Champagne Minière F&R

Grapevines have been cultivated in Hermonville since the 12th century. We are the fourth generation to work on the estate.
Founded in 1919 by our great-grandfather Alfred, he created his own wine press and sold his wines to the merchants of Reims.
The estate has grown extensively over the years.
After completing our winemaking studies and several years of professional experience, we took over the estate in 2005 and decided to produce our own wines in oak barrels so as to promote the values of our exceptional heritage.

Frédéric and Rodolph look after 8 hectares of vines mainly in Hermonville. 4.5ha Meunier, 2ha Chardonnay and 1.5ha Pinot. Average vineyard age is 45 years. Traditionally they sold all their grapes to the big houses, but in 2005 they decided to start there own business. Frederic spent some time with Anselme Selosse and no doubt this has had a lasting effect on his philosophy towards wine making. All the wines are fermented and aged in barrel with battonage, and malo-lactic fermentation is blocked for all the cuvees. About 70% of barrels are 5 years or older.

"With almost 8 Ha of land, our vineyards are primarily located in Hermonville, whose magnificent, south-east facing hillsides are flooded with sunshine. The upper hills are covered in sand-loam soil while the lower areas are loam, clay and sand. These well-draining soils contain high levels of minerals which force roots downwards to feed the vines deep within the soil and saturate the sap with mineral elements."

Philosophy

Wine - like life - is marked by encounters which build character and guide us through our life journey. Vines draw life from the very heart of the soil and pass on its characteristics into the fruits. Our role consists of highlighting the potential expressed in wine. The wines of Champagne - gold is to be found not in bottles, but in our vineyards.

This is why we work the land and treat it with the greatest respect, in order to harvests the best it can possibly offer. We use organic amendments, work the soil and lay grass in certain parcels and we fight insects or vine disease in an environmentally responsible manner. With our strong commitment to sustainable wine-production, we do our utmost to preserve the natural balance of this biodiversity so dear to us.

Vineyard plots

All plots selected to produce our vintage wines are located in Hermonville. The age of these parcels varies from 15 to 65 years, with an average age of 45 years. We privilege the replacement of missing vine stocks so as to ensure the durability of our old vines which provide grapes of very high quality.

Les Fauvagnes Parcels of Meunier.
Origin 1968 and 1969
Ungrafted Meunier 1962

Les Rosières Parcels of ungrafted Meunier
and Pinot Noir 1974
Chardonnay 1963

Les Grands Blancs Parcels of Chardonnay 1964
Ungrafted Chardonnay 1965

Les Moineaux Parcels of Meunier 1963, 1969, 1971
Pinot Noir 1981
Chardonnay 1963

Les Fosselles Parcels of Pinot Noir 1975
Chardonnay 2003

Les Voirmissa Parcels of Meunier 1949, 1967
Pinot Noir 1968
Chardonnay 1972

La Couturelle Parcels of Meunier 1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1992,1993
Pinot Noir 2002

Our wines are all produced in oak barrels. Barrels are of varied capacity, origin and age in order to reveal the diverse range of characteristics of our wines and the complexity of their blends, essential to the spirit of champagne. Immediately after the pressing process is terminated, the musts are placed in barrels to ferment. They are left in contact with their lees for 6 months and stirred at varying intervals depending on the year. Malolactic fermentation is prevented in order to preserve the freshness of the wines after a long ageing process within the cellars. Instead, once bottled our wines mature slowly for 5 or 6 years for the youngest and between 8 to 10 years for vintage wines. This slow development allows our wines to fully develop for guaranteed maximum pleasure.

Our desire to let our vineyards express themselves freely has enabled us to create new vintage wines.
Our Blanc de Noirs “les Voirmissa” and “Blanc de Blancs les Moineaux” began developing in our cellars back in 2013. Ungrafted vine parcels will be turned into wines in 2015 though nothing is set in stone; other vintages will most certainly appear over the coming years and be ready for tasting in the next 10 to 15 years. To make a good wine takes time!