Wanted to do a “challenge” of trying 52 growers this year. Great excuse to drink more Champagne. The 4th grower producer of the year is Domaine Nowack. This guy is FIRE. He’s highly praised by many legends on the scene, including David Leclapart and Ale Muchada. The name Nowack doesn’t sound very French, because it isn’t. The Nowack family came over from the Czech Republic in the late 1700s (in 1795 they were already cultivating grapes in Vandières on a small scale). Today, Frédéric and Flavien run the Nowack business, both producing their own champagnes. Flavien made significant changes to the family winery over the previous decade, turning the the family vineyards to organic farming and then to biodynamic farming, with the encouragement of mentors (biggest influence was Selosse).
Cuis 2015 is a Premier Cru limited to 528 bottles, 100% Chardonnay. All of the grapes for this wine were purchased from close friends from a tiny vineyard that lays on a deep chalk bedrock. This wine was fermented with native yeasts, unfined and unfiltered, then rested in small neutral oak barrels for one year. Secondary fermentation is triggered with grape must, then the wine is aged under cork for at least five years (!). Medium deep straw yellow color in the glass with bubbles that persist throughout the night. Very rich, complex and relatively full-bodied on the palate. An extremely complex and impressive grower Champagne of the highest quality, on par with the greatest prestige cuvée Champagnes in the market. The wine manages to be both very robust and sizeable yet incredibly elegant and delicate in its expression. Remarkably effortless, a winner.
champerschampers
Omg this sounds like something I would do! What a brilliant idea. Please post more, I’d love to follow your grower journey.
Derniere-Volonte
This one is definitely top of my to-try list now ! Nowack is really of the best champagnes there is out there. I find that his wines has this particular energy, he’s really pulled the family winery to the upmost level of what’s made in Champagne right now, alongside Lurquin, Stroebel and Legrand-Latour. Very nice review, thanks a lot.
3 Comments
Wanted to do a “challenge” of trying 52 growers this year. Great excuse to drink more Champagne. The 4th grower producer of the year is Domaine Nowack. This guy is FIRE. He’s highly praised by many legends on the scene, including David Leclapart and Ale Muchada. The name Nowack doesn’t sound very French, because it isn’t. The Nowack family came over from the Czech Republic in the late 1700s (in 1795 they were already cultivating grapes in Vandières on a small scale). Today, Frédéric and Flavien run the Nowack business, both producing their own champagnes. Flavien made significant changes to the family winery over the previous decade, turning the the family vineyards to organic farming and then to biodynamic farming, with the encouragement of mentors (biggest influence was Selosse).
Cuis 2015 is a Premier Cru limited to 528 bottles, 100% Chardonnay. All of the grapes for this wine were purchased from close friends from a tiny vineyard that lays on a deep chalk bedrock. This wine was fermented with native yeasts, unfined and unfiltered, then rested in small neutral oak barrels for one year. Secondary fermentation is triggered with grape must, then the wine is aged under cork for at least five years (!). Medium deep straw yellow color in the glass with bubbles that persist throughout the night. Very rich, complex and relatively full-bodied on the palate. An extremely complex and impressive grower Champagne of the highest quality, on par with the greatest prestige cuvée Champagnes in the market. The wine manages to be both very robust and sizeable yet incredibly elegant and delicate in its expression. Remarkably effortless, a winner.
Omg this sounds like something I would do! What a brilliant idea. Please post more, I’d love to follow your grower journey.
This one is definitely top of my to-try list now ! Nowack is really of the best champagnes there is out there. I find that his wines has this particular energy, he’s really pulled the family winery to the upmost level of what’s made in Champagne right now, alongside Lurquin, Stroebel and Legrand-Latour. Very nice review, thanks a lot.