🍾 Drappier

Drappier is a family Champagne house in Urville, in the Côte des Bar in the Aube department. According to the house, in 1808 one of its ancestors, François, settled in Urville and began working a vineyard of a few hectares. Its cellars are older: the house says they were built in 1152 under Saint Bernard, founder of Clairvaux Abbey, and now hold its rare vintages and largest bottles. Since 2016 Michel and Sylvie Drappier have been joined by the eighth generation, their children Charline, Hugo and Antoine.

According to the house, it owns 62 ha of vines and works another 50 ha under partnership contracts; Urville is Pinot Noir country. In 1965 General de Gaulle chose a Drappier Pinot Noir for his family at nearby Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, and in 1990 the house created the Charles de Gaulle cuvée in his honour. The range includes Carte d’Or, Brut Nature, a Brut Nature without added sulphur, Clarevallis, Quattuor and Grande Sendrée.

Champagne is a wine with a protected designation of origin (PDO). The bubbles come only from a second fermentation in the bottle, the wine is aged for at least 15 months before sale (36 for vintage), and all production takes place only within the delimited area, which also covers the Aube. Drappier is a brand; Champagne is the name of a place.

Why it matters to you. Brut nature on the label means the lowest sugar category under the rules; “Carte d’Or” or “Grande Sendrée” are the house’s own names. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.