Drappier: Clarevallis

The Côte des Bar, which forms the southern part of Champagne on the way to Chablis, was long considered the stepchild of Champagne. During this time, the Drappier house was one of the most important representatives of a high-quality Champagne that was otherwise rarely found there, as most grapes were mainly delivered to cooperatives. This has long since changed, and the region is now one of the most dynamic in the appellation with many small producers, often working organically and biodynamically. The Drappier winery has also gradually switched to organic and partly biodynamic cultivation. The family is also committed to preserving rare grape varieties such as Arbanne, Petit Meslier, Fromenteau, and Blanc Vrai. Voltis, the new, eighth, fungus-resistant grape variety of Champagne, is also being intensively tested. Drappier is a flagship of the Côte, consistently setting sail towards climate-neutral, future-oriented viticulture.

The family winery traces back to François Drappier, who planted the first vineyard in 1808 in Urville on the Côte des Bar. Viticulture itself is about 2,000 years old and began when a Gallo-Roman villa was built on a slope near the current winery and planted with vines. This led to the medieval settlement of Urville. The current vineyards date back to 1116, when Saint Bernard of the Abbey of Cîteaux (near the famous Clos Vougeot) came to Urville.

He brought the Morillon Noir, the predecessor of Pinot, from Burgundy and had several wine cellars built, including one in 1152 in Urville, which belonged to the Grangie Bavin-Sainte Eulalie estate. These lands belonged to the abbey of Clairvaux, which he founded and which would become one of the most important monasteries of the Middle Ages, located only 13 kilometers from Urville.

The Vins de Bar were highly regarded by the Counts of Champagne and in Paris. After the French Revolution, Napoleon transformed the abbey of Clairvaux into a prison, while the wine cellar in Urville became part of a parsonage. After World War II, it was acquired by the Drappier family. Today, it serves as the wine cellar for the estate's finest wines. 

In the early 1930s, Georges Collot, Michel Drappier’s maternal grandfather, was the first in the region to replant Pinot Noir. Today, this grape variety accounts for 70% of the estate’s vineyard area. 1952 was another milestone when André and Micheline Drappier bottled the first Carte d’Or cuvée, which became the estate’s flagship. In 1968, Drappier launched the first Rosé made exclusively from Pinot Noir, which evolved into the Rosé de Saignée and became the model for this type of Champagne. Since 1979, Michel Drappier has been responsible for winemaking, while André Drappier – with the experience of 74 vintages – has managed the extensive vineyards, including 62 hectares of estate-owned vineyards and another 50 hectares under contract.