+ History
This is a classic story - and one that never gets old. Didier Bertrand and Chantal Delespierre both came from winemaking families in Champagne. They met, fell in love and founded a domaine of their own in 1980. The wines were solid and they found success as grower producers of Champagne long before it was hip. They had kids who left the nest and found there own adventures only to return and take over the family business. And as happens, they brought with them modern ideas. Fortunately for us, we live in an enlightened time for viticulture and winemaking. The modern ideas are organic farming, micro-vinifications of individual plots, native ferments, low dosage, low SO2, etc. And, of course, a bit of new design on the labels. To be fair though, Bertrand and Chantal were already on this path. The kids, Adrien and Clémence, just accelerated the process.
The estate is 10HA spread over 60 plots in the 1er cru villages of Chamery, Ecueil, Villedommange, and Montbré. They have Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier in roughly equal parts. Part of the vines are alredy organically farmed and part of them are in transition. More and more attention is being paid to the individual plots, villages and terroirs. They have 3 distinct soil types: clay on the hill tops, clay/marne on the midslopes and sand near the bottom. Fermentation is by native yeast in a mix of steel and 600L barrels. Malo is neither encouraged nor blocked - the reserve wines generally go through malo naturally but the vintage wines usually do not. They are finding, however, that as they drop the SO2 levels, more wines are going through malo. They add SO2 at press and after alcoholic fermentation with the goal of 5ppm free in the finished wine.
The happy ending to this classic story is that when the children came back to the domaine, they had the wisdom to recognize the quality and the heritage and the good work being done - and the parents had the wisdom to recognize the usefullness of new ideas and youthful energy. When we drink the wines, if we pay close attention, the whole story is in there.
