Georges Laval Cumières Les Hautes Chèvres 1er Cru Brut Nature 2018 white

Georges Laval Cumières Les Hautes Chèvres 1er Cru Brut Nature 2018 is one of Champagne’s cult bottlings, crafted almost entirely from old-vine Pinot Meunier in the premier cru village of Cumières. Brut Nature and produced in tiny quantities, it offers a pure, unadorned expression of terroir, with no dosage to mask its character. Sourced from the historic Les Hautes Chèvres parcel, this is a deeply serious, gastronomic Champagne that showcases just how complex and ageworthy Meunier can be.

Tasting Notes
In the glass, the 2018 Les Hautes Chèvres pours a luminous, pale golden hue with a fine, persistent mousse and delicate beading. The nose is layered and expressive, opening with ripe orchard fruits—pear, yellow apple, Mirabelle plum—before moving into deeper notes of almond, hazelnut, brioche, dried flowers and a subtle chalky minerality. With air, hints of citrus zest, white pepper and a gentle smokiness emerge. On the palate, this is intense yet finely etched, combining the generosity of the 2018 vintage with the tension and precision that define Laval’s style. Rich fruit—baked apple, quince, and ripe lemon—interweaves with savory notes of toasted nuts, fresh pastry, and a saline, almost chalk-dust edge from the Cumières terroir. The mousse is creamy but ultra-fine, carried by vibrant acidity and a long, mouthwatering finish that leaves impressions of citrus peel, spice and wet stone. While already compelling now, this 2018 has the structure and concentration to evolve beautifully over the next 8–12 years, gaining further complexity and tertiary nuance.

Production
Les Hautes Chèvres is a steep, old-vine premier cru site in Cumières, planted predominantly to Pinot Meunier on chalk and limestone-rich soils with clay and sand elements that lend both power and finesse. Georges Laval farms these vines organically (a rarity in Champagne, and a house trademark for decades), with low yields and meticulous manual work in the vineyard to ensure perfectly ripe, healthy fruit. Harvesting is done entirely by hand, with strict selection in the vineyard. In the cellar, the juice is fermented with indigenous yeasts, typically in oak barrels, allowing for gentle micro-oxygenation and textural depth without overt woodiness. Malolactic fermentation may occur naturally, depending on the vintage, and the wine spends extended time on the lees to build complexity and fine mousse. Disgorged without dosage (Brut Nature), the final wine is an unfiltered, precise snapshot of site, season and Laval’s low-intervention philosophy.

Food & Serving
This is a serious, food-driven Champagne that shines at the table. Pair it with refined dishes such as scallops with beurre blanc, turbot or sole with a light cream sauce, lobster, or poached langoustines. It also works beautifully with roasted poultry, veal in a delicate jus, truffle risotto, aged Comté or nutty hard cheeses. Serve well chilled but not icy—around 9–11°C (48–52°F)—to allow the aromatics and texture to unfold. A brief decant of 15–20 minutes in a wide-bowled white wine glass or a large tulip-style Champagne glass can help the wine open up, especially in its youth.

Producer
Champagne Georges Laval is a small, fiercely independent grower estate based in the village of Cumières, just west of Épernay. The Laval family has been cultivating vines here for generations and was among the early adopters of organic viticulture in Champagne, long before it became fashionable, making them pioneers of sustainable, terroir-driven sparkling wine in the region. With tiny holdings and low yields, production is minute, and the wines are highly allocated, sought after by enthusiasts who value purity and precision. Focusing on single-village and single-parcel expressions, Georges Laval has become a benchmark for serious grower Champagne, especially for elevating the reputation of Pinot Meunier and showing the depth and character Cumières’ premier cru vineyards can achieve.

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