The vineyards have been cultivated organically since 2021 and the house just released its first champagnes aged in egg-shaped casks made from the local clay. It is all about getting down to the good earth with the vineyards and the casks in which they are aged emerging from the same soil, champagne clay. It was in 2018 that Champagne Marie Copinet had five egg-shaped aging casks built in the clay from the village of Villenauxe-la-Grande, a tiny town in the Sézannais region of Champagne country known for its vineyards, but once, too, for its clay mines where the rich clay mineral soil was extracted until circa the early 21st century. There was even a porcelain-making factory there and the high quality clay was used to make sculptures.
When the clay production sites closed down, Marie-Laure et Alexandre Kowal-Copinet purchased the last tons of this mineral rich clay and once the analyses confirmed that it contained no impurities went on to having the clay casks fashioned, a first in the region. « We raise in the eggs Chardonnay from Villenauxe-la-Grande. It was obvious for us to go back to basics. The common thread of our house is the heritage of Champagne, » explained Marie-Laure Kowal-Copinet, a third generation champagne producer.
Copinet ‘s Argilla line. Here a kiwi and eucalyptus vacheron dessert served with Argilla Villonissa. Photo courtesy Champagne Marie Copinet. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette
« Four eggs are for champagne while the fifth is for a Coteaux Champenois white wine, » added her husband Alexandre Kowal-Copinet, « We wanted to retain the mineralogy and the dynamics of the wines while revealing the qualities of clay. We are very happy with the result and we decided to produce three new eggs this year. »
The collection of clay-raised champagnes is called Argilla, argile being the French word for clay. The one-starred Michelin chef Toshitaka Omiya of the Alliance restaurant in Paris concocted a special champagne and gastronomy pairing to introduce the line. This line joins the family-owned house’s champagnes and Coteaux Champenois wines produced from vineyards in the Sézannais, the Côte des Bar, the Vallée de l’Ardre and the Vallée de la Marne in Champagne country. https://www.champagne-marie-copinet.com/en/index.php
©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette
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