The good folks at Fluteau happen to have some pretty spectacular vineyards too, which I happily re-visited back in November… and I’ll tell you what – as delicious as this wine tastes, it’s even better when the family pours it for you, in the cherished Les Evallons’ vineyard that has been passed down through the generations, all while their glorious golden retriever, Panama, crunches on fallen apples from the nearby orchard, on a sun-filled and glorious autumn day! It simply doesn’t get better, but barring you all coming for my job – sharing in this delectable bubbly is a pretty close placeholder! We’ve offered several of their wines in the past, but if you’ve yet to grab up one of them, you’d be sage to snag one of our favorite cuvées – emblematic of their stunning winemaking prowess and innovation in the region.

After WWII, the domaine increased its reach, and served as a standard bearer for the quality possible in the Côte des Bar, becoming available in many places around Europe through the efforts of Bernard Fluteau, who took to the helm in 1970. But it was the ‘90s that really thrust the Fluteau label into overdrive. In 1996, Bernard’s son, Thierry, took over the house of Fluteau with the goal of modernizing production and expanding into more export markets. The venture proved fruitful and Champagne Fluteau became known on an international scale. In 2008, Thierry’s son, Jeremy, joined the family business after receiving his enology degree from up north in Avize. Now, it is Jeremy, his sister Adeline, and sister-in-law Mathilde Bertillon that run the day-to-day operations of Fluteau – with Jeremy and Adeline hosting us for a behind the scenes tour last month.

 
The winery sits along the road in the charming village of Gyé-sur-Seine, with the vineyards further up into the hills and forests that fortify the region. Their modern Coquard press is among the smallest we saw this trip, and in meager vintages like 2024, filling up to the minimum level wasn’t even possible, so they had to use a neighbor’s press. Jeremy – as stoic as ever – talked about the difficulties of the vintage, only perking up with excitement as we approached the handful of barrels that hold the next release of Rétrospective. From there, we jetted up to the vineyard, with bottles in hand, to taste outdoors on the spectacular autumn day. A highlight was this iteration of Fluteau’s Rétrospective – a blend of 70% pinot noir and 30% chardonnay – with primary fermentation occurring entirely in 228 liter French oak barrels – half of which are new, medium toast Champagne barrels. The cuvée stems entirely from the 2020 harvest, with a full thirty months on the lees, and a disgorgement without any additional dosage back in June of 2023. The aromas lean toward golden apples and apricots, lilacs and peonies – it’s highly perfumed and seductively intoxicating. On the palate, umeboshi plums, white peaches and nectarines, red cherries, saltwater taffy, cider apples, clove, nutmeg, seaspray, with a slate-y, river rock minerality. You will also find dry, crisp pears, lychee and spice notes of cardamom abounding in this wildly complex wine. There’s a long and precise finish that is one of the most satisfying I’ve ever had in a wine. All of this for under $55? That is something worth celebrating, surely? At the end of the day, this 93 point gem of a cuvée is a vinous, compact, and intense wine, with a long and precise finish. I simply adore it! Burgundy bowls are my choice for this wine, and don’t be afraid to give it a swirl and infuse it with air for optimum enjoyment – a savory wine for the sentient, undoubtedly!