2019 Marx-Coutelas Les Bariles Extra Brut Champagne 750 ml

Champagne’s 2019 vintage had growers constantly checking their pulses. Frost in April. Heat spikes in July. Hail in August. By harvest, some were bracing for Mother Nature’s next outburst. But the few grapes that ran the gauntlet emerged with generous richness, fresh acidity, and aromatic complexity—and in the end, Wine Enthusiast rated it as one of the region’s greatest vintages ever. 

Vintage bottlings from the big names, who often blend from vineyards across Champagne, are unsurprisingly great. Yet for a high-definition snapshot of a particular piece of land in a particular moment in time, we love grower-producers like Marx-Coutelas. They’ve been making wines in the Marne Valley since the 17th century, and in 2019, their family’s hillside vineyards produced a beauty. 

Made from 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay from a single 1.5-acre vineyard, Les Barils entices with aromas of hazelnut praline, ginger, and baked pastry, opening up to notes of apricot and lemon. The palate is ever-evolving, simultaneously rich and lively, complex and refreshing, with a seemingly endless finish.

Although the Coutelas family didn’t start making wines until the 1600s, their land near the village of Venteuil has nurtured vines since the 11th—making it one of the oldest vineyard sites in Champagne. Pierre Coutelas started selling sparkling wines in 1927, and his daughter Claudine married Jacques Marx, who brought his family’s vineyards to the operation. 

Today, fourth-generation winemaker Bryan Marx has combined traditional winemaking techniques with organic farming practices to craft low-dosage Champagnes with exceptional purity. He laid Les Barils in the family’s hand-dug chalk cellars to rest en tirage for three years before bottling. It’s a vibrant, layered wine from an exceptional Champagne vintage.