LA LETTRE du champagne drappier PRINTEMPS 2021 N°59 STILL WINES, THE OTHER FACE OF CHAMPAGNE ▼ Before the bubbles there was the wine. In Champagne, wine making culture first appeared in the 2nd century, and wine gradually replaced “ la cervoise ”, a fermented drink from Gaul. n the Middle Ages, wine became place established in a vineyard. pale), as it was described by Le Paulmier increasingly important in the re- Roger Dion explains: in 1588. Winemakers sought to set them- gion. Saint Bernard gave new im- selves apart from their neighbours in petus to the monastic spirit and This was undoubtedly one Burgundy and Orleans, who produced foundedI Clairvaux in 1115. Under his in- of the reasons for the very more renowned wines. In the 17th century, fluence, many abbeys flourished, helping enviable reputation that the winemakers from Champagne began to to spread vineyards in Champagne. The wine from Bar-sur-Aube produce a wine that would soon be called hills were covered in Morillon (the ances- enjoyed in Flanders and in vin gris. It was the first white wine made tor of pinot noir), a grape variety brought Hainaut in the last centuries from non-white grapes. The French were by the Cistercian monk from his native of the Middle Ages. much taken with this bit of magic! Burgundy. For five centuries, red In 1763, Abbot Plûche wrote: wines were produced there, mainly from Morillon Noir, certain bottles of This wine is white and which were aged in our Urville cellars. sparkling like crystal, and comes from the darkest grapes. As Champagne did not yet exist in its current administrative delimita- It was the ancestor of our tion, they were qualified as French Coteaux-champenois blanc. wines like all the wines produced in the Paris region. According to the The first success of Champagne wines historian François Bonal in reality, on the royal tables of France and many wine makers produced very bad Europe is thanks to the birth of this wines. However, already in the Middle vin gris, rather than to the bubbles, Ages, two regional wines stood out as is often thought. Champagne 1947 label, red still wine in terms of quality: les vins de Rivière producers were highly committed (currently Vallée de la Marne) and wines The ancestor of our current Coteaux- to improving the quality of their wines. from Bar-sur-Aube. The medieval fair that champenois red dominated regional pro- To produce this fragile wine, the wine- took place in the neighbouring village of duction with un vin fort clairet tirant sur makers took great care of their harvest. Urville, was the only continental trading le pasle (or a claret wine tending towards They pruned their vines shorter, they ▶ P.1 LETTRE N°59 harvested delicately, and production of and transported the the latter would re- PERPÉTUITÉ grapes by donkey as main dominant till slowly as possible. The the second half of the PERPÉTUITÉ comes from a “perpetual reserve”. Every year a barrel is replenished pressing methods were 19th century. The suc- with a share of new wines which refreshes made gentler (pressure cess of Champagne the blend of former vintages. Our “solera” less than 0.8 bars) to became worldwide contains 13 wines, from 2002 to 2018. Its prevent extracting the and the tradition of name recalls the monastic, prison past which colour. These vinifica- red and white wines binds us to the abbey-prison of Clairvaux. Here the insolence of the young wine com- tion principles are still slowly disappeared. In plements the wisdom of the older one, like respected today! fact, still wines were prison mates who long ago stopped keeping not even included in track of time. The imprint of Perpétuité is While France was fo- the appellation treaty comparable to that of a picture taken with cusing mainly on vins in 1926. A lost tradi- a shutter open for a long time: it prints se- veral temporalities, those of tuns made from gris, Abbot Plûche was tion? Not completely. 100 year old oak trees from the Tronçais interested in a quality Among winemakers, Label from the sixties. forest, and that of multiple wines, certain of red wine: White still wine, produced by André and these wines from the which have been imprisoned for 20 years. Micheline Drappier. year are the only ones Always 100% pinot noir vinified in white, it In the Bar-sur-Aube region, that they could actually drink, with the is the descendant of vins gris from the 18th century. A taste rediscovered. winemakers were trying remains of the harvest being sold to mer- to produce red wine using chants in the form of grapes. Official reasoned principles which recognition was granted in 1974, with could produce a perfect whole. the creation of the appellation, “coteaux- champenois”. In the 18th century, “mousse” started to Before this AOC, our still wines were appear and gradually began to change the called Urville Rouge and Vin Nature de la destiny of Champagne. In opposition to Champagne. Since their creation, they have bubbles which agitate the wine, the term continued to be produced and drunk for vin tranquille or still wine was invented, decades! ▼ This winter, in the heart of our cellars, grapes: Les Truchots for Fromenteau, les we have shared a great moment in his- Egrillers and le Saint Esprit for Pinot Noir. tory: the reconditioning of the bott- The plants are specific as are the growing les of Urville Rouge methods: we prune very 1947 produced by our short, we disbud, and grandfather Georges. we seek out well sepa- Each of the 120 bott- rated grapes to favour les were tasted, one by the colour and fruit. one! That was the year These techniques were that our grandfather already practiced by André, then 21 years our Ancestors before old, got started in the the first Champagnes wine making world and appeared. took part in his first PERMISSION harvest. Throughout It is in this spirit his life, he focused on that we have ima- In 2018, the plot of Egrillers gave intense, ripe, healthy Pinot Noir grapes; the promise of a Champagne, without gined our two new Coteaux-Champenois which could be kept, ever neglecting the pro- Coteaux-champenois, without the help of sulphites. After a 14-day duction of still wines. PERPÉTUITÉ and maceration period, this 100% pinot noir wine, PERMISSION, for the joined its barrel crafted from oak from the 74 years later, the curiosity of reviving Orient forest (local wood), and stayed im- prisoned there for two years. In November Champagne climate the “taste of the past”, Michel and André Drappier, 2020, Hugo and Michel Drappier, surprised has evolved. Sunny years on 22nd February 2021, tasting and to enable you to disco- by the good behaviour of the wine, released Urville Rouge 1947. are increasingly frequent ver “the other Champagne”, this red with tight but delicate tannnins. and suitable for the vinification of red that of still wines which only account While this wine is authorized to go out, it is and white wines. On the Drappier es- for 0.7% of the total production of the up to you to decide the fate of this former prisoner: leave it on parole, in its bottle for tate, some plots are dedicated to their region. A drop of wine in an ocean of a few years (it will soften without fading like production, using only organic growing Champagne ! ⬛ Urville Rouge 1947) or take advantage of its methods, favouring the maturity of our freshness and current liveliness. P.2 LETTRE N°59 ◀ PRESS ◀ ROSÉ 2010 LE BRUT NATURE SELON DRAPPIER : “The champagne house has distinguished itself with its Brut Zéro, a remarkable wine Blanc de with no added sugar or sulphur”. Quatre Blancs November 2020. ▶ LE GUIDE DES MEILLEURS VINS LE FIGARO : “Impetuous DE FRANCE 2021 : “Drappier, are bubbles enhance the palate of this colourful champagnes, generous “Champagne Drappier excels with spicy, delicate wine full of energy, in their aromas, and expressed its Grande Sendrée Rosé 2010” freshness and minerality”. on the palate by their earthy (94 points). January 2021. November 2021. vinosity. One finds in them a frank, unvarnished terroir, DES VINS : BULLES OSÉES : vinified with the minimal Our vintage champagnes selection. “By combining forgotten white grape dosage of sulphur”. “What a delight ! This wine is varieties, plus a zest of Chardonnay, CLAREVALLIS, LE COUP DE . sumptuous”. December 2020. the alchemist Michel Drappier has (94 points) succeeded his masterpiece in white”. December 2020. ▼ ADRESS BOOK ▶ RESTAURANT GUY SAVOY - LAS VEGAS. The Chef, Guy Savoy has set up a showcase of French gastronomy in the heart of this legendary hotel in Las Vegas. Our Carte d’or is served there by the glass. VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE ▶ PUJOL - MEXICO. Enrique Olvera, star chef in North 1899 – 2019. In his new detailed, America (12th in the List of Best Restaurants in the world) carefully documented book on vin- combines local cuisine with a selection of authentic premium tage champagnes, Charles Curtis wines (Brut Nature and Quattuor). (Master of Wine) places Drappier in the *** houses (Remarkable). ▶ GRAND HYATT - KOREA. On the volcanic island of Jeju, Hyatt has created a new futurist hotel, a testament to Korean **** : Krug, Salon, Selosse (…) / identity, between nature and pop-culture. Carte d’Or will be *** : Agrapart, Drappier, Pol Roger (…) / served in its restaurants. ** : Billecart-Salmon, Alfred Gratien, Benoît Lahaye (…) / * : Ulysse Colin, Deutz, ▶ LA GRANDE EPICERIE DE PARIS - FRANCE. Flagship De Sousa (…) of French cuisine, La Grande Epicerie will offer in 2021, a large selection of our wines in its two shops including: Clarevallis, Brut Nature, Brut Nature Sans Soufre, Brut Nature Rosé, and Grande Sendrée 2010.