The Story of Champagne
Page 28
Duval-Leroy
69 Avenue de Bammental
BP37 51130 Vertus
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 52 10 75
www.duval-leroy.eu
The biggest house in Vertus at the southern tip of the Côte des Blancs. Founded by an 1859 merger it is now managed by Carole Duval-Leroy, who took over when her husband Roger died over twenty years ago. The firm takes full advantage of its situation, having over 80 hectares of vines on the Côte des Blancs and the Côte de Sézanne. As a result, its wines are usually fresh and fragrant.
Nicolas Feuillatte
Centre Vinicole de la Champagne
Chouilly, Epernay
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 54 50 60
www.nicolas-feuillatte.com
The CVC was the dream of Henri Macquart (see Chapter 7) and remains one of the biggest wineries in Champagne, capable of making up to 10 million bottles a year mostly of well-made, but inevitably styleless wine. In 1986 the CVC bought the Nicolas Feuillatte brand which is now recognized as a very decent middle-of-the-road wine.
Alfred Gratien
30 Rue Maurice-Cerveaux,
Epernay
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 54 38 20
www.alfredgratien.com
Until the early twenty-first century this highly respected firm was owned by the Seydoux family, which since 1864 had also been making excellent sparkling Saumur under the name of Gratien & Meyer. The family then sold it to the German firm of Henkell, famous for its Sekt – which Von Ribbentrop sold after he’d married into the family and before he became Hitler’s foreign minister! But Henkell have been sensible enough not to change a winning formula making a limited quantity – probably under 25,000 cases – of distinguished wines fermented in cask which can best be described as mature, nutty and slightly oxidized.
Gosset
69 Rue Blondeau, Aÿ
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 50 12 51
www.champagne-gosset.com
The Gosset family had been making (and selling) its wines since the sixteenth century. In 1982 they bought the old firm of Philipponnat (q.v.) after M. Gosset made a fortune creating Rochas perfumes. In 1993 the family sold the firm to the Cointreau family, which also owned the distinguished Frapin brand of cognac. The Cointreaus have invested heavily and maintained the traditional, almost Krug-like quality of the wines, relying on the firm’s vineyards on the Montagne de Reims which provide a fifth of the grapes required for the annual production of up to 300,000 bottles.
Heidsieck
All three houses which incude this name – Charles, Piper and Monopole – can trace their origins to Florens-Louis Heidsieck, a Westphalian who arrived in Reims in 1777, the first of many German immigrants to find fame and fortune in Champagne. In 1785 he switched from selling wool to selling wine. His only son died young so he brought three nephews from Germany to help him. Florens-Louis died in 1828, the firm stopped trading for a few years and all three nephews went their own way. Heidsieck Monopole has changed hands numerous times since 1945 and now makes unremarkable, if good value wines for supermarkets.
Charles Heidsieck
3 Place des Droits-de-l’Homme
Reims
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 40 16 13
www.charlesheidsieck.com
Founded by a grand-nephew of Florens-Louis, Charles-Camille Heidsieck (all male members of this branch of the family include Charles in their names). In 1851 he went into partnership with his brother-in-law Ernest Henriot. Charles-Camille found fame (but not fortune) in the United States as ‘Champagne Charlie’, but his trip was aborted when he was picked up by the Unionists because of the introductions he was carrying from French companies which supplied the Confederate armies in the Civil War. In 1875 Henriot went his own way, and Charles Heidsieck remained independent until 1976 when Joseph Henriot, descendant of Ernest, bought control. Most of the family left. But Henriot retained the firm’s full rich style until he sold it nine years later to the Cognac firm, Rémy Martin, which already owned Krug. Since then, thanks to its two successive chefs de caves Daniel Thibault and Régis Camus, Heidsieck has produced wines that are older and fuller than almost any other firm thanks largely to the use of an unprecedented forty per cent of reserve wines.
Henriot
3 Place des Droits-de-l’Homme
Reims
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 85 03 27
www.champagne-henriot.com
The Henriot family has been growing grapes in Champagne since the end of the seventeenth century, but have been merchants ‘only’ since 1808. After Ernest Henriot dissolved his partnership with Charles Heidsieck (q.v.) in 1875 he concentrated on his vineyards, especially in the Côte des Blancs. His descendant, the late Joseph Henriot was both a passionate grower and winemaker and an astute financier. He bought Charles Heidsieck in 1975, followed by Trouillard and de Venoge (whose stocks he needed), then resold all three. He then merged his family firm with Veuve Clicquot, giving him 11 per cent in the combined group. The luxury leather firm of Louis Vuitton (in which he also had a major interest) then took over Clicquot, thus effectively giving him control of all three concerns. But after he lost the battle for control of the group he bought back the family firm. The firm’s 125 hectares of vines, mostly on the Côte des Blancs, produce at least a fifth of the grapes for its wines which continue the family tradition of being crisp and elegant.
Jacquart
5 Rue Gosset
Reims
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 07 20 20
www.champagne-jacquart.com
This brand was originally produced by the CRVC (Cooperative Regionale des Vins de Champagne) a major cooperative union established in 1962, which now has nearly eight hundred members concentrated in the better crus. Nevertheless, the wine was not distinguished until 1997 when the CRVC, COGEVI in Aÿ, and the Union Auboise formed the Alliance Champagne which has successfully improved the image – and the sales – of the Jacquart brand both outside and inside France thanks to the underlying quality of some of its wines. Its top wines, the Vintage and the Jacquart Selection, contain around half Chardonnay, and this shows up in the lightness and balance of the blend.
Jacquesson & Fils
Societe Leon de Tassigny
68 Rue du Colonel Fabien
51530 Dizy
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 55 68 11
www.champagnejacquesson.com
Founded by Claude Jacquesson and his son Memmie in 1798 in Chalons-en-Champagne. Between 1837 and his death in 1875, Memmie’s son Adolphe built up sales to a million bottles, one of the highest in the region, and introduced a number of technical improvements. Although it now sells only 300,000 bottles annually its owners, the Chiquet family, have restored the wines’ quality, helped by ownership of 22 hectares of fine vines at Aÿ, Avize, Dizy and Hautvillers. Their wines are generally reckoned to be soft and easy to drink.
Krug
5 Rue Coquebert
Reims
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 88 24 24
www.krug.com
Probably the most iconic single brand in Champagne. The firm was founded in 1843 by Jean-Joseph (Johann-Josef!) Krug, a German immigrant who had worked for Jacquesson. It has always sold expensive wines of its own, uncompromising style. Although the family sold control of the firm to Rémy Martin in the1970s and it is now owned by LVMH, it is still run relatively independently and allowed to buy the immense stocks required to back up annual sales of around 550,000 bottles, none less than five or six years old. They bought some vineyards in the 1970s, including a walled vineyard in Mesnil-sur-Oger from which, in 1979, they launched a single-vineyard wine, the Clos de Mesnil, a wine which achieves the sheer depth of a fine white burgundy. Eleven years later Krug added a blanc de noir, the 1995 Clos Ambonnay. They ferment all their wines in small oak barriques, then mature them in small stainless steel vats. All Krug wines are immensely full, serious, nutty and rich – some drinkers find them too serious. They represent the epitome of the ‘British’ taste in champagne (not surprisingly, the royal family loves them). Krug uses up t
o a quarter Pinot Meunier (albeit from a single commune, Leuvrigny) in wines which are designed to mature for twenty years or more. Krug’s Rosé is one of the very few champagnes with the structure to be drunk with meat.
Lanson
66, Rue de Courlancy
51100 Reims
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 78 50 50
www.lanson.com
Founded by François Delamotte in 1760, the Lansons became partners and took full control in the late 1850s. In the 1930s the brothers Victor (a famous figure and legendary imbiber) and Henri bought large estates. But the family was too numerous to retain control of what has always been a major force in the industry. In 1970 Pernod-Ricard, bought 48 per cent and ten years later the firm was bought up by a M. Xavier Gardinier, whose sister had married a Lanson. Three years later he sold Lanson (and Pommery & Greno) to the giant food group BSN. It went through the hands of Moët – who retained all the firm’s extensive vineyards – before being sold to Marne et Champagne (see Chapter 7). Fortunately, in 2005 Lanson was bought by the BCC Group (now Lanson-BCC). They restored the firm’s historic reputation for wines which are both fresh and elegant. The wines do not undergo malolactic fermentation so they need a longer time to mature, a cost which the new owners were prepared to accept.
Pannier
23 Rue Roger-Catillon
Chateau Thierry
Tel: +33 (0)3 23 69 50 30
www.champagnepannier.com
An old-established firm based in medieval cellars bought by the major cooperative in the Aisne and a pioneer in making refreshing fruity, good value wines largely from the local Pinot Meunier.
Moët et Chandon
20 Avenue de Champagne
Epernay
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 54 71 11
www.moet.com
Ever since the firm was founded by Claude Moët in 1743, it has been one of the most important in Champagne. LVMH, the group of which it is the most important subsidiary in Champagne is now the dominant force in the region including as it does Veuve Clicquot, Dom Perignon, Mercier and Ruinart and accounting for up to 40 per cent of total sales. Moët’s success has come in waves. The first was in Napoleonic times, thanks to the emperor’s friendship with Claude’s grandson, Jean-Remy, Mayor of Epernay (see Chapter 3). The second was in the late nineteenth century when it accounted for one in every eight bottles sold in the then-dominant export markets. Family laxity – and the construction of an enormous new head office in the late 1920s just before the Depression – led to rapid decline. By the early 1930s the firm had under 7 per cent of the export market and less than 2 per cent of sales in France itself. Worse, the family had sold over half the enormous land-holdings accumulated over the centuries, albeit still leaving them with 360 hectares. The firm’s revival, which has lasted till the present day, was due to the remarkable Comte Robert-Jean de Vogüé (see Chapters 6 and 7). For all the problems associated with sheer quantity, the standard of Moët’s own wines is now remarkably high. Its basic Brut Imperial, though well-dosed, is now reliable.
Mumm
G. H. Mumm
29/34 Rue du Champs-de-Mars
Reims
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 40 22 73
www.mumm.com
Founded in 1827 by two German immigrants, Peter-Arnold de Mumm and Frederick Giesler, Mumm’s son, Georg Hermann, developed the famous Cordon Rouge brand and M de Bory, a great salesman, provided the firm with a major base in the United States. But the Mumms had never been naturalized and the firm was confiscated in World War I. After the war it was bought up by a syndicate, and till his death in 1973 was dominated by one of its members, René Lalou. He took control of Perrier-Jouët (q.v.) in 1959 and of Chauvet Freres in 1969 – the same year Seagram, the Canadian liquor group, bought a stake. In 1972 Mumm bought up Heidsieck Monopole and in 1985 Seagram completed its purchase of the combined group, which became the second biggest in Champagne, accounting for sales of over 9 million bottles, of which 6.3 million were Mumm. Seagram neglected Mumm and failed to invest in the winery leading to a loss of quality. Fortunately, in 2001 Pernod-Ricard bought Mumm (and Perrier-Jouët) and invested enough to restore its historic position as one of the top half dozen brands. Cordon Rouge, now clean, rich and fragrant, remains Mumm’s major brand. The prestige Cuvée René Lalou, from grapes from Mumm’s 281 hectares of vines, is rich and well balanced. But Mumm’s star offering is its Crémant de Cramant, now for legal reasons called merely Mumm de Cramant. Made from its own Chardonnay, this is the most subtle and delicate such wine from the entire region.
Orpale
See Union Champagne De Saint Gall
Bruno Paillard
Avenue de Champagne
51100 Reims
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 36 28 22
www.champagnebrunopaillard.com
One of the most successful new producers, Bruno Paillard, from a family of winemakers, originally made his living as a middleman for Parisian buyers. In 1981 he decided to produce his own brand, eventually buying over 30 hectares of vineyards, many on the Côte des Blancs and building a notably modernist winery on the outskirts of Reims. At the same time he and Philippe Baijot built up Lanson-BCC, a major group of brands though Paillard’s own brand is distributed separately. It has acquired an excellent reputation thanks largely to its superb Chardonnays – and the low dosage which is a feature of all of them.
Palmer
67 Rue Jacquart
51100 Reims
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 07 35 07
www.champagne-palmer.fr
‘The company of Champagne’s Grands Crus’, as they came to be called, is a highly regarded cooperative formed in Avize in 1947 by seven premiers and grands crus growers from the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims. They launched the brand Palmer in 1948 and moved to Reims ten years later. In 1997 they moved to larger premises by which time they had also recruited members in the Aube and on the Côte de Sézanne. Its range of excellent wines, some of which have spent a few months in wood, include a blanc de noir which is half Pinot Meunier – a good way of ensuring the wine’s fruitiness – and Nectar Reserve an outrageously sweet, although decently mature, wine with an unusually high 37 grams of sugar.
Dom Perignon
9 Avenue de Champagne
51200 Epernay
www.domperignon.com
Since it was first launched in 1935 Dom Perignon has developed into by far the most successful luxury wine in the history of Champagne. This was a brilliant marketing effort depending on two pieces of luck: ownership of Perignon’s Abbey of Hautvillers, which gave the wine its name, and of large stretches of vineyard in the Haute Vallée de la Marne, reinforced by grapes from the vineyards which Moët retained when it sold Pommery and Lanson. The wines – never less than ten years old – are naturally rich and complex, and now include a rich and drily fruity rosé and an older wine called Plenitude – previously named Oenotheque – representing proof for Richard Geoffroy, who has been responsible for the wines since 1990 that ‘super-premium is just extra age in bottle’ and judging by the 1996 vintage – generally a rather disappointing one – he’s right.
Joseph Perrier
69 Avenue de Paris
Chalons-sur-Marne
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 68 29 51
www.josephperrier.com
Founded in 1825 when Chalons was an important centre of the champagne trade, in 1888 the Perrier family sold to the Pithois who still own the firm. For a long time it was managed by Claude Fourmon, son of Jean-Claude Fourmon, the long-serving chief-of-staff to Robert-Jean de Vogüé. Joseph Perrier sells 500,000 bottles of wines which have a high reputation in the region. The fruity, uncomplicated, basic Cuvée Royale, designed to be enjoyed rather than studied, is an equal blend of all three varieties. The vintage, which is half Chardonnay, is a richer, equally well-balanced, much appreciated blend of at least twenty wines. Tom Stevenson found the Blanc de Blancs had ‘a very smooth and persistent mousse and a highly perfumed creamy nose; a delicate wine on the palate’.
/> Perrier-Jouët
28 Avenue de Champagne
Epernay
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 55 20 53
www.perrier-jouet.com
Founded by Joseph Perrier’s uncle in 1811 (his wife’s maiden name was Jouët). Control passed to the Gallice family, then to their relations the Budins, and although they sold to Mumm in 1959, the house continued to be run by Michel Budin. Like Mumm it suffered from neglect by Seagram but has recovered its reputation since 2001 thanks to Pernod-Ricard and to the firm’s 108 hectares of excellent vineyards, of which 40 hectares are around Cramant and Avize. All the wines combine a notable richness and elegance. The Belle Epoque tends to be underrated because the bottle, a masterpiece of Art Nouveau florality, is so delightful. But the wine inside, rich and warm but with an elegance from its important proportion of Chardonnay, is worthy of the bottle. The finest Perrier-Jouët is the Blason de France, which is rich without being blowsy.
Laurent Perrier
Avenue de Champagne
51150 Tours-sur-Marne
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 58 91 22
www.laurent-perrier.com
Originally founded in 1812, Laurent Perrier was a mere shell when it was bought in 1938 by Marie-Louise de Nonancourt, the sister of Henri and Victor Lanson. She meant it as a springboard for her son Bernard, who transformed it into one of the biggest firms in Champagne. The elegance of his wines makes them the true heirs to the Lanson tradition. The Rosé was a pioneer in quality, as was the firm’s prestige wine, the Grand Siècle, which is a blend of three good vintages. It is a fine, fresh, biscuity champagne.
Philipponnat
13 Rue du Pont
Mareuil-sur-Aÿ
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 50 60 43
www.philipponnat.com
Founded in 1912 by an old-established Champenois family, in 1935 Philipponnat bought the Clos des Goisses, a south-facing slope overlooking the Marne and began producing what was probably the first champagne from a single vineyard to be sold. In 1984 the firm was taken over by the liqueur firm of Marie-Brizard and then rescued by Lanson-BCC who brought Charles Philipponnat back from Argentina to run it. The non-vintage is fruity; the Blanc de Blancs is much applauded for its buttery qualities while the wine from the Clos des Goisses itself is particularly rich and intense, partly because the grapes ripen so completely.