Wine - Champagne - Pascal Agrapart

Vineyard area: 10 hectares

Founded in 1894, this has become one of the finest grower estates in the Côte des Blancs under its current proprietor, Pascal Agrapart, who has been making wines here since 1984. His 10ha of vines lie largely in the grand cru villages of Avize, Cramant, Oiry and Oger, and while he’s uninterested in being labelled organic or biodynamic, he works according to natural rhythms and sensibilities, without any chemical pesticides or herbicides. Agrapart always ferments his wines with indigenous yeasts, which he feels is crucial to the expression of terroir, and a portion of the wines are aged in old, 600-litre oak casks. 

His non-vintage cuvées are of uncommonly excellent quality, while his three vintagedated Champagnes – Minéral, L’Avizoise and Vénus – all come from specific terroirs in Avize and Cramant, sourced from the same parcels each year. Each has its own individual personality, offering a terrifically detailed and refined expression of site.