Read our mini profile on Champagne Agrapart & Fils, with the need to know facts, and which wine to try.
Region: Côte des Blancs, Champagne
Village: Avize
Grape varieties: Chardonnay
Vineyard area: 10 hectares
Founded in 1894, this has become one of the finest grower estates in the Côte des Blancs under its current proprietor, Pascal Agrapart, who has been making wines here since 1984. His 10ha of vines lie largely in the grand cru villages of Avize, Cramant, Oiry and Oger, and while he’s uninterested in being labelled organic or biodynamic, he works according to natural rhythms and sensibilities, without any chemical pesticides or herbicides. Agrapart always ferments his wines with indigenous yeasts, which he feels is crucial to the expression of terroir, and a portion of the wines are aged in old, 600-litre oak casks.
His non-vintage cuvées are of uncommonly excellent quality, while his three vintagedated Champagnes – Minéral, L’Avizoise and Vénus – all come from specific terroirs in Avize and Cramant, sourced from the same parcels each year. Each has its own individual personality, offering a terrifically detailed and refined expression of site.
Wine to try: Agrapart Minéral, Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs, Côte des Blancs 2008
Address: 57, Avenue Jean Jaurès, 51190 Avize, France
Website: www.champagne-agrapart.com/
