La Pitancerie (J. A. Dautel)
D. O. Champagne
Who we are
In the heart of the Côte des Bar, in the village of Essoyes, a site known as “La Pitancerie” was transformed by the Cistercian monks of the Abbey of Molesmes in the 13th century. This historic site became a place of restoration in those remote times where the “Pulmenta Regularia”, the “Pitance” and the “Genérale” were served. Today, converted into a vineyard, it has regained its original splendor with the production of fine Champagne wines full of subtle and unique aromas.
After 7 generations, Julien Dautel and his family are stepping forward to give a new dimension to this historic project.
What we do
Concerned about environmental values, the cuvées are produced in the purest Champagne tradition and the vineyard is managed using a “sustainable viticulture”.
Julien Dautel strives to work his 3.5 hectare property with this respect for the environment, giving the tillage an important role that provides strength and character to the vineyard. Likewise, biodiversity plays a key role in highlighting the suppleness and minerality of this land.
The vineyards are composed mainly of Pinot Noir, a favorite variety in the Côte des Bar. By not using chemicals, and by tilling the soil and grass in autumn, they are converting cultural practices that better respect the environment and sustainable cultivation.
La Pitancerie
Brut Blanc de Blancs
La Pitancerie
Extra Brut
La Pitancerie
Brut
AOC Champagne
Being the most northerly vineyard in France, the area covers 34,000 hectares that are spread over some 281,000 plots 150 kilometers east of the French capital. It is influenced by both a continental climate – with frost and good sunshine – and an Atlantic climate, which maintains regular low temperatures and abundant rainfall.
The planting density is 8,000 vines per hectare on mostly calcareous soils, composed of chalk, marl and limestone, with a limestone subsoil that also favors good drainage and defines the particularity of certain wines.
The vineyard is cultivated in four large areas, with pinot noir, pinot menieur and chardonnay as the main varieties. In the Côte des Bar, pinot noir is the protagonist of the marl soils.
With a grape/wine yield of around 65%, the wines are obtained with and without malolactic fermentation through the art of assemblage -through which soil and variety origins, vintages and organoleptic characteristics are combined- and which undergo a second fermentation in the bottle according to the method of champenoise.
About Champagne La Pitancerie
“It is from the land that authenticity is born, which with time will provide complexity, flexibility and minerality.”
— Sara Martínez-Lagos