Boizel

Champagne Boizel at the 15th Habits de Lumière Thursday 4 December 2014

Champagne! Habits de Lumière is celebrating its 15th anniversary! On Friday 12th, Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th December 2014, the Capital of Champagne lights up for a long festive weekend, full of sparkles.

For three days on, Epernay celebrates its culinary art and cultural heritage. At the programme: festivities in the Avenue de Champagne (artistic performances, champagne bars, fireworks…), culinary experiences – Habits de Saveurs, vintage cars parade and many other events. This year, Habits de Lumière support the application of ″Vineyard Slopes, Champagne Houses and Champagne Cellars” to be listed for UNESCO World Heritage.

On Saturday morning, demonstration-cooking and tastings take place near the traditional market, by the Chefs linked with Champagne Houses and Winemakers located avenue de Champagne.

Each member of the Boizel family is proud to be part of this wonderful story and to take their turn as the holder of the family traditions that have been passed from father to son (or daughter) since 1834.  But beyond recipes, blending secrets and customs, every generation has strived to enrich the family tradition and to pass on the Boizel spirit. Rigour, meticulousness and perseverance are of course essential, but passion for Champagne also requires an open, curious, inventive mind, that is always looking for improvement.

One must remain modest before the gifts of nature, and respect the character of each still wine, without wanting to “impose” a taste, but rather seeking to enhance the wine’s natural qualities… Each generation has managed to progress with the times, trying out new practices in viticulture and oenology and selecting those that will enable the best grapes, and then the best wines to be obtained, ultimately offering the finest expression of their natural character, and always in the pursuit of excellence. 

The involvement of the family in all stages of production, from the vine to the glass, and the family’s deep roots in Epernay, in the heart of Champagne, are two major strengths for the House. This love for Champagne and the passionate pursuit of finesse, character and elegance in the wines are authentic family values

This is one of the paradoxes of Champagne: vines planted on hillsides in poor, chalky soil and subsoil, exposed to a northern climate with alternating oceanic and continental influences, produce here high quality grapes remarkable for their outstanding finesse. Their delicate aromatic potential and superb freshness are perfectly suited to the elaboration of great Champagnes. Three key elements -climate, sub-soil and hilly terrain- combine in a unique alliance, but the diversity of nature creates endless variations, all of which influence the character of future wines. 

Hence the importance for Boizel of an intimate knowledge of each hillside, of each village (and nearly each grower!)… in order to select the finest quality grapes. All through the year they tour the Côte des Blancs with its beautiful Chardonnays (Avize, Chouilly, Oger, Vertus, etc), the Montagne de Reims, land of the great Pinot Noirs (Ay, Mareuil sur Ay, Tauxieres, Mailly-Champagne etc.), the Vallée de la Marne with the ultimate expression of Pinot Meunier (Venteuil, Passy-Grigny , Vendieres…) and also the best villages for Pinot Noir in the Aube (Les Riceys).

The vines are meticulously maintained and managed in accordance with “sustainable viticulture” practices, with a view to embracing a more environmentally friendly approach.  The harvests take place approximately one hundred days after flowering (45 days after the setting of the fruit) and are entirely manual in order to avoid any damage to the grapes. For the same reason, the grapes are pressed immediately in the village nearest the vineyards. For the Pinot Noir and Meunier, there is no maceration, so that a “white” juice is obtained: the pulp of these black grapes is quite clear , in fact it is just like Chardonnay.

In Champagne, the juices obtained on pressing are separated into “cuvée” and “taille”. Only the cuvée, which represents the purest, finest quality juice, from the heart of the grape, is used for Boizel’s cuvées.

Giving each elaboration stage the necessary time for natural evolution, giving each wine the appropriate number of years in the cellar essential to reach its full potential, and meticulously choosing the dates for the release of wines onto the market, are a rare luxury; it is one of the family traditions to which the Boizels are the most deeply committed and one that they apply with expertise. 

This notion of time is a decisive factor in the quality of the Champagnes and comes into play as soon as the grapes are selected and vinified. The still wines produced from the best grapes, in particular the Grands and Premiers Crus, require a lot of time to open up (and the cuvées will have a better capacity to age). Subsequently, in the vats, the temperature is kept low so that alcoholic fermentation takes place very slowly so that the freshness and the delicacy of the flavours are protected.

Similarly, during the prise de mousse (secondary fermentation): after the tirage (bottling) following the required blend proportions and the addition of yeasts and sugar, the bottles are taken down into the cellars where a cool year-round temperature of 10°C ensures a very slow secondary fermentation in the bottle, over six to eight weeks. This extended period results in a very fine mousse and the total preservation of the wines’ flavours. 

Finally there is the long maturing stage in the cellars. Experience has shown that wines age better on the lees and so this is how they are stored, horizontally, in quietness and darkness. This period is essential for them to gain the finesse, character and elegance that make great Champagnes. The rules for the Appellation require fifteen months but at Boizel, where traditions are upheld, the wines are kept for at least three to four years in the cellar before being dispatched to customers all over the world.

The specific blends for vintages require even more time: their flavours do not become truly refined and reach their full potential for five to ten years, and sometimes even longer. The Boizel family always make sure that they wait for the moment when Champagnes cuvées  begin to reveal their complexity, their generosity  and the wonderful smoothness that is so appreciated by connoisseurs. Similarly, after dosage, Boizel insists on a resting period of a few months: this is the price of excellence.

Hidden at the far end of the cellars, the vault named “Treasury” has transcended time. Each generation has sought to set aside the best bottles and especially managed to protect this treasure to the vagaries of history. Each has preserved these fragile witnesses of the excellence of their work , precious liquid archives resting in the deepest caves. And this from the beginning with the first bottles of the young House in 1834.

A very rare choice in the 19th century! In fact there was at the time no interest or market for older vintages and especially as the beginnings of the art of Champagne elaboration did not allow to predict a favorable evolution beyond ten years in the cellar. Today the family binds itself to taste them only rarely in order to continue the visionary work of previous generations and preserve this unique treasury.

These wines are kept “sur pointe” that is to say upside down, before disgorging : they therefore had no further contact with oxygen from the bottling which encourages a slower maturation. They are plugged with cork stoppers and unfortunately some, still held in place by a clip, don’t age well and let the wine spoil. Most often, though reduced to a very hard rod, they still serve their purpose and after a very delicate opening unveil remarkable wines.

The evolution over several decades is secret and unique to each vintage, and even each bottle: flavors are stronger, characters are affirmed, while enriched by an infinite complexity and subtle variations. Only Champagnes with a solid and harmonious structure develop these qualities over the long term: they are often extraordinary and sometimes fabulous. Tasting them provides intense emotions: Michel Dovaz and Richard Juhlin, two renowned journalists, who had the chance to taste some of these very old Boizel Champagnes, testify as follows:

Richard Juhlin (tasted in 1995):

- 1961: a great Champagne: 96/100 points. Very light color and green shade in the shimmering robe. Typical of the vintage with its obvious truffle flavor supported by a bouquet with roasted and balsamic nuances.

Michel Dovaz  (tasted in April 1998):

- 1945: great wine of character, melted and concentrated with no influence by its age.

- 1929: After 69 years, the gas is still present, the gold dress has no amber glints .toasted aromas, dense without being fat, melted very ripe citrus notes, consistent, smooth and long finish. A timeless Champagne without any sign of the beginning of maderization.

Evelyne Roques- Boizel:

“I had the privilege of once taste the 1900: amazing fresh nose with at first an explosion of roasted aromas, very full-bodied wine at the first sip… but the wine did tarnish in the flutes and fainted within minutes. The 1929, a pure Chardonnay cuvée, is an unforgettable marvel : a customer did even knelt down to enjoy it.

My favorite might be the 1959: A great wine with a unique combination of freshness, power and subtlety… I remember accompanying my father on the presses by an incredible heat for September. My father did note in his book of harvests and blendings (the oldest book preserved dates back 1871 ): ” Harvest starting Sept. 12 after an extraordinary summer: no water and continuous sun since May. Perfect maturity.”