C.H. Piconnet

History of Champagne C.H. Piconnet

The story of the house begins with Charles, the grandfather, whose initials, combined with those of Hubert, give their name to the C.H. Piconnet estate. Starting from scrubland of no value at the time, Charles cleared and planted the slopes of Neuville-sur-Seine, later joined by his son Hubert who carried the work forward. For more than twenty years, father and son fashioned everything themselves, from stakes to vine plants, before delivering their grapes to the village cooperative.

The turning point comes with Clément, Charles's grandson, trained in Avize and then at the Changins engineering school in Switzerland, and his wife Agathe, a winemaker's daughter and oenologist who studied in Dijon and Reims. Together, they decide to vinify their own grapes and create the estate in 2014, building a contemporary, light-filled winery. After fifteen months of work and ageing, they launch their first cuvées in 2017, marking the birth of a fully-fledged grower Champagne.

Terroirs and Vines of Champagne C.H. Piconnet

The estate extends over approximately seven hectares of vines situated in the finest terroirs of Neuville-sur-Seine, in the heart of the Côte des Bar. This southern sector of Champagne, close to Burgundy, rests on Kimmeridgian clay-limestone soils, particularly favourable to pinot noir — the king grape of the Aube hillsides — complemented here by chardonnay and pinot blanc.

Work in the vineyard is the true signature of the house, with a rigour rare in the region. No herbicides are used and the estate has committed to conversion to organic farming. Clément Piconnet practises very short pruning, careful trellising, and an east-facing leaf removal technique brought back from Switzerland and Burgundy, removing a large portion of the leaves on the east side to give the grapes the morning sun while protecting them from the intense heat of the afternoon. Each parcel and each grape variety is harvested separately so as to pick only the finest grapes.

Winemaking at Champagne C.H. Piconnet

In the winery, vinification aims to be simple and respectful of the fruit. Grapes destined for white wines are pressed directly, while red wines undergo destemming followed by maceration. Each lot is isolated and worked specifically according to its qualities, with everything vinified and aged exclusively in stainless steel tanks in order to preserve the purity, freshness, and aromatic precision of the wines.

The wines rest after harvest, then the blends are assembled in spring before bottling during the month of April. For the tirage, Clément Piconnet chooses to add approximately 21 to 22 grams of sugar, rather than the 24 grams commonly used in Champagne, in order to obtain a very fine and very delicate bubble. Dosages are kept deliberately low, with certain cuvées vinified as brut nature, to let the terroir speak fully.

The cuvées of Champagne C.H. Piconnet

Le Blanc de Noirs is the house's emblematic cuvée, produced from 100% pinot noir, the king grape of the Burgundians historically dominant on the estate's slopes. Perpetuating an Aube tradition, this Champagne captures the full landscape and atmosphere of the Côte des Bar valleys, in a vinous, fruity, and precise style.

The 3 Cépages cuvée is the estate's signature blend, bringing together approximately 40% pinot noir, 35% pinot blanc, and 25% chardonnay. Often offered as brut nature, it pays homage to the generations of winemakers in the family and to the ancestral grape varieties of the vineyard, with pinot noir as the backbone, pinot blanc to tell the story, and chardonnay for lightness and refinement. The nose is fruity, with notes of mirabelle plum and florals, the palate fine and chalky.

Le Rosé is a rare and indulgent blend of approximately 85% chardonnay and 15% pinot noir vinified as a red, slightly higher in dosage to accentuate roundness. Aromatic and surprising, it is a highly sought-after micro-cuvée that illustrates the house's desire to remain true to itself while cultivating originality.

Les Vignes de Charles is a tribute cuvée to the founding grandfather, composed of approximately 45% pinot noir, 30% pinot blanc, and 25% chardonnay, with a dosage of approximately 9 grams per litre. More generous and enveloping, it celebrates the family heritage and the historic parcels cleared by Charles.

Le Pinot Blanc highlights a rare and little-known grape variety in Champagne, vinified here as a single varietal. This original cuvée captivates with its freshness, its floral and fruity notes, and its delicacy, bearing witness to the estate's attachment to the diversity of Aube grape varieties.

Les Parcellaires La Charre is a 100% pinot noir blanc de noirs from a single parcel, in a parcel-driven approach that reveals the finest and most precise expression of a given terroir. It is a focused cuvée, crafted for enthusiasts in search of typicity.

Les Val Mantra is a blanc de blancs produced exclusively from chardonnay, offering a more airy, taut, and mineral profile. This cuvée illustrates the estate's ability to also express the finesse of chardonnay on the soils of the Côte des Bar.

La Bretonne completes the house's parcel-driven range with a confidential cuvée from a specific lieu-dit, in the same spirit of precision and enhancement of a singular terroir, to be discovered across vintages and subject to the estate's availability.