Going High (When They Go Low): Champagne Salima & Alain Cordeuil

A chat with Noé-lès-Mallets vignerons Salima & Alain Cordeuil, whose tiny, precarious, high-altitude production approaches the vanguard of natural champagne.

Salima and Alain Cordeuil preparing lunch at their home in November. In the background in the middle is sommelier Fred Bond of Mokoloco in Paris.

Meeting Noé-lès-Mallets vignerons Salima and Alain Cordeuil is a peculiarly affecting experience. They remind you, when you have ceased expecting it, that there are humans in Champagne - a region that can other…