La Borderie

History of Domaine La Borderie

The story of Domaine La Borderie is, above all, that of a family deeply rooted in the vineyards of the Aube. Odile and Jean-Louis Normand had been making champagne for many years, but only as members of the local cooperative. For decades, their grapes supplied the major Champagne houses, as did those of so many growers in the Côte des Bar. Their grandparents had been among the region’s first cooperative members.

Everything changed in 2013 when their children, Simon and Marie Normand, decided to take over the family estate and begin a new chapter. Simon Normand first earned a vocational diploma in nature management and conservation before training in viticulture and enology and completing an internship in Burgundy at Bouchard Père et Fils. That experience in Burgundy, where Pinot Noir reigns supreme, gave him a particular appreciation for the expression of individual plots and precision in winemaking. Simon began his training in 2008, working for the cooperative to which his parents sold their grapes. He then spent three years at Bouchard Père et Fils in Beaune, followed by a stint at Domaine Fleury, a leading Champagne producer.

In October 2015, the dream became reality with the official opening of the new cellar and winemaking facility, a building designed to combine modern technology with a place in the natural landscape. The name “La Borderie” is no accident: historically, the term referred to a small farm, which is essentially what they are—an estate that does not buy grapes from outside growers. The name also reflects the Burgundian influences guiding the estate’s approach, in which the identity of each plot is central to every decision.

Today, a new generation—Marie and Antoine—continues the family’s journey, crafting cuvées that reflect the distinctive character of their terroir and express their personalities.

Terroirs and Vineyards of Domaine La Borderie

Domaine La Borderie is located in Bar-sur-Seine, in the Côte des Bar vineyards of Champagne, more precisely in the Bar Séquanais, where the Seine and Arce valleys meet. Often regarded as Champagne’s poor relation, this vineyard area in the Aube is in fact home to terroirs of exceptional geological richness, quite unlike the chalk soils of the Marne.

The vines grow on a terroir whose soils formed between 152 and 142 million years ago, during the Jurassic period, primarily in the Middle and Upper Kimmeridgian. The underlying formation consists of three layers of gray marl separated by two layers of limestone ranging from marly to hard, with a total thickness of around 80 meters. These Kimmeridgian clay-limestone soils, also found in the great vineyards of Chablis and Sancerre, give the estate’s Champagnes their characteristic mineral tension and finely etched freshness.

The estate has 11.5 hectares of vines spread across seven villages around Bar-sur-Seine. Just 1.5 hectares are devoted to the estate’s own wines; grapes from the rest are delivered to the cooperative. The vines are about 30 years old on average, and four grape varieties are grown: Champagne’s three principal varieties—Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier—plus the rare Pinot Blanc. The vineyard is 70% Pinot Noir, with Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Blanc making up the rest, and is farmed without herbicides or insecticides.

The estate’s environmental approach goes well beyond certifications. The estate is moving toward agroforestry: planting hedgerows and trees among the vineyard plots encourages a local ecosystem to develop and helps protect the vines by providing a refuge for beneficial birds and insects. There are now around 30 bird and bat nesting boxes in the vineyard. Simon Normand thinks in terms of micro-terroirs, analyzing each plot individually to better understand the unique qualities it can bring to the glass.

Winemaking at Domaine La Borderie

If the philosophy in the vineyard centers on respect for living things, the approach in the winery centers on precision and a faithful expression of terroir. The state-of-the-art winemaking facility was designed to vinify plots separately and produce Champagnes suited to fine dining. Once harvested, the grapes are pressed immediately to preserve their aromatic integrity.

The winery is ultramodern and gravity-fed, and each lot is vinified separately, preserving the identity of each plot until the final blend. Only 5% to 15% of the wine in the various cuvées is aged in oak barrels. The house style is exceptionally precise, clean and beautifully fruit-focused. Wines fermented in stainless steel tanks undergo malolactic fermentation, while those in barrels do not. This deliberate choice preserves the wines’ natural vibrancy and tension, avoiding heaviness or flabbiness.

The dosage is consistently very low—Extra Brut at 3 g/L—reflecting carefully managed ripeness in the vineyard and a commitment to authentic terroir expression. Reserve wines, some kept in a solera system, bring depth and stylistic continuity from year to year. Depending on the cuvée, the wines age on racks in the cellar for at least 24 to 30 months, allowing the mousse to integrate fully and tertiary aromas to develop.

The cuvées of Domaine La Borderie

Three Regions

The Trois Contrées cuvée represents the estate’s threefold theme: 3 grape varieties, 3 villages, 3 terroirs and 3 exposures. It is the introductory cuvée, the most faithful snapshot of what La Borderie seeks to express. The blend is 70% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Blanc, respectively from Merrey-sur-Arce, Ville-sur-Arce and Bar-sur-Seine, three distinct villages in the Côte des Bar. The base wine comes from the 2021 harvest, supplemented by 15% reserve wines. Part of the Pinot Noir is vinified in oak barrels, while malolactic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. The wine ages on racks for at least 24 months before disgorgement and has an Extra Brut dosage of 3 g/L.

Sweet Folly

The grapes for this rosé come from the “Douce Folie” vineyard, where Pinot Noir vines over 50 years old provide the fruit. The rosé is made by maceration using the saignée method to achieve a deep, intense color. The plot is in Merrey-sur-Arce. The wine is 100% Pinot Noir, with an Extra Brut dosage. Its moderately deep, pale rose-petal color heralds an expressive, fine and delicate nose. Floral notes of violet mingle with fresh raspberry, blackcurrant and sour cherry, alongside mineral notes. The palate opens subtly, with creamy bubbles, flesh, acidity and fruit.

What’s It to You?

Behind this cheeky name lies a compelling winemaking story. The grower who planted Pinot Noir on a north-facing clay soil was mocked by his neighbors. “What’s it to you?” was the response, and it became the registered name of the plot. Simon Normand chose to pay tribute to it with an exceptional single-plot cuvée. This elegant, pure Blanc de Noirs is made from Pinot Noir grown in the “De Quoi Te Mêles-Tu ?” plot in Neuville-sur-Seine. The blend includes 15% wine aged in barrels without malolactic fermentation and 85% fermented in stainless steel tanks with malolactic fermentation. It ages on racks for 2.5 years and has an Extra Brut dosage of 3 g/L.

The Confluence

La Confluente is a vintage Blanc de Blancs from 2 plots in the 2 valleys: Pinot Blanc from the Seine Valley (20% of the blend) and Chardonnay from the Arce Valley (80%). Its name evokes the meeting of these valleys, which shape the estate’s vineyard landscape. Its aromatic profile is exceptionally refined: the cuvée is round on the initial palate, before La Borderie’s signature delicate tension draws the wine into a fine mineral structure. Even in a small proportion, Pinot Blanc brings a uniquely fleshy, crisp texture found in no other champagne from the region. The nose is floral, fresh and inviting, with notes of white flowers, honey and white peach and a mineral touch. The palate is lively and lightly citrusy, with a hint of minerality on the finish.

Coteaux Champenois Les Dévoix

Some rare wines are not made every year, and “Les Dévoix” is one of them. When the Pinot Noir grapes from the old vines reach a good level of ripeness, Simon and Marie make this still red wine, “a little rarity we don’t make every year.” The “Les Dévoix” plot is very long—between 800 and 1,000 meters—and runs alongside a departmental road. The estate has two sections at opposite ends of this terroir, lending this Coteaux Champenois remarkable complexity. This little-known, hard-to-categorize red wine from Champagne reflects the Burgundian character of the Aube’s terroirs and the technical skill of Simon Normand, who trained among Burgundy’s great Pinot Noirs.