Antoine Chevalier Tecta Silva Blanc de Blancs 2020

Antoine Chevalier Tecta Silva Blanc de Blancs 2020

Antoine Chevalier
$76.00

Grape: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2020
Type: Sparkling

Sourced from the Les Renardes parcel in Couvrot, this Blanc de Blancs highlights a single-vineyard expression of chardonnay from the Coteaux du Vitryat. Grower Antoine Chevalier manages the organic plot on crumbling chalk soils to lock in natural acidity and mineral tension. Hand-harvested fruit undergoes spontaneous native yeast fermentation in neutral barrels and tanks before bottling unfiltered. Aged thirty-six months on fine lees, this Extra Brut cuvée offers a precise snapshot of grower Champagne.

It pours a luminous straw-gold color with a fine stream of bubbles, opening with clean aromas of green apple, lemon oil, white blossoms, and brioche. On the palate, a sleek, medium-bodied frame pairs crisp citrus fruit with a chalky mineral core. A driving beam of natural acidity cuts through the mid-palate, keeping the fluid texture energetic and lithe. It finishes bone-dry and persistent, leaving a lingering, mouthwatering trace of crushed stone.

 

Winery

Antoine Chevalier is a grower in the Coteaux Vitryats, the chalky hills around Vitry-en-Perthois and Couvrot in southeastern Champagne. His family’s vineyard story began in 1925, when his grandfather Guy planted Chardonnay on the local limestone slopes. Antoine grew up among those vines, studied viticulture and winemaking in Avize, and broadened his experience through work in France and abroad before developing his own interpretation of the family land. Chardonnay remains the thread connecting the domaine to this less familiar part of Champagne.

His approach starts with treating individual parcels as distinct places, with farming guided by the long-term health of the vineyard. The estate’s progression toward organic and biodynamic practices is reflected in its parcel-based wines. Tecta Silva comes from Les Renardes, while Carkonnia explores Le Jardin de Meunier. Rather than presenting Champagne only as a house blend, these bottlings offer a closer look at the relationship between a particular vineyard, its harvest and the chalk beneath it.