After nearly a decade of planning and construction, Champagne Taittinger’s Domaine Evremond in Kent was officially opened by Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Edinburgh, on 26 September, with plans for the cellar door to open in spring 2025.
The new winery
Designed by French architect Giovanni Pace and constructed by British company Arkay, Domaine Evremond’s brand new estate building, two-thirds underground, boasts an exterior design that ‘seamlessly integrates’ with the rolling Kent Downs.
It is now home to a state-of-the-art, gravity-fed winery and a naturally cool chalk cellar with capacity to hold up to 1.5 million bottles.
The entrance of Domaine Evremond. Credit: Sylvia Wu
‘This has been 10 years in the making,’ said Patrick McGrath MW, CEO of Taittinger’s UK partner Hatch Mansfield and co-founder of Domaine Evremond.
Launched in 2015 by Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger and McGrath, the project was named after Charles de Saint-Evremond, a French poet and literary critic credited for his efforts in introducing and popularising Champagne in England in the 17th century.
Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger (left) and Vitalie Taittinger at the launch ceremony of Domaine Evremond. Credit: Thomas Alexander Photography
The co-founders chose the Stone Stile Farm site in Chilham, Kent, for its deep, free-draining chalk soils and south-facing slopes, which bear significant similarities to the Champagne terroir.
The first vines were planted in 2017, followed by the first harvest in 2019. It then took the producer two years to obtain planning approval from Ashford Borough Council to begin building the winery in spring 2022.
The first wine
The new underground cellar of Domaine Evremond has capacity to hold up to 1.5 million bottles. Credit: Sylvia Wu
Domaine Evremond’s first wine, the Classic Cuvée NV, is set to be released in March 2025, as the cellar door opens to the public.
Sourced from the estate’s original plots, the traditional method sparkling wine features 80% from the 2020 harvest and 20% from 2019. It was fermented and matured in stainless steel vats, with three years of lees ageing under its belt (scroll down to read our first impression of the wine).
The initial aim of the new venture, said Taittinger’s chef de caves Alexandre Ponnavoy, is to pursue ‘pure elegance’ following the local terroir and to establish a reserve.
Malolactic fermentation is essential for the English estate in ‘managing the (high) acidity’ typical of the maritime region, while no barrels will be used to produce the first releases, said Ponnavoy. ‘More maturity of the vines’ is necessary for the base wine to take on the textural complexity imparted by oak, said the winemaker.
The inaugural Classic Cuvée is a blend of 55% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Meunier. The Champagne producer, known for its Chardonnay-dominant blends, intends to increase the proportion of Chardonnay in its English wine as the Chardonnay plantings mature further.
There are future plans for vintage releases, as time builds more depth and complexity into the base wine, Ponnavoy added.
Tapping into the local knowledge
Christelle Rinville, Taittinger’s vineyard director (left) and Mark Gaskain, director of Gaskains Ltd. Credit: Sylvia Wu
Domaine Evremond embodies a ‘true symbol of friendship’ between the renowned Champagne house and its British partners and ‘cementing the many layers of Anglo-French history and friendship behind this project’, said Vitalie Taittinger, president of the family-owned producer with a history traced back to 1734.
Christelle Rinville, Taittinger’s vineyard director, highlighted the collaboration between the Tattinger team and the local growers, who shared historical knowledge of the soils and expertise in managing maritime terroir.
The vineyard of Domaine Evremond. Credit: Sylvia Wu
Gaskains Ltd, the on-site grower, is a family-run business that has been cultivating these lands in the Garden of England for four generations. The company, still one of the largest apple growers in the UK, sold the initial farmland (then apple and pear orchards) to Taittinger in 2015 and remained involved.
Humidity and wind are among the top challenges for managing these Evremond vineyards, said Mark Gaskain, director of the grower company. The fruit grower planted windbreaks and adapted apple sprayers for vineyards as they took on planting wine grapes for the first time.
With Rinville’s team providing viticultural expertise and training, in addition to ‘a fleet of tractors’ adapted to the width of the vines, the local team ‘are carrying out their work in confidence and under our close guidance’, said the vineyard director.
The new plantings
Since the first vines were planted in 2017, the estate has expanded its plantings beyond the original 20ha into nearby farmlands. The most recent purchase was in 2023, when Domaine Evremond acquired a 10ha, chalky, south-facing plot on Hogbens Hill, three miles from the winery. The first harvest of Chardonnay is expected in 2027.
The estate now encompasses 125ha of land with 60ha planted with grapevines, featuring Pinot Noir (45%), Chardonnay (45%) and Pinot Meunier (10%). The additional 65ha are woodland, meadows and apple and pear orchards.
Domaine Evremond Classic Cuvée NV – A Decanter preview
A preview of the Domaine Evremond Classic Cuvée NV. Image credit: Sylvia Wu
Grapes: 55% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Meunier
Alcohol: 12.5%
Dosage: 7g/l
A blend of 2020 (80%) and 2019 (20%) sourced from the original plots of the estate, the Classic Cuvée was aged on lees for three years. Sour citrus and toast, with a whiff of seashells. The crisp, saline palate reflects English-style freshness and the chalky soil. A textured roundness benefits from malolactic fermentation, featuring green fruits, honeyed white peach and quince on the palate, seasoned with a pinch of white pepper. A refined mousse leads to a touch of crushed almond on the finish. Precise and elegant, it should benefit from further ageing under cork. Set for release in March 2025.