Richard Geoffroy

The 2016 Vintage by Richard Geoffroy / I have mentioned years of extremes in the past: 2016 might be a year of extremes to the point of excess, with such a stark contrast between the seasons. The spring, during which we had to deal with hail and frost as well as the most precipitations and the least sunshine in the last 20 years, was very taxing. To the contrary, the month of August was drier and became warmer at the end, to the point of sunbu...

When the 2015 harvest started, I mentioned that the main challenge would be to deal with the heterogeneity of the maturities. Thankfully the rainfalls of late August were a real blessing, providing much needed relief to the vines. The other decisive factor was the care we put in picking each vineyard at the perfect date. Both combined allowed us to smooth out the perceived disparity between vineyards.

The beautiful weather at the beginning ...

Scion of a long line of Côte des Blanc winegrowers, Geoffroy was born in the heart of Champagne country in 1954, in the town of Vertus, set amid the Chardonnay vineyards. Going against what might have seemed to be a predestined career in the world of wine, he took up medicine and received his doctorate in 1982.

He then went back to his roots and enrolled in the École Nationale d’OEnologie in Reims. He began his second career in wine in the ...