Description
The wine
Verzy is Pinot Noir country. The Grand Cru slopes produce the grape with more restraint and mineral precision than the warmer, richer villages of the Montagne de Reims — the chalk beneath the clay-limestone soils keeps everything tense and focused. A Blanc de Noirs from Verzy is not the same wine as a Blanc de Noirs from Aÿ or Ambonnay. It is cooler, more structured, more specific to its place.
Alban Corbeaux calls this cuvée Copin — a regional Champenois dialect word for friend. The name carries across the range: Copin for each single-variety wine, Les Copins for the blend that brings them together. This is the red grape version — 100% Pinot Noir from two specific lieu-dits within Verzy Grand Cru:
La Queu des Loges — planted 1963
Les Chemins de Wez — planted 1984
The oldest vines are over 60 years old at the 2021 harvest. Both plots farmed organically with biodynamic practices. Fermented entirely in old oak barrels — no stainless steel — with indigenous yeasts and full malolactic fermentation. Extra brut. 1,300 bottles made.
Vineyard & vintage details
Producer: Champagne Pierre Deville
Cuvée: ‘Copin’ Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut
Terroir: 100% Verzy Grand Cru
Grape: 100% Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2021
Lieu-dits: La Queu des Loges (1963) · Les Chemins de Wez (1984)
Soil: Chalk-limestone
Farming: Organic · biodynamic practices
Vinification: 100% old oak barrel fermentation · indigenous yeasts · full malolactic fermentation
Dosage: Extra Brut
Production: 1,300 bottles
2021 vintage note
2021 was a challenging year across Champagne — spring frosts and difficult growing conditions dramatically reduced yields. The wines that came through show real concentration and a focused minerality that reflects both the site and the season. For a wine made from old vines in a Grand Cru village, the reduced crop load concentrated what remained. A vintage for those who pay attention.
Tasting notes
Red apple, white cherry, dried rose petal, and the characteristic mineral tension of Verzy chalk. The Pinot Noir character is present but restrained — this is not a rich or opulent Blanc de Noirs. The old oak ageing adds texture and a subtle breadth without imposing flavour. Long, dry, precise finish with a saline quality that invites another glass. Drink now through 2029.
Service: 10–12°C. Oysters, grilled fish, roast chicken, aged soft cheeses.
Alban Corbeaux is the fourth generation of the Corbeaux-Deville family farming in Verzy Grand Cru since 1963. Trained in Burgundy before returning to take over the domaine in 2017 — biodynamic farming, indigenous yeasts, zero or low dosage. Five hectares in one of the Montagne de Reims’ most distinctive Grand Cru villages.
