Although Champagne Agrapart isn’t so well known in these parts, mostly because of the paucity of wine produced, these are currently at the very top of the grower tree and get the same, coveted, three-star rating in La Revue du vin de France’s Le guide des meilleurs vins de France (the highest possible rating). This is the same rating granted to Selosse, Egly and Krug and only seven Champagne estates in total. Not bad for a grower who produces less than 6000 cases in any given year. This stellar Domaine now deserves to be counted among the very finest producers in the region.
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To those who know the Domaine simply through the radiant Terroirs cuvée, this rise in standing may seem to have happened at a remarkable speed. On the other hand, to those of you who have hunted down what little quantities of Agrapart’s rare, single-vineyard wines we have managed to extricate from Avize, this accolade will come as little surprise. The wines here are unequivocally stunning. More, they are staggeringly original. In addition, the quality just keeps on rising. Although we have been visiting here for nearly 10 years, we have never found more intensity, more terroir expression, more purity, more equilibrium, more deliciousness across the Agrapart range.
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Agrapart adopts the same principles of all our Champagne houses – working the soil, organic/biodynamic practices, low yields, natural ferments and long lees ageing. This is always a fascinating visit to understand the terroir of the Côte de Blancs – Avize in particular – and also the difference between conventional viticulture and the “living soil” practices of the top producers such as Agrapart. You only need to glance at the soil in an Agrapart vineyard and then compare it with the immediate neighbours’ to get the picture. Agrapart’s soils are turned, rich, chocolatey, spongy and full of life. His conventional neighbours’ soils are flat, hard as concrete, grey and lifeless. After visiting a range of Agrapart’s Avize vineyards last year we stopped at one of the most famous, a parcel called Vénus. This vineyard and the wine that it grows were named after the Boulonnais mare that first ploughed its soil. Sadly, Venus the horse passed away a couple of years ago, but the vineyard remains ploughed by cheval.
It is worth noting that Pascal stresses that the difference the horse makes to quality is a subtle one. In fact he told us that the effect is tiny compared to the conversion of a vineyard from conventional viticulture – unploughed soils, herbicide and pesticide usage – to a viticultural regime that encourages life by ploughing and that doesn’t use herbicides and pesticides. This latter leads to a major, radical improvement. It results in soils that are much more dynamic and wines that are far better balanced and more terroir intense. This is the biggest step by far and when you take this a step forward and move to organic and biodynamic practices, there is another progression in the quality of fruit and therefore the wine.
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