Sans Année: The Purity Behind Flavien Nowack's Philosophy (and his NV Cuvée)

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“The soil is living, it changes with the seasons and we live with its rhythm ... Made according to the simplest rules, these champagnes are living organisms produced from a natural fermentation, slow and complete. A conviction: re-establish the relation between the plant, the animal, and the mineral to translate the energy of the soil to the fruit.” — Flavien Nowack, taken from McCarus Beverage

Without a doubt or a hint of hyperbole, Champagne is one of the most exciting wine regions in the world right now. For the past 20-30 years, a revolution has been percolating throughout Champagne. One where vignerons are seeking some kind of truth behind terroir versus upholding a process-driven method for maintaining a house style. Where a sense of place relies as much on soils and vines as it does the address where wine is made.

Flavien Nowack is one such individual who hails from a long line of farmers in the Vandières region of the Vallée de la Marne in Champagne. Vandières sits upon the right bank of the Marne River, where about 30 other wineries exist, many of which are also ‘growers’, or Récoltant Manipulate (RM) - growing the grapes that they themselves produce into wine. On this northern side of the river, many of its vineyards are open to a warm southwestern exposition. About 70% of its 238 hectares are planted to Pinot Meunier, which is no doubt a focus for Flavien.

Flavien’s family has a history in Vandières going back to 1795, when a Bohemian brickmaker Jean-Baptiste Nowack decided to trade ocean life for the cold continental hills of Champagne. That would have been Flavien’s great-great-great-great (?) grandfather? Whatever the greatness, it wasn’t until about 1850 when Flavien’s great-great grandfather Ferdinand began to plant vines. From then on, grape growing and winemaking was inescapably in the family’s veins. With every generation, the family’s brand seemed to receive more acclaim.

On their website, they explain that Jean-Baptiste brought with him the Bohemian spirit: "A state of mind where borders do not exist and where creativity limits only respect for the earth and for others.” This seems to be an inherited family trait. Flavien took over around 2011 after finishing his studies. Like a good handful of the artisans that are coming to define a new Champagne approach, Flavien’s passion has been lead by what seems to be an endless curiosity. He has funneled this tenacious journey of discovery into his own label: Domaine Nowack, whilst still helping with the family winery. Most of Flavien’s seven hectares are within Vandières.

Flavien’s approach is relatively simple - restore vineyards to their most self-sustaining, organic, healthy state, rich with biodiversity. Then, harvest those biodynamically farmed grapes and nurture them in a way that is not encumbered with unnecessary interference. He uses a Coquard vertical press and ferments the base wine with natural yeasts, allowing MLF if that is what the vin clair decides to do, though he generally avoids it (still, with low sulphur adds, it’s not always preventable). Never chapitalized, fined, or filtered, these wines go into bottle for their second fermentation using a prise de mousse of grape must with its own yeasts rather than a forced cocktail of cultured yeast and sugar. As a result, the bubbles have a bit less of a bark when it comes to atmospheres of pressure, allowing one to really taste the wine itself sans overly exuberant carbonation. He is a fan of extended aging (18-40 months), and he tends to keep dosage under 4 g/l.

His cleverly named non-vintage ’S.A.’ (Sans Année) is a composition of 60% Pinot Meunier and 40% Chardonnay grown on fossil-fuel limestone - a sampling of vineyards through the Vandières region. A hearty base of 2017 with a smattering of 2012-2016 reserve wine to balance the rest. A move towards malo completes in the spring. It slumbers for 24 months on the lees in bottle before disgorgement. Here, even the dosage is done with grape must to 1.5 g/l.

Champagne Nowack 'S.A.’ NV $40