Flatiron Wines & Spirits NY

At just 30 years old, Matthieu Godmé-Guillaume took over his mother Sabine Godmé's family estate in 2019—but he'd already been preparing for this moment. He began his independent project in 2017, carving out a few plots from his father's holdings so he could farm and vinify his own way: organically, without additives, with a focus on his rocks and soils.

Those soils are spread across three villages. The estate covers 5.35 hectares in Verzy, Verzenay and Villers-Marmery—3.50 hectares of Chardonnay and 1.85 hectares of Pinot Noir, all from vines averaging 30 to 40 years old. And VVV? That's the clever shorthand for where these grapes come from: Verzy, Verzenay, and Villers-Marmery. Three villages, each contributing something different. The Pinot Noir (55%) comes from the Grand Cru villages of Verzy and Verzenay, while the Chardonnay (45%) hails from Premier Cru Villers-Marmery—a village many believe deserves Grand Cru status but hasn't received it yet.

This cuvée is all from the fresh, ripe, energetic 2022 vintage, but cannot legally be called a vintage Champagne because it only ages sur-lattes for 15 months as opposed to the required 36 months for the wine to be labeled as a Millésime. For Godmé, the shorter aging gives this wine a lively textural energy and crackling purity of fruit. Short lees-aging like this is becoming more and more popular among progressive Champagne producers in no small part because of the influence of the iconic Cedric Bouchard.

At harvest, the fruit is directly pressed and fermented naturally in neutral French oak barrels.The vin-clair is aged for around 9 months in barrel before bottling, then is aged for 15 months sur-lattes before disgorgement and the addition of just 4 g/l of dosage (Extra Brut).

What will strike you when you drink this wine is just how approachable it is right now. The oak influence is subtle—it adds texture and a gentle richness without masking the bright fruit and chalky minerality that define these northern Montagne de Reims sites. This is “vintage” Champagne you can open tonight and enjoy, though it certainly has the structure to reward a few more years in the cellar. Where Mouzon Leroux asks you to slow down and contemplate the nature and influence of time itself through his Solera, Godmé offers more direct, immediate pleasure without sacrificing depth. These are two different perspectives on the same village, both utterly convincing, and both with that underlying chalky mineral theme.