Know-How

The ”Côte des Blancs” (the Limestone Hills), and more precisely the village of Mesnil sur Oger, is a chalky cliff perpendicular the Mountain of Reims. This area, south of Epernay, owes its complexity to the mosaic of small plots conducive to optimal expression of the Chardonnay grape. Limestone appears here and there on the surface forming an invaluable underground water and heat reserve.

Poor soil, ever-present limestone, vineyards located on the hill slopes make Mesnil sur Oger Grand Cru champagnes the most appreciated of the Côte des Blancs region.

A great champagne can only be made with high-quality grapes. And high-quality grapes go hand in hand with a high-quality terroir.

Our champagnes are the mirror image of our terroir and it is our duty to respect this. We live alongside nature – its biodiversity, the soil, the water. Our joining the HVE certification (High Environmental Value) is an added-value factor in our commitment to protecting natural ressources.

Our daily vineyard management translates into simple actions… Minimal intervention, low amendment usage, rational vineyard protection following organic agriculture criteria, light ploughing, natural vegetative covers, sowing of green manure, and low yields.

This is a key moment of the year, the fruit of a year’s work is at stake and we must wait for optimal maturity of the grapes before starting to pick. After grape-harvesting the greatest challenge remains extracting the best possible quality, the matter and specific substance of the grapes. We carry out micro-vinifications isolating the different plots in order to express the specific characteristics of each area.

Grape-picking is the time-piece of our trade.

Oak barrel is still used on a small scale in the Champagne area and requires much skill and attention. Wood allows the development of a larger range of aromas by way of increased oxygenation due to the porosity of the barrel. Wood also increases the glycerol effect giving “fatter” wines. To obtain these extra factors, we leave our wine 10 months in barrel “on lees”. The wine is stirred twice during this period in order to remix the lees which nourish the wine. The barrels are topped up every fortnight due to a low level of evaporation through the wood. The wine is constantly tasted and finally bottled in April.

Ageing in oak gives character and body to our champagnes.

In modern society time is an almost inaccessible luxury. But we want to give our wines a chance to grow up and blossom.

At the infant level – the wine stays 10 months in barrel “on lees”.
In childhood: the wine is protected in bottle and slowly reaches maturity in our cellars. The bottles remain there for between 3 and 6 years at a constant temperature varying only between 11°C and 13°C. This phase of ageing is essential to allow the wine to lose some of its minerality and gain roundness and complexity. This time is also needed in order to offer you a champagne perfectly ready to drink – 3 years ageing for the non-vintage champagnes and 6 years for the vintage champagnes.