Roger Coulon Blanc de Noirs 2013 | Champagne

The Coulon family has tended vines in the Petite Montagne de Reims since the 17th century, but it was Marcel Coulon who first bottled under his own name in 1935. His son Roger — who gives the estate its name — died in 1979 at the age of fifty, and it fell to his son Éric to revive the project in 1991 alongside his wife Isabelle, as the eighth generation. Today the ninth is already working by their side: Louise, who trained with Philippe Pacalet in Burgundy and has driven the estate's regenerative viticulture, and Edgar, lead winemaker since 2019, who has progressively introduced the use of oak. Four people across two generations now run one of the most singular récoltant estates in Champagne.

The domaine works 11 hectares spread across 115 micro-parcels of premier cru, mostly in Vrigny — their home village, where 71% of the vineyard is Pinot Meunier on Thanetian sandy soils — and also in Coulommes-la-Montagne, Pargny-les-Reims, Villers-Allerand and Gueux. There is also a 0.2-hectare plot of old Chardonnay in Chouilly, a Grand Cru on the Côte des Blancs. Average vine age is around 40 years; the oldest, franc de pied (ungrafted) Pinot Meunier, were planted in 1953 and 1959 in the Les Linguets lieu-dit at Gueux. Organic conversion began in 2019 and earned AB certification in 2022; sheep now graze the vineyards each winter to maintain soil health.

In the cellar, fermentations are spontaneous, with no fining or filtration. Tirage pressure is deliberately low — 4.5 atmospheres versus the standard 6 — producing a creamier bubble and a more vinous feel in the glass. Dosage never exceeds 3 g/L across the entire range and half the portfolio is zero-dosage. The flagship cuvée is Heri-Hodie (Latin for "yesterday and today"), a 100% Meunier with a perpetual reserve system running since 1995. The Millésime Blanc de Noirs, made from the franc de pied vines of Les Linguets, has scored 18.5/20 on JancisRobinson.com. Roger Coulon is also a founding member of Trait d'Union, the elite collective of terroir-driven growers that includes Jacques Selosse, Egly-Ouriet and Larmandier-Bernier.