The first weekend of August, a cluster of Cote des Bar villages in the Aube opens its cellars for a tasting-passport weekend. Each year a different set of villages on the right bank of the Aube takes its turn welcoming visitors to the open caves.
Tip: Buy the tasting passport and wristband online ahead of time; the wristband is mandatory to enter the open cellars.
Jean-Pierre Fleury converted the Courteron family vineyards to biodynamics in 1989 and was the first Champagne house to certify biodynamic, achieving certification in 1992. The estate farms 15 hectares in the Cote des Bar, accredited to Demeter and Biodyvin and certified organic by Ecocert.
Tip: The Blanc de Noirs is the value entry to a pioneering biodynamic house; the Cuvee 1865 shows the estate at full stretch.
Alongside its Demeter and organic certifications, the pioneering Fleury house bottles a no-added-sulfur cuvee, Sonate sans soufre ajoute, an Extra Brut made without intentional sulfur additions through the whole process.
Tip: Look for the Sonate sans soufre ajoute bottling; it is the cuvee Fleury makes with no added sulfur for the lowest-intervention drinkers.