History
The story goes back all the way to 1625, and probably even further, when the Cattier family first started planting vines in Chigny-les-Roses, in the heart of the Montagne de Reims.
Fast-forward to 1916, when Jean Cattier returned to Chigny-les-Roses as a wounded veteran of the Great War.The city of Reims was under siege by the German Army, shaken by an onslaught of ar tiller y shells which would destroy 60% of the city. Champagne traders tried to keep their businesses running under these harsh conditions, but it was an uphill struggle. Unable to sell his poor harvest in 1916, Jean Cattier decided to turn his grapes into wine and produce his own champagne, released at the end of the war in 1918. This signalled the birth of Cattier champagne.
In 1936, his son Jean Cattier married Nelly Adam. They went on to have three children, Jean-Louis, Liliane and Jean-Jacques. They worked to build upthe business and pass onto their children both their passion for champagne and a flourishing company.
At the beginning of the 1960’s, Jean-Louis took over the vines. A little later, in 1971, his oenologist brother Jean-Jacques took the reins in the winery before later taking charge of the administrative and sales side of the company. In 1950, Jean Cattier purchased the Clos du Moulin, one of the very few historic enclosed (“Clos”) vineyards in the region (along with the Clos des Goisses).Their first harvest in the new vineyard came in 1951, which was bottled in 1952 and released onto the market in 1956. This was a pioneering moment in the history of champagne, with one of the first ever single-vineyard Clos champagnes.
In 2011, Alexandre Cattier, became the thir teenth generation of Cattiers to work the vines and the fourth to produce their own champagne when he took the reins of the company, alongside his cousin Agathe, who became the Assistant Managing Director, and Marie, the new brand ambassador.
Under the guidance of Jean-Jacques Cattier, Cattier Champagne has flourished through the hard work, courage and audacity of the men and women in the family. Driven by their passion for wine and the land they work, each has helped make Cattier the brand it is today, dedicated to preserving and passing on the excellence we have inherited.