Domaine René Collet

Up until the 1960s our family grew vines mainly to make a little wine for personal consumption. In those days, our great-great-uncle Anthime, who had lost a leg during the 1st World War, just tended a few small plots of vines. From the ‘60s onwards, our great aunt Renée, along with our grandparents Paulette and Raymond, planted a lot more vines. Up till then however, all the grapes they produced were sold on.

In 1973, a first milestone was reached, with the decision nolongerto sell the grapes, but to produce champagne through a cooperative. Our father, René Collet,created his own brand of champagne, having noticed the growing demand for champagne from smaller producers. Sales reached an all-time high at the start of 2000.

With the new millennium came a new direction as one after the other, Vincent, Thomas and Florent returned to thefamily business. In 2002 we decided that we would take over the wine-process from start to finish, aiming to bring out the very best Fontaine-Denis has to offer. It was a considerable challenge and we had to invest heavily in a new winery, new cellars and all the wine-making equipment that enables us, today, to offer our clients and partners champagnes that are authentic, generous and precisely crafted.

None of the vineyards on our estate is more than 2km fromour headquarters in the village of Fontaine-Denis (Marne-France).

This location at the heart of the Côte de Sézanne boasts a very particular geology. On a bed of subsoil mainly comprising chalk(more than 400m thick), sit a variety of different topsoils including silts and clays of varying thickness. Added to these geological characteristics is the fact that the majority of our vineyard slopes face south or south-east, and an average age for our vines of over 35 years. All this combined means that our champagnes give you an extraordinary snapshot of our unique terroir.

In order to bring out the characteristics of the land in our champagnes we use the most environmentally friendly practices possible in each of the 15 plots of vines on our estate which is planted:
- 60% chardonnay
- 35% Pinot noir
- 5% pinot meunier.
We do 100% of the work in the vineyards ourselves and we take care to let grass grow between the rows.

3 Brothers... 2 Champagnes... 1 Terroir

Three brothers each with different skills, yet all committed to a single objective.

We invite you to discover, through our two distinct brands, the land where we grew up at Fontaine-Denis. Ours is a unique story. From 2002, one after the other, we joined our father in the family business, creating wines that do justice to the village we come from and that are an expression of who we are. Our work, both in the vineyards and in the winery, is measured and uncompromising.
Florent, Vincent, Thomas & René