Champagne Marie-Courtin

Dominique Moreau established Champagne Marie-Courtin in 2005, naming the estate in honor of her grandmother. Her path to the cellar began earlier; she started as a vigneron around 2000, initially renting one hectare before gradually acquiring and planting additional parcels. The hillside vineyard in Polisot was partly planted by her father-in-law, who later became her husband Roland Piollot of the neighboring Champagne Piollot Père et Fils. From the outset, Moreau committed to biodynamic principles, beginning the conversion of her vineyards in 2006 and achieving full DEMETER biodynamic and organic certification by 2010.

• Estate founded 2005; named after Dominique Moreau's grandmother Marie Courtin
• Moreau began as a vigneron circa 2000, initially renting 1 hectare before building her current holding
• Biodynamic conversion started 2006; DEMETER and organic certification achieved 2010
• Vineyard partly planted by Roland Piollot, now Moreau's husband and proprietor of adjacent Champagne Piollot Père et Fils

Dominique Moreau runs Marie-Courtin as a sole proprietorship, handling viticulture and winemaking herself. Her approach extends beyond the conventional; she uses pendulums as a spiritual tool to evaluate the evolution of grapes and wines, a practice consistent with her deep engagement with biodynamic philosophy. Her daughter Jeanne Piollot has pursued her own path in wine, operating Domaine Dame Jeanne in the Châtillonnais area of Burgundy near Molesme. The domaine continues to expand its range, with new cuvées appearing as recently as 2024, including Manigance, which incorporates 20-year-old Pinot Blanc alongside Chardonnay.

• Moreau is sole proprietor and winemaker; no co-ownership or negociant activity
• Uses pendulums as a spiritual assessment tool for grape and wine evaluation
• Daughter Jeanne Piollot operates Domaine Dame Jeanne in the Châtillonnais (Burgundy), independent of Marie-Courtin
• New cuvée Manigance released 2024, blending 20-year-old Pinot Blanc with Chardonnay

The heart of Marie-Courtin is a single 2.5-hectare hillside parcel situated above the village of Polisot in the Côte des Bars, the southernmost subregion of Champagne. The site faces east and southeast and sits on clay-limestone soils threaded with bands of Kimmeridgian limestone, the same geological formation that defines the terroir of Chablis to the southwest. Approximately 90 percent of the vineyard is planted to Pinot Noir propagated through massale selection, with vines averaging 40 to 50 years old; a smaller block of Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc supports the blanc de blancs and rosé cuvées. Total reported holdings extend to 6 hectares, though the documented production site remains the core 2.5-hectare parcel.

• Single 2.5-hectare hillside parcel in Polisot; east/southeast exposure on clay-limestone with Kimmeridgian bands
• Approximately 90% Pinot Noir, massale-selected, vines 40 to 50 years old
• Côte des Bars (Aube) is geographically closer to Chablis than to Épernay or Reims
• Total estate holding reported at up to 6 hectares; core production vineyard is 2.5 hectares

Every wine at Marie-Courtin is a single-vineyard, single-vintage, single-variety Champagne released at zero dosage. Fermentation relies exclusively on natural yeasts, and intervention in the cellar is kept to an absolute minimum. Different cuvées explore distinct vinification paths: Résonance is fermented in stainless steel and aged 24 months on the lees, while Efflorescence undergoes oak barrel fermentation and spends 36 months sur lattes. Concordance and Allégeance are produced without any added sulfur. The rosé Indulgence is vinified as a maceration rosé in amphora, blending 80 percent Chardonnay with 20 percent Pinot Blanc. This range of techniques applied to the same small parcel functions as a genuine terroir study.

• All wines are zero-dosage (no added sugar at disgorgement) and single-vintage
• Résonance: stainless steel fermented, 24 months sur lattes; Efflorescence: oak barrel fermented, 36 months sur lattes
• Concordance and Allégeance produced without added sulfur
• Indulgence rosé de macération vinified in amphora; 80% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Blanc

Marie-Courtin represents the most rigorous expression of the grower Champagne movement: one producer, one village, one parcel, zero intervention, zero dosage. The domaine demonstrates that the Côte des Bars is not a secondary Champagne zone but a terroir capable of producing wines with as much precision and complexity as any grand cru site in the Marne. Moreau's refusal to blend across vintages, varieties, or parcels makes each cuvée a direct document of a specific growing year and a specific piece of Kimmeridgian clay-limestone. The wines have achieved cult status internationally, with production of 12,000 to 20,000 bottles per year consistently unable to meet demand. For students of wine, Marie-Courtin is a case study in how biodynamic viticulture, natural winemaking, and radical terroir focus can redefine expectations for an entire appellation.

• Production of 12,000 to 20,000 bottles annually; demand substantially exceeds supply worldwide
• Proves the Côte des Bars capable of terroir-driven complexity on par with better-known Champagne subregions
• Each cuvée is a standalone terroir document: single vineyard, single vintage, single variety, zero dosage
• Recognized internationally as a benchmark estate of the natural and grower Champagne movements