Description
The wine
Where Les Pinailleuses brings together Hélène’s best Pinot Noir barrels from across all three villages, La Pirouette goes the other direction — a single plot, a single village, a single expression. Haut de la Pirouette is a lieu-dit in the Premier Cru village of Bisseuil, planted in 1960 on clay-limestone soils over Campanian chalk, facing south-southwest. One parcel. One harvest. One wine.
The plot was planted the same year as some of Hélène’s oldest Bisseuil vines — over 60 years old at the time of the 2022 harvest. The south-southwest exposure gives the fruit its ripeness and depth. The clay-limestone over chalk gives it its structure and mineral precision. The combination produces Pinot Noir that is simultaneously generous and tense.
The approach in the cellar is the same as across the range: juice from the cuvée only, 100% vinification in 2.28hl old oak barrels, 10 months ageing on lees. No fining, no filtration. Brut Nature — 1g/l dosage, the lowest of all the Charbaut cuvées. The zero dosage approach allows the specific character of Haut de la Pirouette to be the only thing in the glass.
1,285 bottles produced.
Vineyard & vintage details
Producer: Champagne Hélène Charbaut
Cuvée: La Pirouette Blanc de Noirs Premier Cru Brut Nature
Grape: 100% Pinot Noir
Village: Bisseuil · Premier Cru
Plot: Haut de la Pirouette · planted 1960
Aspect: South-southwest facing
Soil: Clay-limestone over Campanian chalk
Juice: Cuvée only — first pressing
Vinification: 2.28hl oak barrels · 100% · indigenous yeasts · 10 months on lees
Dosage: Brut Nature · 1g/l
Disgorgement: 25/11/2023
Production: 1,285 bottles
Farming: Organic · biodynamic
Format: 750ml · 12.5% vol
Hélène Charbaut
Hélène Charbaut is the fourth generation of a family farming in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ since 1937. Five cuvées — each a single grape variety, a single expression of Premier Cru terroir from a historic cave the family has worked for nearly a century.
All Hélène Charbaut wines are currently sold out. The next allocation is expected spring 2027 — join the pre-arrival list for first access when it arrives.
