When Jean-Marc joined the estate in 2008, he had already gained experience in Napa Valley and Australia, where he learned about technical rigor but also developed strong convictions about what he didn’t want to do in the future, such as the numerous “corrections” made in the cellar that lead to very standardised flavours. From then on, Jean-Marc has been dedicated to an artisanal approach to Champagne production, seeking authenticity and a true, natural expression of the terroirs.
Convinced that great Champagne is made first and foremost in the vineyard, he and his small team work incredibly hard, and have adopted inter-row ploughing (some by horse) and cover cropping since the late 2000s. They pay special attention to pruning for better yield control, use plant-based preparations to preserve soil microbial life and promote the plant’s natural resistance, all on a multi micro-site 9-hectare estate. The domain includes no fewer than 45 plots spread across 6 villages, extending even to the Côte des Blancs in Vertus! In each terroir, depending on the soil type and exposure, Jean-Marc adapts his viticulture practices, pruning schedule, yield control, and leaf management, aiming for the most consistent and complete ripening of the grapes. Here, the grapes are picked at their ripe and expressive best, often with a significant delay compared to neighbouring vineyards.
Jean-Marc is also fortunate to have a heritage of relatively old vines (averaging over 40 years), deeply imbued with the terroir of the “Southern Slopes of Epernay.” This area, officially defined in 1996 between the Marne Valley to the north and the Côte des Blancs to the southeast, features clay and flint soils over a chalky subsoil. Moreover, the vines are predominantly south and southeast facing, which promotes excellent grape ripeness. Jean-Marc has fully embraced these conditions, which define his Champagnes: wines that are minimally (or not at all) dosed, deep and fleshy, with a rich and consistently pure aromatic profile and perfectly balanced mineral tension. These qualities are enhanced by the relatively long aging of still wines (average 10 months, in barrels and tanks) and extended aging on the lees, facilitated by new cellars inaugurated in 2015, allowing Jean-Marc to further refine his quest for complexity and precision in expressing each terroir.
