Michel Drappier is the 7th generation of the house in Urville in the Côte des Bar, whose name dates back to 1808. He, Sylvie, and their three children, Charline, Hugo, and Antoine, are all actively involved in the management of the house and now fully embody its spirit.
Until 1986, the house produced its wines solely from its own vineyards. It subsequently experienced strong growth and is now the largest house in the Côte des Bar.
There is a certain solemnity in this countryside of the Aube, in the heart of the former Cistercian monastery that housed the Abbey of Clairvaux. Photographs bear witness to the house's friendships with celebrities and royal families. Charles de Gaulle would also make a detour here when he craved bubbles—he had settled in the neighboring commune in the 1960s and seemed to prefer bubbles to most things. Indeed, it is in his honor that the house's iconic cuvée bears his name.
The hallmark of the house is Pinot Noir. The story goes that at a time when the Aube was not yet admitted into the very closed circle of the great Champagne regions, Michel's maternal grandfather planted so much Pinot Noir that he was nicknamed "Father Pinot." A grape variety that thrives particularly well here, in these clay and limestone-rich soils.
Subsequently, the house also became a pioneer in bringing forgotten grape varieties back into the spotlight. In 2016, it was the first Champagne house to be certified carbon neutral.
Beginning with the 2001 vintage, the house's first sulfur-free cuvée was released. This approach was partly linked to a very personal reason: both Michel and his father suffered from a sulfur allergy.
The house uses its own selected yeasts and all cuvées undergo malolactic fermentation. In the cellars, the large oak casks testify to the house's commitment to these traditional vessels.
One finds in the bottles a generous, ripe, and rustic expression of fruit, reflecting the estate, where everything retains something deeply authentic and down-to-earth. Everything is crafted with quality and rigor, while the work of nature now allows for significantly reduced dosages.
The house is also the only one to perform the second fermentation in extremely large bottle formats. It has also embarked on the idea of aging certain cuvées 60 meters deep under the sea. This series, named "Immersion," is offered as boxed sets allowing for a comparison of the different cuvées.
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