La Rogerie

History of Champagne La Rogerie

The story of Champagne La Rogerie begins in 2015, when Justine Boxler and François Petit, a young couple united by a shared passion for the land, decided to take over their respective family estates. François, born in Avize at the heart of the Côte des Blancs, is the heir to a vineyard acquired by his grandparents in the 1940s, which until then had supplied its harvest to large champagne houses. Justine, for her part, comes from the Boxler family, established in Niedermorschwihr in Alsace since 1640, renowned for the Domaine Albert Boxler.

Rather than choosing between their two regions, the couple decided to cultivate both heritages simultaneously. This ambition gave birth to La Rogerie, a two-headed project that celebrates both the chalky terroirs of Avize and the granitic soils of Alsace. François's passion for the great wines of Champagne, nurtured by his time with Anselme Selosse, and Justine's viticultural rigour quickly gave the project a clear direction: to produce single-vineyard, author-driven champagnes, exclusively Grand Cru, in the purest respect for living matter.

Terroirs and Vines of Champagne La Rogerie

La Rogerie's Champagne vineyard extends over 2.30 hectares at the heart of the prestigious Côte des Blancs, across the communes of Avize, Cramant, and Oger, all three classified Grand Cru. The predominantly chalky soils, rich in marine fossils and interspersed with clay and silica, give the Chardonnay grape variety a rare precision of expression: tension, salinity, and aromatic directness. Avize contributes power, structure, and a characteristic smoky signature, while Cramant offers finesse and Oger a fruity depth.

The vines, planted between 1937 and 1961, are almost all derived from mass selections passed down through the generations, a guarantee of authenticity and aromatic complexity. Cultivation is strictly organic: no herbicides, no pesticides, no chemical fertilizers. The couple promotes biodiversity through green manures, homemade composts, and the planting of fruit trees, alternating between animal traction and a light tractor to limit soil compaction. The goal remains constant: to allow the roots to plunge deep into the chalk and express the quintessence of the terroir.

Vinification at Champagne La Rogerie

In the cellar, the philosophy is radically non-interventionist. Each plot is vinified separately in order to preserve the identity of the place. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations are carried out using only indigenous yeasts, with no additives whatsoever. Ageing takes place in 228-litre oak barrels between two and five years old, sometimes in large casks, over several months, lending the still wines a vinous, complex, and profound character without excessive wood influence.

After bottling, the wines age for an extended period on lees (often 36 months or more) in order to gain aromatic complexity and bubble finesse. Dosage levels are systematically very low, Extra-Brut (often below 2 g/l) or Brut Nature, sometimes bottled without added sulfur. From 2018 onwards, the couple also established a system of perpetual reserves, making it possible, from 2024, to craft non-vintage champagnes of great consistency, faithful to the identity of each sector. This meticulous approach has rapidly earned La Rogerie scores above 94/100 from Wine Advocate.

The Cuvées of Champagne La Rogerie

The Champ Bouton cuvée is one of the estate's three major single-vineyard signatures. Sourced from a plot in Avize bordering the Chemin de Châlons road, planted by mass selection and more than 60 years old, it is crafted as a Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra-Brut and bottled without added sulfur, in approximately 3,000 bottles only. Now produced as a non-vintage wine based on a perpetual reserve begun in 2020, it expresses a dense, vinous, mouth-watering character with a distinctly chalky signature.

The Chemin de Châlons cuvée, Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra-Brut, is crafted from Chardonnay sourced from two historic plots planted in 1959 in Avize and in 1937 in Cramant. The soils, combining clay, silica, and degraded chalk, give the wine a powerful mineral structure. Vinification with indigenous yeasts, ageing in 228-litre oak barrels, and an extended time on lees (a minimum of 36 months), with a dosage below 2 g/l: a broad, buttery, brioche-like Champagne with an ultra-fine bubble, praised by critics for its controlled power evoking the Selosse style.

The Le Bourg/Sud cuvée, Grand Cru Extra-Brut, is crafted from a perpetual reserve begun in 2018, showcasing the terroirs located to the south of the village of Avize up to the gates of Oger. Its first edition blends five lieu-dits (95% Avize, 5% Oger), predominantly from the 2021 vintage, complemented by 10% reserve wines from 2018–2020. Aged 11 months in barrels, disgorged at 2 g/l, it reveals notes of oyster shell, citrus, bread dough, and honeysuckle, with an incisive chalky texture and a lingering, sapid finish.

The Le Bourg/Nord cuvée, Grand Cru Extra-Brut, completes the diptych by showcasing the terroirs located to the north of Avize up to the border with Cramant. Also conceived from a perpetual reserve begun in 2021, it offers a vertical and precise reading of the northern part of the village, with a more floral, more airy signature and a chiselled minerality characteristic of these higher-altitude plots.

The Haut du Moulin cuvée comes from one of the estate's emblematic plots, located in the south-east of Avize. Vinified as a Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, it expresses a solar, ripe, and profound signature, marked by the typical notes of Avize: ripe citrus, yellow fruits, graphite, and a long saline finish.

The La Grande Vie (Lieux de Vie) cuvée, Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra-Brut, was the estate's inaugural first release. Initially conceived to blend several plots from Avize, its very first edition was in fact sourced exclusively from the old vines of Chemin de Châlons. Based on the 2019 vintage with 40% reserve wines, disgorged without dosage, it received a score of 94/100 from William Kelley (Wine Advocate). The nose offers citrus, peach, white flowers, almond paste, pollen, and fresh bread, while the palate is fleshy and vinous, with a silky attack and a deep, layered mid-palate.

The Héroïne cuvée is a vintage Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra-Brut crafted from old vines in Avize. Presented in very limited quantities with minimal dosage (around 2 g/l) and a late disgorgement, it represents the ultimate expression of Avize's solar and powerful character, with a dense body, notes of mocha, hazelnut, and brioche, and a ripe, vinous structure destined for long ageing.