de blancs. With 5 grams per liter of dosage, it’s quite dry, with an almost Chablisienne salinity that recalls its white soils. The Chardonnay here hails from the same plots in Grauves, Avize, and Bisseuil that make up the base of L’Echappée Belle, and the Pinot Noir from a plot in Vertus.
Les Rocheforts Terroir de Bisseuil Blanc de Blancs 1er Cru
variety: chardonnay soil type: Kimmeridgian avg vine age: 30 years
This chiseled Extra Brut comes off a 3.7 acre plot in the lieu-dit Les Rocheforts on pure chalk soils. The still wines age for 7 to 8 months on the lees in used 300-liter barrels and demi-muids and 18 to 24 months in bottle before disgorgement. 25% reserve wine is used—from a perpetual tank Calsac has kept purely for this single vineyard Champagne since 2012.