Agrapart Père & Fils

The History of Champagne Agrapart Père & Fils

The story begins in 1894, when Arthur Agrapart founded his winegrowing estate in Avize at the height of the Belle Époque. From the outset, the family chose independence, making and bottling its own wines—a practice then very rare among small Champagne growers. The house weathered wars and economic crises before Pierre, the founder's grandson, rebuilt it in the 1950s and 1960s, firmly prioritizing quality over volume.

In 1984, Pascal Agrapart succeeded his father and inherited four hectares of vines. Over four decades, he expanded the vineyard to twelve hectares, refined its plot-by-plot approach beginning in 1995, and established an interpretation of Champagne terroir that is now a benchmark worldwide. The estate remains a grower-producer, buying no grapes from outside. Since 2018, Ambroise, Pascal's son and the fifth generation, has worked alongside his father and continued this pursuit of precision. The house is among the few Champagne estates awarded three stars by La Revue du vin de France, alongside the region's greatest names.

The Terroir and Vineyards of Champagne Agrapart Père & Fils

The vineyard covers approximately twelve hectares divided into around sixty small plots. The heart of the estate—nearly ten hectares of chardonnay—lies in the Grand Cru villages of the Côte des Blancs: Avize, Cramant, Oger, and Oiry. There are also chardonnay plots in Premier Cru and neighboring villages (Avenay-Val-d'Or, Bergères-lès-Vertus, Mardeuil, and Vauciennes), plus around one hectare of pinot noir in Avenay-Val-d'Or, a Premier Cru village in the Montagne de Reims. Planting density reaches 8,000 vines per hectare, the vines average around forty years of age, and some plots are more than sixty-five years old.

Pascal Agrapart identifies three types of soil, all resting on the chalk bedrock of the Côte des Blancs: shallow soils over pure chalk, deeper clay soils, and clay-limestone soils. This geological understanding underpins the estate's three vintage single-vineyard cuvées. The vineyards have always been plowed without herbicides, using house-made compost and manure tailored to soil analyses. Some plots, such as La Fosse aux Pourceaux, are still worked by horse, while manual, open vine training lets wind and sunlight help limit treatments, which are applied sparingly according to pest pressure.

Winemaking at Champagne Agrapart Père & Fils

The grapes are harvested by hand and selectively, at optimal ripeness: never below 10 degrees of potential alcohol, to avoid any vegetal character, and rarely above 11 degrees, to preserve freshness and drinkability. They travel in ventilated crates, washed after each use, and are pressed promptly in traditional 4,000-kilogram Coquard presses. Pressing is slow and selective, followed by static settling without enzymes for ten to twelve hours.

Fermentation begins solely with the grapes' native yeasts. The vintage wines are fermented or aged in oak barrels (600-liter barrels), not to impart oak flavor but to allow gentle oxidation, while temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks kept at 22 degrees Celsius hold the wines destined for nonvintage cuvées. The wines rest on their lees until bottling for the second fermentation; malolactic fermentation is consistently encouraged, and tartrate stabilization occurs naturally in winter. Bottling takes place in mid-May, without fining or filtration, with the second fermentation under a cork secured by a staple for the Avizoise and Vénus cuvées. The bottles age in chalk cellars at 10 degrees Celsius, are riddled by hand, disgorged about sixty days before release, and dosed with a liqueur made from the current year's wine and cane sugar. The nonvintage wines are sold at least three years after harvest, the vintage wines after seven years.

The Cuvées of Champagne Agrapart Père & Fils

7 Crus Brut: the house's signature blended cuvée, comprising approximately 90% chardonnay and 10% pinot noir from the seven villages where it owns vineyards (Avize, Cramant, Oger, Oiry, Avenay-Val-d'Or, Bergères-lès-Vertus, and Mardeuil). A multi-vintage wine, it is partially aged in oak barrels and spends three years on the lees. Complex aromas of hazelnut and spice lead to a fresh palate of white fruit and white flowers. The ideal introduction to the world of Agrapart, perfect as an aperitif or with seafood.

Terroirs Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru: a blend of first-press juice from 100% chardonnay grown exclusively in the Grand Cru villages of Avize, Oger, Cramant, and Oiry, sourced from old vines and two vintages. After three to four years on the lees, the wine is taut, pure, and linear, with remarkable precision in its citrus notes. One of the most compelling nonvintage Blanc de Blancs in all of Champagne. Also available in magnum and jeroboam.

Complantée Extra-Brut Grand Cru: a statement cuvée from a single plot in Avize, at the site known as La Fosse, planted in 2002 and 2003 with Champagne's six grape varieties (chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier, pinot blanc, arbane, and petit meslier), harvested and co-fermented together. Vinified in barrel, it reflects the estate's conviction that terroir matters more than grape variety. Lively and distinctive, it combines cherry, lemon, lime, and a hint of almond with a strikingly focused structure. Serve with poultry or white meat.

Rosé Brut 1er Cru: produced in very small quantities by the estate, this rosé combines chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs with pinot noir from Avenay-Val-d'Or. True to the house style, it avoids embellishment or excessive dosage, offering fresh red berries and a saline finish. A rare cuvée for lovers of food-friendly rosés.

Pinot Avenay Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature 1er Cru: the estate's most recent creation, made from 100% pinot noir from the single Champ Saint-Bernard plot in Avenay-Val-d'Or, midway up a southeast-facing slope where deep clay soils lie over chalk. Vinified plot by plot in 600-liter oak barrels, with native-yeast fermentation and full malolactic fermentation; bottled without fining or filtration, with the second fermentation under a cork secured by a staple, followed by sixty to seventy-two months of aging on the lees. Pale gold with copper highlights, aromas of raspberry, red currant, and cherry, and a fine, peppery palate with a chalky finish. No dosage.

Minéral Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru: the first of three vintage single-vineyard cuvées, made from old vines in Avize and Cramant planted on the most limestone-rich soils, over chalk (notably Bionnes and Champbouton). The wine gains remarkable chalky, saline minerality, focused tension, and aromatic purity. Dosage is kept to an absolute minimum to let the soil speak. A benchmark terroir-driven Blanc de Blancs, also available in magnum.

Avizoise Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru: a vintage 100% chardonnay from the Robarts and Gros Yeux plots on the slopes of Avize, where a thick layer of clay covers the chalk. The fifty- to sixty-year-old vines yield a dense, generous, deep wine with notes of apple, roasted hazelnut, wax, and subtle smoke. Aged in barrel and bottled for its second fermentation under cork, with dosage limited to around 3 grams per liter, it is the estate's most food-friendly and voluptuous cuvée.

Vénus Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru: the house's emblematic single-vineyard cuvée, from one 60-are plot in Avize, La Fosse aux Pourceaux, where chalk reaches the surface at the top and clay predominates below. No machinery is used there: the vines are tended by hand and horse, in tribute to the mare that gave the cuvée its name. The second fermentation takes place under cork, disgorgement occurs two months before release, and there is no dosage. A Champagne of exceptional intensity and focus, produced in very small quantities.

Expérience Brut Nature Grand Cru: the estate's ultimate pursuit of Champagne made without additives, produced from old vines in Avize. The second fermentation is initiated by adding unfermented grape must from the following vintage, a process now known as the Agrapart method. With no dosage or fining, no filtration, and sulfur kept to an absolute minimum, the cuvée offers an utterly faithful expression of Avize's terroir: minerality, tension, finesse, and energy. Successive vintages carry the designation EXP.

Vieux Millésime: an aged version of the Minéral cuvée, kept for many years on the lees under a cork before late disgorgement. Time in the chalk cellar brings remarkable tertiary complexity, with notes of pastry, dried fruit, and salinity, while preserving the terroir's chalky freshness. A collectible bottle released in very limited quantities.