La maison

Winegrowing

A soil with personality

Fabien gives the utmost importance to his vineyards plots as he is fascinated by his terroir and the sensations it may bring to him. He continuously learns about his terroir and he wishes to reveal the best of it in his wines.

On the right side of the Marne, the villages of Venteuil, Damery and Reuil have about 4,5 hectares on mostly chalky soils with also a good amount of clay and some sand on the heights of the hillsides. On the left side, Festigny mainly with limestone and Dormans rather with clay, both also gather about 4,5 hectares.

Stronghold of the Meunier, Festigny is a favourite field for this grape variety, imprint of the vallée de la Marne offering a very typical aromatic profile there. It represents 55% of the total grape variety of all the estate. On the right side the Chardonnay is rather well represented especially for this sector in the champagne vineyard with 20% of the total surface of the Grumier vineyard. The Pinot noir completes the 25% left of the estate.

The whole set offers to Fabien a range of possibilities in his blends thanks to the 9 hectares planted on 7 different vineyards, on each side of the Marne. The very particular hillsides around the house in Venteuil offer a breathtaking view on the Valley of the Marne.

Live and let live

He needs to feel the pulse of life inside every work product, the materials, the wines but also the soil and the vineyard. In tune with his vineyards and his soil, he came to adopt a sustainable winegrowing, respectful of the environment and he has been one of the first winegrowers certified HEV(High Environmental Value) in the Champagne region, in 2014.

Fabien is used to work in a responsible and sustainable manner by prioritizing the cover planting in his rows of vines and practicing the plowing. It’s a new range of possibilities opening up to him since he got involved in this approach.

He protects the vineyards and the soil with tenacity. All the more since he thinks that if the weather and the soil should develop, then the wines also do. A natural job respectful of the environment is therefore a necessity to restrain the impact of his work. He prefers to have an imprint in his wines rather than on his environment.

Some figures

At the vineyard

Surface of the estate : 9 Ha grape planting (Chardonnay 25%, Pinot Noir 20%, Pinot Meunier 55%)
Number of plots : 31
Number of vintages : 7 (Venteuil, Damery, Reuil, Dormans, Festigny, Nesle le Repons, Baslieux sous Chatillon)
Average age of the vineyards : 30 years (the oldest vineyard was planted in 1968)

At the cellar

Bottled stock : 4 years
Stock in clear wine (individual reserve) : 400 HI (3/4 of a year production)
Annual production : About 80 000 bottles