Agrapart & Fils
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Read our mini profile on Champagne Agrapart & Fils, with the need to know facts, and which wine to try.

Region: Côte des Blancs, Champagne

Grape varieties: Chardonnay

Vineyard area: 10 hectares

Founded in 1894, this has become one of the finest grower estates in the Côte des Blancs under its current proprietor, Pascal Agrapart, who has been making wines here since 1984. His 10ha of vines lie largely in the grand cru villages of Avize, Cramant, Oiry and Oger, and while he’s uninterested in being labelled organic or biodynamic, he works according to natural rhythms and sensibilities, without any chemical pesticides or herbicides. Agrapart always ferments his wines with indigenous yeasts, which he feels is crucial to the expression of terroir, and a portion of the wines are aged in old, 600-litre oak casks.

His non-vintage cuvées are of uncommonly excellent quality, while his three vintagedated Champagnes – Minéral, L’Avizoise and Vénus – all come from specific terroirs in Avize and Cramant, sourced from the same parcels each year. Each has its own individual personality, offering a terrifically detailed and refined expression of site.

Wine to try: Agrapart Minéral, Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs, Côte des Blancs 2008

Made from 40-year-old Chardonnay vines in two parcels, this is rich in depth yet sleek in structure, showing an elegantly refined texture. Read more here.

Address: 57, Avenue Jean Jaurès, 51190 Avize, France

Website: www.champagne-agrapart.com/

James Button
Regional Editor - Italy

James Button is Decanter’s regional editor for Italy, responsible for all of Decanter's Italian content in print and online.

Like many others, he started his wine career at Majestic Wine, giving him a strong grounding in the subject before successfully completing the WSET Level 4 Diploma in 2010. From 2014 to 2016 he managed the fine wine department of a startup wine company in London, before joining Decanter as digital sub-editor.

Outside of wine, James enjoys cooking, skiing, playing guitar and cycling.