Champagne Chavost 'Paradoxe' Brut Nature NV, Champagne, France
Regular price $72.00
Unit price per
Chardonnay & Pinot Noir
Pale straw-yellow with a fine, lively mousse. Ripe pear, fresh apple, lemon zest, pastry, and subtle chalky minerality. Dry and chiselled, with crisp orchard fruit and a balanced mix of tension and roundness.
Champagne Chavost is a cooperative winery in the village of Chavot, currently led by the young and dynamic chef de caves Fabian Daviaux, who took over in 2019 at the young age of 30. Founded in 1946 by an original group of around 20 growers, the co-op is now comprised of the holdings of over 70 multi-generational growers. Until Fabian started, the winery resembled many co-ops in Champagne: its growers largely sold fruit to larger houses, the winery processed some grapes and sold off juice, and they produced some conventional wines for longtime customers. On a basic level - it was a volume business, providing for its members by returning a modest income each year.
However, with Fabian in charge, all of that changed. He convinced the co-op's members to take all 5.5ha of their collective organic holdings and embark on a new journey: he would create a range of wines made entirely without additives or sulfites. This feat of persuasion shouldn't be overlooked: convincing many older growers to go in a completely new (and some would say, risky) direction was a bold decision on his part. The winery still produces a range of conventional wines, but for a cooperative in Champagne, this was a big and unprecedented step towards natural winemaking in a region that has often been highly resistant to change.
Paradoxe comes from Chavost’s vineyards in the Côteaux Sud d’Épernay, where clay-limestone soils and a cool exposure help preserve freshness and tension. Paradoxe is a non-vintage blend built from several recent harvests, designed to combine freshness from cooler years with roundness from riper ones. It is vinified with a natural, low-intervention philosophy, and the Brut Nature style keeps the wine focused on fruit purity, texture, and terroir expression rather than sweetness.