Winemaker: Thibault Legrand-Latour
Where: Fleury-la-Rivière, Vallée de la Marne, Champagne, France
Size: 4 ha
Main Varieties: Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay mainly - but also Petit Meslier, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc & Voltis
Certifications: Demeter (biodynamic), organic EU
Quick note: Winery is also a working geological museum ‘La Cave aux Coquillages’ and wines are named after geological eras; Yprésien, Éocène, Campanien, Lutetien
It is truly a wonder to visit Champagne Legrand-Latour. An absolutely incredible multi generational effort that explores not just the vineyards, but what lies deep below the surface. Thibault Legrand-Latour and his winery are found in a small village, Fleury-la-Rivière, in between Reims and Épernay. The family’s estate is not only a winery but a geological museum called “La Cave aux Coquillages”. Thibault’s father Patrice has, through more than 30 years of excavations by hand, built an immensely intricate tunnel system into the hillsides of Champagne, and uncovers fossils dating back 20 to 95 million years ago from the Cretaceous and Palaeocene eras!
Naturally one must understand this work, in order to understand the people behind the wine. Uncovering secrets and inner depths of the literal terroir, the cellars are housed in excavated caves with tall arches, endless side tunnels and every so often, a jutting giant fossil protruding from the wall.
On the wine front, Thibaut’s family has for generations been cultivating vines, however his father’s passion for geology meant the grapes were sold to the local cooperative.
Today Thibault grows 4 hectares within biodynamic principles, recently he has been inspired by agroforestry, which has led to fruit trees being integrated into the vineyards. Pressings are done gently at the domaine with two beautiful giant wooden champagne presses. Moved by gravity the wines ferment followed by a long elevate in used oak barrels before the second fermentation. The Tirage is made from their own must from the same vineyards as the cuvée, to not unduly influence other terroirs into the wine. At no point is there anything added or taken away from the wines.
Thibault shares a big part of his father’s passion and the range of wines represent the different eras on the geological timeline where they have found fossils. The blending of the vineyard is solely decided by identical fossils & sediments from the same period on the timeline. So we think it’s fair to say the wines are ultra specific and completely terroir driven.
