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 wine-growing village in the Aube. For more than forty years, the family vines were tended with care, and the grapes delivered to major Champagne houses, in keeping with the tradition of grower-suppliers in the region.

The turning point came in 2023, when the young Antoine Berthelot, after completing a solid training in viticulture and oenology and gaining experience at reference estates in Gevrey-Chambertin, Corsica and Les Riceys at the heart of the Aube, decided to vinify the grapes from the family heritage himself. A project of artisanal micro-production was thus born — demanding and resolutely focused on showcasing the terroir of origin, 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 spreads across the slopes of Verpillières-sur-Ource, in the southern part of the Aube département, in the Côte des Bar, often described as the Burgundy of Champagne. 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 marl rich in fossils, forces the vines to root deeply, giving the grapes a notable aromatic concentration and a highly recognisable mineral signature.

Pinot noir, the reigning grape variety of the Côte des Bar, occupies the dominant share of the 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 the life of the soils and the authentic expression of each plot.

Winemaking at Champagne Antoine Berthelot

The winemaking philosophy of Champagne Antoine Berthelot is built on a plot-by-plot 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 with considered blending that takes into account the particularities of the vintage and the nuances of each plot.

Ageing takes place on fine lees, in oak barrels of varying sizes (from 228 to 500 litres), over 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. The stylistic signature of Antoine Berthelot 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 elevated by minimal or even zero dosage, in the tradition of non-dosé Champagnes.

The cuvées of Champagne Antoine Berthelot

Assemblage N°1 (2023): The first cuvée and true calling card of the estate, 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 luminous 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 rest in the bottle, this champagne reveals a subtle balance between power, finesse and salinity — the signature of the Aube terroir.

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

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 plot-by-plot 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 magnificently expressed in bottles signed by his own hand.