Roger Coulon

The history of Champagne Roger Coulon

The Coulon family has been rooted in the Petites Montagnes, the hilly area southwest of Reims, since the 17th century. The family planted its first vines there in 1806, the date now recognized as the house’s founding. Several generations would pass before the wine was sold under the family name, first by Marcel Coulon and then under the Roger Coulon label, which the estate still uses today.

Éric Coulon took over in 1985 and gradually transformed the operation into a benchmark estate, drawing on an exceptional heritage of old vines and massal selections. With his wife Isabelle, he established a perpetual reserve in 1995, expanded oak fermentation and eliminated fining and filtration. Beginning in 2019, the estate converted its entire vineyard to organic production, gaining certification in 2022, and adopted agroforestry in a spirit of low-input viticulture. In recent years, Edgar and Louise, the ninth generation, have brought their own refinements: consistently pursuing malolactic fermentation, reducing pressure to around 4.5 atmospheres instead of the usual six, and creating new single-vineyard cuvées. The house now produces nearly 90,000 bottles a year.

The terroirs and vineyards of Champagne Roger Coulon

The family vineyard covers around ten hectares, spread across more than a hundred plots in five villages. Four Premier Cru villages in the Montagne de Reims form its foundation: Vrigny, where the estate is based, Coulommes-la-Montagne, Pargny-lès-Reims and Villers-Allerand. A plot in the Grand Cru village of Chouilly, on the Côte des Blancs, was added in 2012. This mosaic explains the range’s richness: every vineyard site, aspect and vine age contributes its own nuance.

Vrigny’s distinctive terroir lies in its sandy soils, which give Meunier a particular texture and grain, while Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grow on clay. Plantings are approximately 40% Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, all from massal selections, with very old vines and even a few ungrafted plots—a true rarity in Champagne. The emblematic vineyard sites have names familiar to enthusiasts: Les Coteaux de Vallier and Champs Chevalier in Vrigny, Le Mont Moine in Coulommes-la-Montagne, and Les Hauts Partas in Chouilly. Vineyard management combines tree planting, cover crops and sheep grazing, which provides natural weed control.

Winemaking at Champagne Roger Coulon

The winery embraced a firmly natural approach long before the term became fashionable: no chemical treatments, filtration or fining, and exclusive use of native yeasts from the different vineyard sites. Fermentation takes place largely in oak, in demi-muids and barrels, only 10 to 15% of which are replaced each year. New oak is never used for single-vineyard cuvées. The wines rest on the full lees for around ten months before blending or bottling for secondary fermentation.

The perpetual reserve in tank, begun in 1995, forms the backbone of several cuvées and makes blends of remarkable depth possible; it accounts for up to 90% of the Heri-Hodie cuvée. Sulfur is used only at pressing, and in vintages that permit it, some wines are made with no additions at all. Aging on the lees in bottle is long, sometimes exceptionally so, and dosage is capped at three grams per liter, with several cuvées disgorged without any liqueur. The range is organized into two collections: Collection Référence, carried through the generations, and Collection Empreinte, shaped by the forces of nature and the expression of individual vineyard sites.

The cuvées of Champagne Roger Coulon

Heri-Hodie Premier Cru Extra Brut: the signature cuvée of the Collection Référence, its Latin name means “yesterday and today,” a link between generations. Made entirely from Vrigny Meunier, it combines around 90% wine from the solera established in 1995 with 10% wine from the current year, the latter having spent ten months on the lees. An old-gold hue with pink highlights, aromas of mirabelle plum, pear, hazelnut and biscuit, and a fine, delicate palate with fruit and pastry notes. Perfect as an aperitif, with hors d’oeuvres or fish.

L’Hommée Premier Cru Extra Brut: an authentic, distinctive cuvée named after an old unit of measurement representing a winegrower’s daily work. It comes exclusively from the estate’s oldest and most emblematic terroirs, with Chardonnay predominating alongside Pinot Noir. Fermentation takes place in oak, and the small proportion of reserve wines also comes from oak barrels, followed by ten months of aging on the full lees. A persistent, elegant and appealing champagne, ideal with scallops or truffle ravioli.

Rosélie Rosé Brut Nature: the house’s rosé, made by the saignée method entirely from Meunier grown on vines more than fifty years old in Vrigny, with twelve to twenty-four hours of maceration. With no dosage, it combines the grape’s vibrant red fruit with the distinctive texture imparted by the sandy terroir, in a vinous yet remarkably easy-drinking style. One of the estate’s highest-rated cuvées.

Esprit de Vrigny Premier Cru Brut Nature: the first cuvée in the Collection Empreinte, it brings together the three Champagne grape varieties to offer a complete portrait of the village, with one-third Meunier grown on sand and two-thirds Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown on clay. Aged for ten months on the lees in oak barrels and bottled with no added sugar, it is particularly well-structured, mineral and fresh, with notes of flowers, nuts and spices. Superb with fine fish dishes.

Blanc de Noirs Franc de Pied Millésimé Extra Brut: an exceptionally rare cuvée from ungrafted vines—vines not grafted onto American rootstock—a heritage the family has preserved on its sandy soils. It combines equal parts Meunier and Pinot Noir. Fermented in oak and aged for a long time, it offers uncommon intensity and density, with the slightly oxidative signature that gives the estate’s wines their charm. Produced in minute quantities and reserved for discerning enthusiasts.

Les Coteaux de Vallier: the house’s historic prestige cuvée, sourced from a single vineyard site in Vrigny and made using a method preserved for nearly a century. Predominantly Chardonnay with some Pinot Noir, it can spend up to eighteen months aging on the lees in oak barrels, followed by a very long period in the cellar before disgorgement. An old-gold hue with copper highlights, a bouquet of candied fruit, mead and roasted coffee, and a direct, refined, lingering palate with a hint of vanilla on the finish. A remarkable champagne for the table.

Les Hauts Partas Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Millésimé: the estate’s only Grand Cru, from a 0.22-hectare, east-facing plot on the chalk soils of Chouilly, planted in the mid-1970s and acquired by the family in 2012. The wine is fermented and aged in oak, then disgorged with no dosage. Golden in color, with a wild, floral nose of acacia, honey and yellow-fleshed fruit, and a palate of controlled oxidative intensity, spanning caramelized walnuts, sabayon, preserved lemon and quince. A collector’s piece.

Continuum: the estate’s most recent creation, from the Champs Chevalier vineyard site on an east-facing slope in Vrigny. It combines around 65% Chardonnay and 35% Meunier, with a base of older vintages complemented by the house’s solera. The result is a champagne of remarkable depth and maturity that carries the family’s cherished idea of continuity into the glass.

Coteaux Champenois Vrigny Rouge: a still red wine made from 100% Pinot Noir from the Champs Chevalier vineyard site. It delicately expresses the cool character of the northern Petites Montagnes, with delicate red fruit, sweet spices and fine tannins. Produced in tiny quantities, it has brought this historic appellation back to life at Roger Coulon.

Coteaux Champenois Coulommes-la-Montagne Rouge: the estate’s second still wine, this time made entirely from Meunier from the Le Mont Moine vineyard site. Softer and juicier than its Pinot Noir counterpart, it charms with its generous fruit and drinkability while retaining the mineral backbone of the Montagne de Reims soils. A rare find to enjoy with white meats or roast poultry.