Champagne Jeeper owes its name to a vehicle. In 1949, Armand Goutorbe came back from the war and needed a way to get around the steep slopes of his vineyards; the American army left him a Jeep. He put the name on the label, and it stuck.

The house was bought in 2009 by Nicolas Dubois, joined in 2013 by Michel Reybier, owner of Château Cos d’Estournel. It farms around 50 hectares near Reims, holds HVE level 3 certification since 2016, and has set itself a carbon-neutrality target.

The Cuvée Naturelle is the house’s certified organic bottling, finished Extra Brut — a dosage low enough that there is nowhere for a flaw to hide. Organic viticulture in Champagne remains rare: the climate is damp, mildew is a constant threat, and the certified surface is a small fraction of the region.

Green apple and citrus over white flowers and a chalky note; taut and linear on the palate, very dry, closing saline and mineral. The most austere wine in the range, and the most revealing.