Driving through the narrow streets of Essoyes in the heart of the Côte des Bar, one cannot help but smile experiencing the romanticism of this tiny village in the Aube – the place Axelle and Sébastien Guenin have called home their entire lives.

The history of the Guenin family in this part of the Côte des Bar dates back to 1648. Sébastien, the 11th generation winemaker of his family, decided to return to his roots to cultivate his first vintage in 2015. After studying enology in Beaune, and experiencing various winemaking regions throughout France, Sébastien chose to continue to pass down the passion and knowledge showcased to him by previous generations of his family. Sourcing grapes from vineyards planted by his great-grandfather in 1952 and further cultivated by his grandfather and father, Sébastien is crafting Pinot Noir-dominant wines that sing true to the beauty of the Aube’s distinct terroir.

Sébastien and Axelle currently own 17 hectares, 92% of which are planted for Pinot Noir, 7% for Chardonnay, and the rest for Pinot Blanc. The carefully selected hillside vineyards and the clay-limestone soils allow the Pinot Noir to express all its finesse and aromatic complexity that this region is recognized for. Rather than bottling most of these incredible holdings, Sébastien keeps production limited with the aim of selecting only the best plots that are a clear expression of the Côte de Bar terroir, and sells the majority of their grapes. The laser-sharp focus of Sébastien and Axelle in limiting their production and keying in on quality is lending itself to pure, mineral-dense, and linear expressions of Côte de Bar Champagne.