Meet Thibault Legrand-Latour
It is not often that you arrive at a winery which seems more like the entrance to a museum. Based in Fleury La Rivière, Thibault is the 3rd generation vigneron in the family. Thibault’s father, Patrice, started to make Champagne as Récoltant Coopérateur in 2007, selling his grapes to the local coop and then getting the bottles back to sell. His true passion, however, is fossil hunting. Since 1997, he has been digging underground galleries through the tuffeau of Damery, looking for specimens in the rock. The Marne Valley is rich in fossils coming from the Lutecien era (around 45 millions years ago).
The domain has evolved rapidly in the last few years, with Thibault taking the full lead in 2016 and immediately initiating the organic conversion of their 4 hectares. In 2017, they cancelled their cooperative contract when Thibault started to produce his own wines. He went to his childhood friend Flavien Nowack to press the grapes. They have vineyards in 4 villages - Vandières, Verneuil, Fleury and Oeuilly - with an average age of 30– 35-year-old vines.
The cuvées are bottled under cork for secondary fermentation, and the bottling is done after the following harvest with frozen must. The ageing and disgorgement is done in their cellars alongside the fossils, at 30m below the surface, in a stable climate of 12C throughout the year.
We are thrilled to welcome Thibault’s 2018 vintage here in the UK. The wines demonstrate not only an innovative approach to grouping plots, but also meticulous work in the vineyards and cellar alike, producing something that is instantly profound and an insight in what is to come. As a close friend of Flavien, we were introduced to Thibault right at the start of his journey in developing and progressing the family estate, so it brings us great joy to now be able to share them with you.
