Champagne Nos Pas dans l'Argile Marie Copinet

The Champagne Nos Pas dans l'Argile from Marie Copinet is the most rooted and tactile cuvée in the Nos Pas range, a parcel collection that honours each soil type in the house's vineyard. Its name invites you to feel and touch before tasting, speaking to the green clay of Cuchery, that heavy, rich earth which clings to your boots and leaves its mark on everything it nourishes. The label mirrors the soil's texture perfectly, and on the palate this clayey richness coats your cheeks like the caress of velvet. A 100% Meunier of absolute depth, generosity and singularity.

Terroir and the parcel

Nos Pas dans l'Argile is a 100% Meunier from Cuchery, sourced from the lieu-dit Les Ragotterie on a vein of green clay soil on the right bank of the Vallée de la Marne. This clay terroir is the absolute counterpoint to the sandy soils of Montigny-sous-Châtillon or the chalk of the Sézannais, heavy and rich, draining slowly and imposing on Pinot Meunier a gradual ripening and natural concentration that produce berries of uncommon richness, roundness and vinosity. The green clay of Cuchery, with its mineral content and excellent water retention, nourishes the vines with a regularity and generosity that translate directly into this tactile, enveloping richness that is the absolute signature of the cuvée. The vines have been certified organic since the 2021 harvest. Alcoholic fermentation is spontaneous. Ageing on fine lees is lengthy, building richness for the base wines. After bottling, ageing on yeast lasts approximately 48 months. The cuvée is disgorged without dosage, with zero grams of residual sugar per litre, a Brut Nature that preserves all the purity and authenticity of the clay terroir.

Tasting profile

The colour is a bright, shimmering gold, crossed by fine persistent bubbles. The first nose is humic, with smoky notes of clay earth, nuances of vine peach, ginger, sunflower and warm apple, telluric and enveloping aromas that immediately betray the clay origins of the terroir. With aeration, notes of fresh red fruits, mirabelle and ripe pear, supported by savoury almond paste and brioche, progressively enrich this bouquet with growing complexity and depth. On the palate, the attack is broad and fleshy, with fine matter that marries roundness and freshness. That richness coating your cheeks like velvet asserts itself with a precision and persistence that speaks to the power of Cuchery's clay. The Brut Nature allows all the minerality and salinity of the terroir to express itself unfiltered. The finish is long, slightly saline and marked by mineral persistence that underscores the elegance and focus of this Meunier crafted with rigour. A cuvée that surprises those accustomed to tradition.

The house

Founded in 1975 by Jacques Copinet, the house is now guided by his daughter Marie-Laure and her husband Alexandre Kowal-Copinet. The 10.5 hectares of vines, certified organic since the 2021 harvest, are geographically scattered across diverse sites, revealing a remarkable variety of terroirs. The Nos Pas range is the house's most ambitious and intellectual collection: four cuvées, four terroirs, four grape varieties, four expressions of Champagne soil. Nos Pas dans la Craie is a 100% Chardonnay from the Sézannais, Nos Pas dans l'Argile is a 100% Meunier from Cuchery, Nos Pas dans la Pierre is a 100% Pinot Noir from Verpillières, Nos Pas dans la Terre is a blend of Pinot Noir and Meunier from the Vallée de l'Ardre.

Food pairing

This Champagne Nos Pas dans l'Argile pairs beautifully with roasted poultry with herbs, noble fish such as John Dory or turbot in sauce, sweetbreads in cream, mushroom and Parmesan risotto, or aged soft cheeses like Brie de Meaux or Brillat-Savarin. Served between 8 and 10°C in a white Burgundy glass to let the aromas fully unfold, it will reveal all the clay expressiveness, velvety richness and sincerity of a grower Champagne that begins where others end.