Champagne Marie Copinet B-D-B Léonard Extra Brut Millésime 2016

Champagne Marie Copinet is the culmination of the work of several generations of vignerons and, quite literally, has its roots in the remarkable soil of Champagne.

As the years went by each generation cleared the land and consolidated the family vineyard holdings.Back in 1956 Alexandre’s grandparents inherited some vines and they set out on this adventure by creating their own brand in the village of Cuchery.

The 60s were also good times for Marie-Laure’s family and her grandparents acquired their first vineyards at that time. Then in 1975, still in Montgenost, Marie-Laure’s parents set themselves up in business, embarked on their first harvest and made their first champagnes. It was the start of another new adventure!

Now it’s Marie-Laure and Alexandre’s turn to carry forward the family history. With the benefit of the savoir-faire that has been passed down to them they are committed to remaining faithful to the traditions and the style of the house yet to create their own cuvees and play their part in the never-ending search for excellence.

The average age of the vines in Marie Copinet’s 9 hectares of vineyard is 30 years and they are ideally distributed across 3 different areas of Champagne: le Sézannais, la Côte des Bar and la Vallée de la Marne. In each area one finds all three of the Champagne grape varietals (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier).

The diversity of all these areas and of all the different plots of vines is reflected in the rich variety of cuvées which all express the essential character of the various terroirs.

Alexandre and Marie-Laure have adopted the greenest practices possible to preserve the environment and enhance the quality of their champagnes. There is no use of insecticides or herbicides, they have cut the use of other treatments by half and to increase microbial life in the soil Alexandre regularly ploughs the vineyards in much the same way as vignerons did in days gone by.

Thanks to these changes, and to the overall development of their viticulture, they have recently been granted Terra Vitis accreditation, an official recognition of their ecological credentials.