Didier-Ducos

You’ll find us just a stone’s throw from Epernay – the capital of Champagne - in the village of St. Martin d’Ablois where, for 3 generations now our family has been making champagne according to time-honoured tradition.

Champagne Didier-Ducos came into being after the marriage of Yvonne Ducos and Adrien Didier in 1946.

Their son Christophe and his wife Dominique developed the business and laid the foundations of success. Now it’s the turn of Adrien and Yvonne’s grandson, Nicolas and his wife Clotilde, to lead the business into the 21st century, and to find the perfect balance between those precious traditions and the demands of the modern world.

We are very proud of our status as an independent Récoltant Manipulant which is your guarantees that our grapes come from our own vineyards and our champagnes are produced and aged in our own cellars.

Our vineyards are about 6 kilometres outside Epernay in a marvellous, but little-known area of Champagne called Les Coteaux Sud d’Epernay ( which means The Southern Slopes of Epernay) and which is tucked away between it’s more famous cousins, the Vallée de la Marne and La Côte des Blancs.

In the vineyards everything starts with pruning which is carried out between November and March. We cut out some of the growth on the vines in order to ensure that the buds that are left produce a good quality harvest later in the year.

Next comes what’s called Le Liage when the remaining shoots are attached to supporting wires by means of twine.When Spring finally comes round again the buds come out but some of them, which are not going to produce fruit, have to be removed by hand in a process called ébourgeonnage.

As the vines grow we have to keep raising the wires on which they are trained – this operation is called relevage and in fact we sometimes have to do this twice – the first and the second relevage - to keep up with the growth of the vines.

The warmth of the summer sun encourages even more growth in the vines. We have to manage them by trimming them and spreading them out to avoid dense clumps of vegetation forming. This process is called palissage (Trellising).

Then we can use the tractors to carry out further trimming and to treat the vines, but only if absolutely necessary and even then only in moderation. This is all part of a programme designed to look after the vineyards for future generations.

We’re out in the vineyards come rain or shine and no matter what the temperature, so we’re very grateful when we can take a few days well-earned holiday just before the harvest.

The Harvest – The culmination of a year’s work. Harvesting is done entirely by hand and usually takes place over about 10 days in September. The bunches of grapes are gently cut with secateurs and taken to the press house where they are crushed in our modern, horizontal press which can hold 4,000 kilograms at a time.

From these 4,000 kilograms we extract precisely 2,550 litres of juice which are then put into different vats according to the grape variety and origin so that we can begin the 1st alcoholic fermentation during which sugar and yeast are transformed into alcohol to give us a still white wine.

Next comes the crucial stage of Blending (Assemblage) when we mix the different wines together; a complex process because we have to take into account the wonderful diversity of our grapes: different varieties, vines of different ages and plots with different exposure to the sun; all these factors play a role in creating a finished wine which is true to the characteristics and the style we are looking for.

Once the blending is complete it’s time to put the wine in bottles in a process called Tirage. The tirage takes place in April and immediately afterwards a second fermentation takes place inside the bottle and that’s what creates the bubbles. We call this La Prise de Mousse or The Birth of the Bubbles.

The bottles are then stored in our cellars at a constant temperature for between 3 and 6 years, according to the type of champagne. When the champagne has reached its peak it’s time for it to be prepared for your enjoyment. First we do the Remuage – we have to twist and turn the bottles to coax the sediment, formed inside the bottle during the 2nd fermentation, down to the neck of the bottle. Then comes the disgorging when we remove the sediment and add the Liqueur d’Expéditon to give the champagne its final touch. Finally we leave the bottles to rest for a few more months before we dress them up and label them ready for you to enjoy at your special moments.

Here are a few facts about our company today:
 

We grow all three Champagne grape varieties in our vineyards: 20% are planted with Chardonnay, 10% with Pinot Noir and 70% with Pinot Meunier

The vines in the individual plots range between 3 and 54 years of age

Our annual production is around 60,000 bottles

Champagne Didier Ducos is very much a family business and we’re fortunate to have some top class vineyards on which we lavish all our care and attention with the aim of pouring all our savoir-faire into every glass for you to enjoy.