With Drappier, a somewhat different Champagne House has entered the scene, but one that is all the more successful for it. The family can trace its history in Champagne winemaking back to 1808. The family business has never left its place of provenance in Urville on the Côte des Bar, and so is still located in close proximity to their vineyards. After all, this is a special part of Champagne, because the Romans probably already grew grapes here. In any case, there is evidence that monks of the Cistercian order of the famous Clairvaux Abbey were already growing grapes here in the 11th and 12th centuries.
What began more than 200 years ago for the Drappier family with a few hectares has grown today to 62 hectares, which are cultivated avoiding the use of chemical agents and 27 hectares of which are already certified organic.
This vineyard property is located on a limestone bedrock of the type that also produces the great Chablis Grand Crus, and is planted to 70 percent Pinot Noir. Wherever possible, the use of machinery is avoided and horses are used in the vineyard, and the tractors are increasingly being converted to electrically powered tractors. But what clearly sets the family winery apart from all the others is its love of rare, endangered grape varieties that virtually no one cultivates anymore. Thus, 3.5 hectares are dedicated to Arbanne, Blanc Vrai, Fromenteau and Petit Meslier varieties, in parcels that are farmed organically. These grape varieties were native to Champagne but were increasingly forgotten.
They can be found in no less than two cuvées, the "Quattuor" and the "Trop m'en Faut" (100% Fromenteau). But the other Champagnes also enjoy the highest esteem among connoisseurs and aficionados. Among the most famous customers of the House of Drappier was Charles de Gaulle, who lived only a few kilometers away. With the express permission of his family, Drappier was allowed to name a vintage cuvée after him.
