Brut Nature Champagne · limestone

Without dosage, only the ripeness of the grapes counts

Brut nature, also labelled zero dosage or non dosé, receives no sugar at all after disgorgement, and residual sugar stays below three grams per litre. Such a Champagne forgives little. It demands ripe grapes from good sites and long ageing on the lees, otherwise it seems hard. When it succeeds, it is unadorned, saline and precise, whether from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier.

At Living Wines the brut nature wines come from organic, often biodynamic, viticulture, many of them from the Côte des Bar, where estates such as Vouette & Sorbée work biodynamically. At the table these wines go with oysters, raw fish and sushi, and show at their best at around ten degrees.