Elise Bougy is part of a new wave of Champagne growers rethinking the region from the ground up. After returning to her native Les Mesneux in 2016 to take over her family's estate, she transitioned the vineyards to organic and biodynamic farming, earning certification in 2022. Her three hectares span 1er Cru parcels in the Montagne de Reims and a prized Grand Cru plot in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, including a cherished family holding on pure chalk soils. With minimal intervention in the cellar and a fierce devotion to site expression, Bougy crafts Champagnes that are vibrant, tense, and resolutely alive.

Le Mont Chainqueux is Bougy's Blanc de Noirs, drawn from vines her grandparents planted in 1965 in Les Mesneux. The parcel spans both the lower and upper portions of the slope, where the soils are argilo-calcareous with chalk influence at the higher elevations. The wine is a blend of pinot noir and pinot meunier, aged for ten months in a combination of large oak and 228-liter barrels before spending roughly twenty months on the lees in bottle. With this release, Le Mont Chainqueux moves from a vintage bottling to an NV cuvée, drawing on reserve wines Bougy has been building since taking over the estate. No dosage.

Fragrant and immediate, with wild strawberry, blood orange, and dried mountain thyme on the nose. A chalky structure that deepens as the wine opens. The mineral backbone from the upper slope anchors the fruit and carries the finish.