Lacourte-Godbillon

From the Office to the Vineyard

The decision came in 2006. Géraldine worked in marketing, Richard in international industrial sales – both in Paris, both comfortably established. But when the question arose of who would carry on the family estate, there was only one answer. They quit their jobs, moved to Écueil, completed an oenology diploma in 2007 and took over the vines in 2008. No gentle handover, no part-time winegrowing: the break with their old life was radical. The grandparents had bottled the first Champagne under their own name in 1947, and in 1968 the parents gave the house its present double name. Now, with the ninth generation, it was time for the next step.

The Forest of Écueil

Écueil lies in the heart of the Petite Montagne de Reims, wedged between limestone slopes and a small forest. This forest is more than a backdrop: the oaks that the cellar's barrels are made from grow here, just a few hundred metres from the vines. Wood from their own terroir, a rarity even in Burgundy. The soils are pure limestone, the exposure mostly southerly, the microclimate sheltered by the forest. Of the 8.5 hectares, 85 per cent are planted with Pinot Noir and the rest with Chardonnay – an unusual predominance for Champagne. The vines in the best sites – Chaillots, Monts Âme, Migerats – are between 40 and 70 years old.

Demeter in Champagne Country

The conversion to organic farming began immediately after the takeover. EU organic certification followed in 2012, and since 2020 the estate has been Demeter-certified – the strictest form of biodynamics. No pesticides, no herbicides; preparations of nettle, horsetail and valerian instead of synthetic chemicals. Harvesting by hand goes without saying, as does spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts. In the cellar, steel tanks and the oak barrels from the Écueil forest dominate, giving the wines structure without overwhelming them. Not far from here, in the neighbouring village of Chamery, Bonnet-Ponson works to a similar philosophy: there too the young generation has converted to organic, there too Pinot Noir dominates, and there too terroir counts for more than technique.

Three Champagnes, Three Philosophies

The Terroirs d'Écueil is the foundation: 85% Pinot Noir, 15% Chardonnay, an Extra Brut with just 3 grams of dosage. It shows what the limestone of Écueil can do: mineral, taut, with fine citrus fruit and a saline note on the finish. The Chaillots Hautes Vignes goes a step further: a single-varietal Pinot Noir from the highest parcels, vinified in oak from the Écueil forest, with at least 60 months on the lees. And then there is M.A.M. – Monts Âme-Migerats, named after two historic parcels with 70-year-old vines, a Brut Nature with no dosage at all. Anyone looking for Champagne beyond the big names will find depth without frills here.