Champagne François Diligent

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 “ga...

With respect for François Diligent’s philosophy, and eager to maintain the quality and originality of his vineyard, we select grafts by cutting a shoot from certain vines. For Chasselas, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Petit Meslier, Arbane, Melon, Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, massal selections are the norm. Since 1927 this technique has enabled us to preserve a high quality of production, in the knowledge that the vineyard contains very old...

François Diligent always favoured freshness in his champagnes because he liked to enjoy them primarily as an aperitif. So very early on a Brut Nature champagne (with a dosage of 2g which, at the time, he called his Extra Brut) became self-evident for him. He loved the land and his rows of vines and chose to push maturity levels in his grapes to obtain a unique taste. Why then alter this taste with an overbearing dose of liqueur? Despite the gr...