In Champagne, where legacy often precedes identity, Hélène Charbaut is forging something personal and intuitive. “Mes emotions comme moteur,” she explains, or “My passion is the engine.”
The fourth generation to farm her family’s vines in the Grande Vallée de la Marne, Hélène returned home in 2020 after formative years spent studying in Burgundy and working with Champagne producers Leclerc Briant and Péhu Simmonet. She marked her debut with a trio of single-variety, single-vineyard Champagnes that shimmered with intention. Her vineyards are tended organically and biodynamically, with biodiversity nourished by a shared flock of grazing sheep—an initiative she helped pioneer.
Les Pinailleuses is 100% pinot noir, a selection of Hélène’s favorite barrels from the 2022 vintage. Sourced from 47-year-old vines across Premier Cru parcels in Bisseuil, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, and Avenay Val d'Or, it's vinified in small oak barrels and aged 10 months on lees before being bottled unfiltered with 2 g/L dosage. Striking in its delicacy, with notes of wild strawberry, raspberry leaves, and orange blossom. Fine bubbles and bright, precise acidity throughout. Only 2,551 bottles made of this lively, elegant wine.
