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News

Richard Juhlin : "A Scent of Champagne - 8,000 Champagne Tasted and Rated"

In his excellent new book, Champagne expert Richard Juhlin presents no less than 8,000 Champagne. He has reserved a special treatment to Jacques Diebolt and family in the chapter On a Journey in Champagne.

And, in the huge Producers and their Wines section :
Diebolt-Vallois * * * * (4-star champagne house)
"Several producers in the Cramant village make supremely enjoyable champagnes, but personaly I think Diebolt gives the cru another dimension, especially with those wines that haven't gone through malolactic fermentation, and which were harvested from the 65-year old vines in Les Pimonts or Les Buzons. There is a thought-provoking depth reminiscent of Mesnil, combined with Cramant's creamy structure. (...)"

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History

The champagne house Diebolt-Vallois is to be found in Cramant, a village in the "Côte des Blancs", whose chalky soil makes the perfect home for chardonnay vines. It is certainly one of the finest terroirs in the Champagne region and is the realm of "blanc de blancs" champagnes (champagnes made from white grapes - chardonnay).

 

Diebolt-Vallois champagnes are the progeny of a united family: Jacques Diebolt and Nadia Vallois are helped by their two children, Arnaud and Isabelle, who are taking an ever increasingly active part in the running of the estate.

 

The Diebolt family has lived in Cramant since the end of the 19th century, and the Vallois family has been cultivating vines in Cuis since the 15th Century. Although Jacques Diebolt started working with his grandfather, it was not until 1978 that the estate underwent a sea-change with the extension of the estate and the construction first of all of cellars, and then a winery.

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Vineyards

The Diebolt-Vallois champagne vineyards cover 11 hectares (26 acres) of which the great majority are in Cramant and Cuis, two villages which are classed as Grand Cru (Great Growth) and Premier Cru (First Growth) respectively. Other plots are at Chouilly (another Grand Cru village) and on the hillsides at Epernay (vineyards called Les Toulettes and Les Hautes Justices). All of these are planted entirely in Chardonnay, the grape used to make blanc de blancs champagne. Some vines on the Montagne de Reims and the Côte de Bar complete the estate's holdings, and these are planted in pinot noir and pinot meunier.

 

Cramant is the first 100% Grand Cru village you come to when you enter the Cote des Blancs from the direction of Epernay. The Diebolt-Vallois champagne vines are mainly to be found in the southern part of Cramant, on the way to the village of Avize. The soil consists of a layer of light earth over a chalk subsoil. The East-South-East facing slopes suit the Chardonnay particularly well, and it gives champagnes which at one and the same time show fruit, power and rich texture.

 

The village of Cuis is next door to Cramant. Depending upon the plots they are growing in, the estates' vines benefit from chalky slopes that face either North-West or fully South. Their grapes bring minerality and delicacy with good acidity which must of course be allowed to mellow. The vines from the Epernay slopes give wines that are balanced, round and fat - generally attractive. The vineyards are managed using traditional methods, with a minimum of treatment. The plots which will benefit from it are being progressively grassed over.

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Winemaking

The grapes are hand picked and each plot is picked separately and vinified apart. The harvest is either pressed in a traditional vertical press, or pneumatically. Only the "cuvées" - the juice from the first pressing - are kept for all our blanc de blancs. Depending upon the wine, fermentation is either carried out in thermostatically controlled vats, or in wooden barrels. Malolactic fermentation takes place in all the wines except Fleur de Passion.

 

Reserve wines are stocked in a vat or 40 hl casks in a deep cellar, 14 metres under ground to mature gently and steadily. These reserve wines give champagnes Diebolt-vallois warmth and roundness. After bottling, the wines carry out their second fermentation and develop their mousse in cellars, which are hewed out from Cramant chalk. They age there several years before being disgorged and usually dosed at 6 to 8 g/l.

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6 different wines with 26 vintages

People

  • Richard Juhlin

    Jacques Diebolt and his family produce Chardonnay wines of world class. Everything Diebolt does is perfect in its way.
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