Antoine Berthelot

History of Champagne Antoine Berthelot

The history of Champagne Antoine Berthelot is rooted in the Côte des Bar since the 1980s, when the Berthelot family planted its first plots of pinot noir on the steep hillsides of Verpillières-sur-Ource, a small winemaking village in the Aube. For more than forty years, the family vines were carefully tended and the grapes delivered to major Champagne houses, in keeping with the tradition of grape-supplying growers in the region.

The turning point came in 2023, when the young Antoine Berthelot, having completed a solid training in viticulture and oenology and gained experience at benchmark estates in Gevrey-Chambertin, Corsica and Les Riceys at the heart of the Aube, decided to vinify the grapes from the family heritage himself. From this was born a project of artisanal micro-production, demanding and resolutely focused on showcasing the original terroir, where each plot is considered a singular voice to be revealed in the bottle.

Terroirs and Vines of Champagne Antoine Berthelot

The Champagne Antoine Berthelot vineyard unfolds across the slopes of Verpillières-sur-Ource, in the southern part of the Aube department, in the Côte des Bar region often described as the Champagne's Burgundy. The vines cling to hillsides at varying altitudes, fully south-facing, on stony Kimmeridgian soils that are poor and perfectly drained. This demanding terroir, marked by the presence of limestone and fossil-rich marls, forces the vines to root deeply, conferring upon the grapes a remarkable aromatic concentration and a highly distinctive mineral signature.

Pinot noir, the king grape of the Côte des Bar, dominates the estate's plots, complemented by chardonnay, which brings tension and freshness. Planted in the 1980s, the vines have reached a fine maturity, a guarantee of depth and balance. The vineyard is managed with a respectful, low-input approach, in a philosophy close to integrated pest management and sustainable viticulture, in order to preserve soil life and the authentic expression of each plot.

Winemaking at Champagne Antoine Berthelot

The winemaking philosophy of Champagne Antoine Berthelot is built on a parcel-by-parcel approach taken to the extreme. The grapes, harvested at perfect ripeness during careful manual harvests, are gently pressed and then vinified separately, lot by lot. This rigorous separation allows Antoine to observe the individual character of each vine before proceeding to thoughtful blends, which take into account the particularities of the vintage and the nuances of each plot.

The wines are aged on fine lees in oak barrels of varying sizes (from 228 to 500 litres) for several months. This time in wood, conducted with restraint, adds a textural dimension and additional complexity without masking the purity of the fruit. The cuvées are then bottled for the second fermentation and aged on laths for several months to refine their bubbles and develop their aromas. Antoine Berthelot's stylistic signature is recognisable in this subtle balance between the power of pinot noir, the tension of chardonnay and the salinity drawn from the Kimmeridgian soil, all enhanced by minimal or zero dosage, in the tradition of non-dosé champagnes.

The cuvées of Champagne Antoine Berthelot

Assemblage N°1 (2023): The estate's first cuvée and true calling card, this Assemblage N°1 is a vintage, zero-dosage champagne composed of nearly equal parts chardonnay and pinot noir from the plots of Verpillières-sur-Ource. The chardonnay brings bright aromatics and fine tension, while the pinot noir offers structure, depth and amplitude. After ten months of ageing on lees in oak barrels (228 to 500 litres) followed by sixteen months of bottle rest, this champagne reveals a subtle balance between power, finesse and salinity — the signature of the Aube terroir.

La Grande Vigne: The estate's emblematic single-parcel cuvée, La Grande Vigne is sourced from a carefully selected historic plot in Verpillières-sur-Ource, planted on the most typical stony Kimmeridgian soils of the Côte des Bar. This champagne fully embodies Antoine Berthelot's parcel-driven approach — to reveal the voice of a unique place through precise winemaking and careful ageing in oak barrels. The palate stands out for its depth, mineral tension and beautiful saline persistence, bearing witness to the maturity of the vines and the richness of the terroir. A confidential cuvée built for ageing, it embodies the young winemaker's qualitative ambition.

Coteaux Champenois Rouge (Pinot Noir): Alongside his champagnes, Antoine Berthelot also produces a red Coteaux Champenois based on pinot noir, a still wine from the same sun-drenched plots of Verpillières-sur-Ource. This confidential cuvée illustrates the full potential of pinot noir from the Côte des Bar, with vibrant fruit, an elegant palate and a mineral backbone that echoes the freshness of the Kimmeridgian terroir. Vinified with the same parcel-by-parcel precision as the champagnes, this Coteaux Champenois bears witness to the artisanal expertise of the young winemaker and his desire to explore every facet of a terroir long reserved for grape delivery — now magnified in bottles bearing his own name.