Extra Brut means almost no sugar added before corking, so there's nowhere for the wine to hide. This is how a family sure of its vineyards should make grower Champagne. The Méa family has made wine in the Grand Cru village of Louvois since Gilbert Méa started in 1922. Louvois sits right up against northwest Bouzy, with all its vineyards south of the village on hills facing back toward the river. Fun fact: the village is named for the wolves ("loup" in French) that used to come down from the forests above and through the vines. Five generations on, the estate has passed from father to son, then father to daughter, and now mother to daughter. That's a rare line of succession in a region long run by its big houses and their patriarchs. Today the family farms 24 plots, mostly Pinot Noir, across two Grand Cru and four Premier Cru villages. They use no chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, and the estate is HVE certified. Signature is a serious, honest bottle for anyone who wants their Champagne about place, not polish.