Prophète Yann

Based in the Côte des Bar, France, Prophète Yann is an exceptionally rare récoltant-manipulant producing only single-varietal, single-vintage Champagnes. His vineyards are farmed organically and planted with old vines of Chardonnay, dating from 1975, and Pinot Noir, planted in 1973. Of the roughly 40,000 kilograms of grapes harvested each year, only around 2,000 kilograms of the very finest bunches are reserved for his own Champagnes. The remainder is sold to larger houses, allowing Yann to pursue an uncompromising level of quality on a truly artisanal scale.

The wines are made in a 19th-century stone cellar, where Yann continues to work with century-old manual equipment to press the grapes and shape each cuvée. His approach brings together tradition and a distinctly modern precision, using historic tools to create wines of remarkable purity and definition.

What most clearly defines his style, however, is the exceptionally long period of bottle ageing, highly unusual even by Champagne standards. He is only now beginning to release the 2010 vintage, followed by the 2011 and 2012. Through prolonged ageing on the lees and on pupitres, Yann develops the aromatic complexity, refinement, and quiet elegance that distinguish his wines.

Neither filtered nor dosed, his Champagnes seek to express the purity of the fruit and the singular character of the Côte des Bar terroir. Rare, precise, and deeply contemplative, they are true hidden gems of the region.