The Domaine and its history

Nestled on the slopes of the massif valonnés Saint Thierry, the village of Hermonville is probably twice millennium, since his name is derived from the Latin Heremundi name given to a villa from the Gallo-Roman period. From the XII and XIII centuries, the wines Hermonville called “mountain wine” are renowned far beyond the borders of Champagne.

In 1406, the Royal Hotel is increasing its supply of wines and the town of Hermonville becomes a major trade. This trend is accentuating the XV and XVI centuries, and in 1825, the wines mostly exported to the North, become the heart of of Hermonville activity. With the stroke of genius of Dom Perignon in 1668, Champagne takes off.

At first, it n ‘is accessible to royal and princely courts due to limited production and high prices. In the nineteenth century, it is all the festivals. Unfortunately in 1900, phylloxera devastated the vineyards Hermonville, the area increased from 193 hectares to 8 hectares. Patiently, at the cost of persistent work, the vineyard slowly regaining lost ground, and currently, 98 hectares are planted in three varieties. However, nothing is gained and the harsh climate requires constant vigilance Champagne, made of ancestral repeats and laborious gestures whose regularity and quality of grapes produced depend.

The Vineyard

Located in the historic Saint Thierry massif, ten kilometres northwest of Reims, the family business covers nearly 8 hectares. Three quarters of our vineyards are planted on hillsides.

All of them have a southern exposure and produce high quality grapes.

We have chosen to grow 60% pinot meunier, 30% pinot noir and 10% chardonnay.

We thus have the three grape varieties of the Champagne region at our disposal to create our blends and give all their characters to our Champagnes. The oldest vines are forty years old, a part of them being uprooted every two or three years in order to renew the vineyard.

Time is our ally, patience our secret.

Les cépages

Since 1935, three varieties, selected for their perfect match in the Champagne region, are allowed for the elaboration of Champagne.
The arbanne the meslier Pinot, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, all white grapes, are also allowed (0.3% of the vineyard).

Vintages

According to the winemaker for each range, different wines are offered:

Plain without year (BSA) : It is made from the blend of grapes and wines from different years. He spent at least 15 months in the cellar.
White white : It is obtained exclusively from wines from Chardonnay.
White black : It is made exclusively from wines from Pinot Noir and / or miller.
Rosé : It is obtained from both methods are at the discretion of the winemaker:
Assembly: This method involves assembling red wine vinified under the name Champagne Cuvée white juice.
Bleeding or maceration: whole grains of black grapes are left to macerate, until the desired shade.                                                    Vintage : It arises from the blending wines from the same year (different vintages and / or varieties) when exceptional.
It requires at least 3 years of cellar aging.                                                                                                                                                                            The prestige cuvée
This is an exception from selected parcels of old vines or privileged hillside wines.

The culture of the vine

Throughout the year, growers cultivate with passion, the hills and fields, attentive to the particularity of each to preserve the typicity of the wine to come.

They spend time on the vine to a rebel liana vine disciplined.

It will then return to their beautiful fruit, the beginnings of an exceptional wine: a “Champagne de Vigneron”.
Discover in detail the various steps below.

The work of the vine

The culture of the vine to the sale of its bottles, the Champagne vineyard is guided by the desire to develop and offer a champagne that takes into account all the specificities of its terroir, its know-how and personality.

Because the vine is alive, she is not treated but neat. Just like a garden, it requires special attention and maintenance manual synonymous with hundreds of hours of labor per hectare.

Climate, which may accelerate or delay the development of the vine, constantly interferes with the timing of the winemaker because he must submit to it to set

• From November to March : Pruning should be done according to standards defined by the four AOC Champagne (Chablis,          Cordon, Guyot et Marne Valley).
• From February to April : the lierie (or bonding) is to attach the strands of the vine son of media to promote growth.
• From April to May : where budding winemaker removes non fruiting buds.End of June: the winemaker proceeded to lift and rosewood. As as the vine grows, the vines * are raised and spent in son, so as to expose the maximum sunlight to optimize photosynthesis. Operation more indispensable in this wine region where the sun is shy.
• From June to August : trimming with cutting vines * crazy gives this neat and tidy in appearance Champagne vineyards.              * Pampres: The vine is a vine stem bearing leaves, tendrils, and often its grapes. It is also the name of greedy vin

The Art of Champagne

The development of the Champagne is a complex art that requires meticulous care winemaker transmitted from generation to generation. Each step must be conducted with the utmost care to lead to the creation of the world’s most famous wine.