Antoine Bouvet · Bisseuil — Magnum

The wine

Bisseuil is the middle village in Antoine Bouvet’s three-village holding — between Mareuil-sur-Aÿ to the north and Avenay Val d’Or to the south. It is where some of his oldest and most specific plots are rooted: Les Rocheforts, planted in 1958, and Les Pautes, planted in 1964. Both on the chalky limestone soils of the Grande Vallée de la Marne. Both farmed organically and biodynamically since the domaine’s conversion.

This is a blanc de noir in all but name — Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from those two plots, blended across two harvests: 2019 and 2022. The 2019 provides the richness and concentration of one of Champagne’s warmest recent growing seasons. The 2022 provides freshness and precision. Together they produce something more complete than either vintage alone — the depth of 2019 balanced by the focus of 2022.

The magnum format ages more slowly and more gracefully than a 750ml — the ratio of wine to oxygen exposure through the cork is lower, the development arc longer. For a wine of this complexity and age — bottled August 2023, disgorged May 2026 — the magnum is the right format. The 4g/l natural residual sugar is not added dosage but the wine’s own character from the fermentation — it gives the wine a roundness and texture that zero dosage alone would not provide.

Les Rocheforts (1958) and Les Pautes (1964) — vines that were already old when Antoine’s grandfather was starting out.

Vineyard & vintage details

Producer: Champagne Antoine Bouvet
Cuvée: Bisseuil Extra Brut
Grapes: Chardonnay · Pinot Noir
Village: Bisseuil
Plots: Les Rocheforts (1958) · Les Pautes (1964)
Harvests: 2019 & 2022
Dosage: 0g/l · 4g/l natural residual sugar
Bottling: 08/08/2023
Disgorgement: 23/05/2026
Farming: Organic · biodynamic
Vinification: Old oak · indigenous yeasts · no additions · no fining · no filtration
Format: 1500ml magnum · 13% vol