History
François Diligent was born in Buxeuil in 1904. His family were winegrowers so, at a very young age, he began working with his father who, at the time, sold all his clear wine to merchants in Champagne. He soon developed a taste for wine but also for working in the vineyard. Through his training as a cooper he discovered the potential of Champagne aged in barrels. In 1927, he took over his father’s four hectares of vines which he called his “garden”.
Throughout his life he would never add to this land which he felt was an ideal size for a “winegrower-labourer”. However, François Diligent constantly experimented with the plot; Chasselas, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Petit Meslier, Arbane, Melon, Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris – each of these grape varieties would be picked by hand and pressed separately in a traditional press. He used wild yeasts, the technique of blocked malolactic fermentation, made and aged his wines in barrel, matured them in heavy necked bottles sealed with natural cork, and practised ultra-low dosage for his Brut Nature.
In addition to his vision, François Diligent liked precision; each of the stages of his wine was closely monitored with the greatest attention paid to every detail. Before he died in 1974 it was his desire to pass on his expertise, his vines and his cellar to a family that would perpetuate the same philosophy and ensure his name lived on. As Lucien Moutard’s son-in-law, he naturally chose the Moutard family to succeed him, and made them promise to continue to take care of this garden and carry out the same work of winegrower-labourer throughout the seasons. The grapes from the 2018 vintage will therefore have been pressed in the same 'Darcq Flamain’ press as those of the 1964 vintage of which François Diligent was so proud. The same methods, the same garden, the same massal selection.
Everything here, at this historic site at 24 Grande Rue in Buxeuil, is done to perpetuate the unique style of François Diligent which has become renowned amongst the great wines of Champagne.