DOMAINE MEA 'Louvois Blanc'

For nearly a century, the family used their Grand Cru vineyards exclusively to make sparkling Champagne. However, fifth-generation winemaker Sophie and her husband Franck wanted to reveal the raw, unmasked power of their home terroir without any bubbles. They created an incredibly rare, still dry white wine in the heart of Champagne's Grand Cru village of Louvois by harvesting a unique multi-vintage blend of Pinot Noir (vinified as a white wine via direct-to-press extraction) from the Les Grands Monts parcel and Chardonnay from the Les Monts de La Croix parcel. Sophie fermented and aged the wine in a single oak barrel before bottling it completely unfined and unfiltered.

Why we love it: Because it blends the rich, structural muscle of Grand Cru Pinot Noir with the mineral energy of Chardonnay, it behaves like an exceptional, tension-filled white Burgundy with a distinctly chalky fingerprint.

The vibe: The book club is getting together to talk about a NYT best seller and everyone has an opinion. You set out an unfussy cheese board with a sharp white cheddar or a slightly stinky, rich cheese and some pretzels with mustard.