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 — one of the few champagne houses not named after a family.

The house was bought in 2009 by Nicolas Dubois, joined in 2013 by Michel Reybier, owner of Château Cos d’Estournel. It now farms around 50 hectares from Faverolles-et-Coëmy, near Reims, and has held HVE level 3 certification since 2016.

The house keeps a cellar of 1,200 oak barrels — an exceptionally large barrel programme by Champagne standards, and the source of the texture that runs through the range.

A Blanc de Noirs is a white wine made entirely from black grapes — here Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, pressed quickly so the juice takes no colour from the skins. It is the counterweight to the house’s Chardonnay cuvées: broader, rounder, more obviously vinous.

Red apple and stone fruit over pastry and a note of dried fruit; broad and vinous on the palate with a full mid-palate, closing firm and dry. The bottle for the table rather than the aperitif.