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CHAMPAGNE
– FUTURE –
MADAME RAYMONDE -
CHAMPAGNE HACKERS
Sophie and Mathieu Michel are brother and sister. Their
ancestors were farmers in Vitry-en-Perthois and also
produced milk. But in the 1970s, when the Champagne
appellation area was extended to this region located at
its south-easternmost tip, it naturally marked the end
of mixed farming. The Côteaux-Vitryats vineyard, which
is not over-farmed and is planted on the mid-slope on
chalk-marl soils where there is always a slight breeze, has
a potential that had already been identified in the Middle
Ages. Chardonnay, the majority grape variety here, takes
on typical flavours of pineapple and white fruit.
The naturally ebullient, off-beat Sophie studied hydrological
engineering, but admits that her career path has been
‘fanciful’ – including street theatre – and that she “doesn’t
just drink water”. Her brother grows their grapes over 4.5
hectares, and works at the small local co-operative winery.
Both of them dreamed of creating a brand. Champagne
is classically associated with luxury and seriousness. They
wanted something that mirrored their personalities. In
2017, their idea took shape. They figured that if their
region was an outsider, they’d need to think like outsiders!
Their brand, ‘Madame Raymonde’, pays tribute to their
grandmother who was a smallholder and although “not
from the glitzy world of Champagne, was a great lady”.
The name is a way of thumbing their nose, in the nicest
possible way, at the great bourgeois ladies who fly the flag
of the traditional Champagne Houses. The ostrich, chosen
as an exotic emblem, but one that has its head firmly
in the ground, rounds off the message. The Champagne
is essentially a Blanc de Blancs with 7g/l dosage. They
are starting off gradually, with 3,000 bottles, but their
personalities will likely take them far!
Sophie Michel duelling with secateurs before the harvest
CHAMPAGNE J.A. DAUTEL - THE REBOOT
Although Julien Dautel comes from a family that has
been growing wine for seven generations on a large family
estate, he went off in search of freedom. In 2019, he
recovered a few vineyard plots and some bottles he had set
aside to get started. He and his wife now farm 3.5 hectares
in the Côte des Bar. “In Champagne you need at least 2
hectares to make wine. We are not big, but we do have 12
separate plots”.
Their location was established in the 13 th century and was
Julien Dautel savouring his Champagne
SPRING 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE 37