Legrand-Latour - 'Yprésien' - Champagne - Brut Nature - Vallée de la Marne, Champagne, FR - 2019

Satellite's Hot Take

An absolutely insane bottle of Champagne. Remarkably delightful, precise and yet invitingly rounded at the fringes.

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Champagne “Yprésien” – Grand Vallée de la Marne Traditional Method | 75% Meunier, 25% Pinot Noir | Certified Organic

A Champagne deeply rooted in its terroir—both literally and philosophically. Named for the Yprésien, a geologic period 56 to 48 million years ago, this cuvée reflects the layered sedimentations of marl, limestone, and sandstone shaped by ancient seas and rivers.

Sourced from organically farmed parcels in Vandières and Verneuil, where Meunier leads the charge, this wine is fermented with native yeasts and aged in neutral oak on the lees for 12 months. It then rests under cork for 30–36 months, gaining depth and tension before being disgorged in July 2023 with zero dosage.

The result? A precise, textured Champagne with saline clarity, orchard fruit lift, and fine mineral grip. Just 7,669 bottles produced.

Notes on the Producer

Thibault Legrand is the new kid on the block with a unique vision and the fortitude and ingenuity to see it through. Inspired by his childhood best friend and mentor, Flavien Nowack, Thibault began refocusing the best parcels from his family’s domaine to organically-farmed, terroir-driven bottlings. The estate’s transition into organic farming started around 2013, and was certified in 2016. Flavien helped Thibault press his first wines when he left the local co-op in 2016. In 2017, Thibault launched his family’s domaine in a new direction with the release of his first bottling, “Éocène.”
Thibault’s father, Patrice, is an accomplished paleontologist who has devoted much of his life to building “La Cave aux Coquillages,” a miles long and 300m deep hand-carved cave and museum, dedicated to the documentation and preservation of sea shells from the family property in Fleury-la-Rivière. These fossils date back to 45 million years ago during the Lutetian period, before the Ice Age when the Paris Basin was still under water.
Deeply inspired and connected to his father’s life’s work, Thibault showcases a different geological strata from the Lutecian period and unique characteristics of that particular geology in each of his bottlings. These champagnes are aged under cork, rather than capsule, for 2.5-3 years in his father’s cave, which maintains perfect natural humidity and temperature.