MATHIEU DESHAUTELS
Aÿ
Champagne
As far as family inheritance goes, a spot in the Côte des Blancs is pretty good.
Mathieu Deshautels has returned to his native Champagne, after studying oenology in Beaune, and taking in stints with Claire Naudin in Burgundy, Fumey-Chatelain in Jura, By Farr in Australia and further places in South Africa and Greece. These experiences gave him a strong sense of direction for when he returned home with a fresh perspective on his family’s plots.
Mathieu works in two Grand Cru sites, with tiny plots. Situated in the Côte des Blancs, one is in Cramant, and three in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The vineyards sit on wonderful pure chalk, emblematic of the region, and a wonderful thermal and water regulator. In the vineyard he took his parents domaine and dialled up the commitment to the environment; he employs biodynamic principles, with light under-row cultivation and permanent grass cover, promoting biodiversity and intense microbial life. Many of the vines are old, and are pruned carefully, with yields kept deliberately low.
The winery itself is over in Aÿ, and houses a jewel of a press - a 2000kg Coquard. He uses this for soft slow presses with hyper oxygenation. All movements in the winery are carried out with gravity.
The grapes are hand harvested, ferment spontaneously with indigenous yeasts. They age in oak on their fine lees, are bottled with no fining or aggressive filtration. The bottles see a long time on lees before disgorgement and are bottled Brut Nature, without added sulphites. In fact Mathieu banned sulphites from the winery.
Besides working in his vineyards, he also teaches oenology and viticulture at the university in Reims, indeed he is a man with the skills and knowledge to teach the best already.
A new rising star for the region, Mathieu has a focus on purity of expression, with a profound mineral expression, and these wines already show his undoubted talent. They are immediate and precise, but promise extraordinary potential in the cellar.
Premier Voyage
Vintage 2023
Style Sparkling
Region Côte des Blancs, Champagne
Varieties Chardonnay
ABV
Soils Chalk
Farming Organic, Biodynamic
Winemaking Mathieu’s parcels are all Grand Cru, and this is a blend of them; one in Cramant which is used for Le Bateau, and three in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The split is 40% from Cramant, 60% Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The grapes are hand picked at optimum ripeness then pressed slowly and gently in a 2000kg Coquard press, and fermentation is spontaneous. The base wine ages in oak barrel on lees for 11 months, before bottling and undergoing extended lees aging in bottle. Brut Nature, no added sulphur.
Tasting Note
Le Bateau
Vintage 2023
Style Sparkling
Region Côte des Blancs, Champagne
Varieties Chardonnay
ABV
Soils Chalk
Farming Organic, Biodynamic
Winemaking From a single Grand Cru plot in Cramant, planted in 1963, the grapes here are a rare strain of Chardonnay known as Chardonnay Musqué, known for it’s aromatic nose. The soil is rich on the surface and becomes chalky after 20cm. The fruit is hand picked at optimum ripeness then pressed slowly and gently with a tradtional Coquard press over 6 hours. The juice then ages in barrel befoe bottling. The wine sees a long aging on lees before disgorgement. The final wine is bottled B
rut Nature with no added sulphur at any stage of winemaking.
Tasting Note