Buxeuil - Côte des Bars

Champagne Moutard

Not a winemaker, but an essential winemaking family from the south of Champagne.

The house's champagnes favor a plot approach that focuses on the uniqueness of each vine.

It is also the only Champagne House to offer single varietals from extremely rare grape varieties, such as Arbane.

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The forgotten grape varieties of Champagne and Maison Moutard

The Moutard family's vines extend over 23 hectares. Very unusual thing, we find in this wine estate 6 of the 7 grape varieties authorized in Champagne. Naturally, Pinot Noir occupies a large proportion as the queen variety of the Côte des Bar (13.91 ha). Chardonnay also occupies a significant part of the land (5.72 ha), whether to be used as a blend in wines, or vinified alone to create blanc de vins. But it is in the presence of much rarer grape varieties that the Moutard plot stands out.

It is often said, but it is in the south of Champagne that we find the greatest proportion of Pinot Blanc. Maison Moutard is naturally no exception to the rule and has 55 acres planted with this variety. Like Chardonnay, this grape variety gives off aromas of white-fleshed fruits and flowers, but it is distinguished by its touches of almond, hazelnut, sometimes even spicy or brioche.

Le Petit Meslier (1.11 ha) produces very fresh champagnes. It is both lively and intense with notes of citrus and green fruits.

Finally, undoubtedly the most popular grape variety at the estate, Arbane occupies 1.28 ha. Almost disappeared from the Champagne vineyards, this plot was planted in 1952 by Lucien Moutard. Cultivated in the surroundings of Var-sur-Seine, this grape variety was intended from its planting for the creation of a special vintage. It ripens late and is difficult to work, but it brings incomparable finesse with its notes of hawthorn and carnation, mixed with aromas of pippin apple, vine peach and even quince.

Each of these grape varieties are real specificities of the Moutard family. Not only have they almost disappeared from Champagne vines, but they are even more rarely vinified as a single variety. If a few very rare Houses can occasionally offer 100% Pinot Blanc, Arbane and Petit Meslier are, for their part, simply impossible to find.

Champagne and the Moutard family

Like many families of Champagne winegrowers, it would be very difficult to trace the complete genealogy of the ancestors of current winegrowers. It would be even more difficult to precisely determine the period when viticulture entered the daily life of what would become the family. For the Moutards, the key date, or rather the pivotal personality, was Lucien Moutard. Based in Polisy, in the Côte des Bar, it was he who was the initiator of what would become the current estate and its values. In thirty years of viticulture, this passionate about his land planted nearly 10 hectares of vines which would become the basis of the family estate. He is a man who believed enormously in the Côte des Bar region and in these lands, a vision far from being difficult to assume at a time when the north of the appellation totally eclipsed its southern part. It is Lucien who is largely responsible for the family spirit that still reigns today within an estate, where his children and great-grandchildren meet daily.

Because in the Moutard family, there is no question of specializing in one area and ignoring a stage of production. The whole family controls each step, from the vineyard to the customer.

Attachment to sustainable viticulture

The production of quality wines relies above all on grapes of impeccable purity, and this objective has guided the Moutard family for generations. At the heart of their approach are values ​​of respect and attention to nature, an approach that favors the balance of the soil and the preservation of the ecosystem to offer wines in harmony with their terroir.

The art of the Moutard family also lies in maintaining distinctive and rare winemaking practices, which shape the soul of their vintages. In winter, the vines benefit from careful pre-pruning, followed in spring by precise pruning to support their natural growth. The wines and champagnes, mainly aged in Burgundian oak barrels, develop a unique aromatic richness. Finally, each bottle undergoes a prolonged rest, sometimes more than 15 years, which brings exceptional depth and complexity, testimony to timeless know-how.