By Linden Wilkie, 3 August 2023

This 10ha estate in Vertus in the Côte de Blancs is very special. The Doyard family have been farming grapes here since the 17th century, and have been producing champagne under the family name since 1927. Guillaume Doyard is running the estate today, with his father Yannick. With enviable holdings in Vertus (including the ‘Clos de l’Abbaye’), Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cramant, Oger, Avize and Aÿ, farming is done by horse, with no use of herbicides or pesticides. Old vines and strict pruning allow for low yields, and that combined with precise harvesting, the champagnes here can lead to very clear expressions of terroir, with very low or even no dosage required, the concentration of fruit sufficient to provide natural balance in the glass. A mix of stainless steel and oak barrels are used in the primary vinification and ageing, and malolactic fermentation is allowed, or blocked – it all comes down to balance. These are vivid, multi-dimensional wines, with the depth and clarity required to match well with fine food, as well as the classic roles of aperitif and celebration.

As William Kelley wrote at Robertparker.com, 31 March 2021 –
This Vertus domaine numbers among my favorite addresses on the Côte de Blancs, and the Doyard family's vinous, incisive Champagnes deserve a place in any well-stocked cellar. Their 10 hectares—some of which are cordon-pruned and all of which are farmed without herbicides or pesticides—produce intensely concentrated grapes that are selectively pressed and vinified in wood. Deep, concentrated and characterful, everything that bears the Doyard label is well worth serious attention.

NV 'Cuvée Vendemiaire' Blanc de Blancs 1er Cru Brut
Despite the “1er Cru” label, this 100% Chardonnay comes from a mix of premier and grand cru vineyards – at home in Vertus, as well as Avize, Oger, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Cramant, with an average vine age of 40 years. The wine is not chaptalized, and 40% is aged in oak, 60% in stainless steel. It spends 10 months on its fine lees, with partial malolactic fermentation, before secondary fermentation in bottle, and a minimum of 4 years before disgorgement (this lot in November 2022), with 4g/l dosage.

NV 'Rev0lution' Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Non-Dosé
This 100% Chardonnay comes from the grand crus Avize, Mesnil, Oger and Cramant, with an average vine age of 35~40 years, un-chaptalized, vinified 50% in oak and 50% in stainless steel, with 8 months on its fine lees, it sees partial malolactic fermentation, but – critical to the style here – zero dosage on disgorgement – hence Rev-0-lution. To round the wine it spends a minimum of 6 years in bottle before disgorgement. Disgorged 17/11/22.

2017 'Clos de l’Abbaye' Premier Cru Extra-Brut
The Clos de l’Abbaye, located in Vertus is made up of a plot of 0.5ha of Chardonnay, planted in 1956. It is farmed without chemicals, with an aim for low yields (35~40hl/ha – low in Champagne). Only the first pressing is used for this cuvée, vinified in oak and without chaptalisation nor malolactic fermentation. The miniscule production of 1250 bottles and 130 magnums was disgorged on 7th June 2022.

2018 'Oeil de Perdrix' Grand Cru Extra-Brut Rose
The cuvée name takes its inspiration from the term 'oeil de perdrix' or partridge eye, given to the colour given to the juice of pressed red grapes where the white juice is tinted pink. These days most rose champagnes are made with the addition of fully macerated red wine in a controlled percentage to the final white wine blend, to give the colour, aroma and flavour of a rose. But here in the 'Oeil de Perdrix' a very elegant rose is made from fully mature ripe Pinot Noir that are of fine enough quality to make this delicately fine, subtley pink wine, to which is blended in 25% Chardonnay from the Côte de Blancs. It is only produced in exceptional vintages. Disgorged 7/11/22, 3g/1 dosage.

2015 Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra-Brut
A fine, blended expression of the Côte de Blancs, and only from the top villages, this is 100% Chardonnay from Avize (70%), Mesnil, Oger and Cramant, from old vines (40-50 years), from the 1st and 2nd press, non-chaptalized, aged in wood for 10 months without malolactic fermentation, 1g/l dosage.

NV ‘La Libertine’ Doux
With an 18th or early 19th century appearance, the cork tied to the bottle with twine, and sealed with red wax, this is a lush, sweeter style of champagne, the perfect style to share with a lover! Robertparker.com critic William Kelley writes of it, ‘the NV Doux La Libertine is one of the finest examples of this largely forgotten and unfashionable category.’ This is something really special, memorable, to share.

2008 ‘Les Lumières’ Grand Cru Extra-Brut
This is the luxe cuvée of the range, only from exceptional vintages, and with late disgorgement. It comprises a blend of 67% Chardonnay from Mesnil-sur-Oger, and 33% Pinot Noir from Aÿ. It is a rich, complex, yet fresh, tensile sort of champagne, with just under 1g/1 dosage. It is drinking beautifully now, but will continue to age.

There are also two rare still wines from Doyard, made in the ripe 2020 vintage, where it was possible to make both a Chardonnay - 2020 Coteaux Champenois Vertus Blanc, and a Pinot Noir – 2020 Coteaux Champenois Ay Rouge.