Flatiron Wines & Spirits NY

When Champagne lovers think of the Montagne de Reims, their minds usually race to the south-facing slopes — Bouzy, Ambonnay, Verzenay — the historic Grand Cru strongholds of Pinot Noir, bathed in sunlight and long celebrated for their power and prestige. But this month, Extra Brut takes you to the other side: the cooler northern slopes and the lesser-known rise to the west known as the Petite Montagne. These are not the villages of postcards and prestige cuvées. For years, they were considered too shady, too chilly, too inconsistent to rival their noble south-facing neighbors. But today, in the face of a warming climate, these historically undesirable qualities have become their unique strength.

The villages of the Petite Montagne — like Courmas, where one of this month’s growers works — are particularly associated with Pinot Meunier. Once dismissed as rustic and ordinary, Meunier now has an enthusiastic following, thanks to growers like Jérôme Prévost who have shown its capacity for nuance and transparency (working in Gueux, a village not far from Courmas). On the northern slope proper, Pinot Noir is more dominant, just as it is on the sunnier southern flank, but growers here are often more likely to blend, taking advantage of diverse soils and exposures to build wines of complexity and balance.

This month’s selections — one from Chigny-les-Roses on the north slope, the other from Courmas in the Petite Montagne — are perfect expressions of this evolving story.