CL de la Chapelle

The house is in Ville-Dommange, in the Petite Montagne de Reims, and its parcels are Premier Cru. It was founded in 1948, when five growing families in the village came together to work their terroir jointly. They are now in the fifth generation and farm some thirty hectares.

Their costliest decision is one of calendar. The appellation rules require a non-vintage Champagne to spend fifteen months maturing in the producer's cellar, twelve of them on the lees. Here no cuvée leaves before three years, which is the term the law reserves for vintage wines.

That is not a label detail: every month on lees is cellar space occupied and money standing still, and it is why most producers stick to the minimum.

The range runs from Extra Brut to Demi-sec, with cuvées called Audace, Éclat, Empreinte, Instinct and Nuance.