France · Côte des Blancs

Champagne Hervé Dubois

Avize Champagne house with Chardonnay led cuvées, fresh mineral wines, and selective malolactic fermentation that preserves acidity.

The producer

Champagne Hervé Dubois is based in Avize, one of the five villages classified Grand Cru in the Côte des Blancs. The house works Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, with Brut Tradition, Réserve Blanc de Blancs and Millésime Blanc de Blancs 2018 in the range. Freshness, minerality and citrus shape the style. Certain Chardonnay vats avoid malolactic fermentation, keeping acidity and mineral character in the finished wines.

Known for

Avize Chardonnay with preserved acidity

Notable facts

The story

From Land To Champagne

In 1920, Paul Dubois bought land in Avize and established the family vineyard. Sixty one years later, his grandson Hervé Dubois started his own adventure and marketed his own Champagne brand in 1981. Paul's purchase created the family vineyard; Hervé's launch created the commercial house. The two dates mark the move from holding land in Avize to selling Champagne under the family name.

From the atlas

Champagne Hervé Dubois

A Champagne house in Avize, in the Côte des Blancs Grand Cru subregion, making fresh, mineral wines with citrus led aromatics.

At A Glance

FieldDetail
RegionChampagne
VillageAvize
Main grapesChardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
Signature wineRéserve Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
Defining featureSelective avoidance of malolactic fermentation in certain Chardonnay vats

The Producer

Champagne Hervé Dubois is based in Avize, in the Côte des Blancs. Its house style emphasizes freshness and minerality, with citrus aromas and a direct, lively palate. The range includes Brut Tradition, Réserve Blanc de Blancs and Millésime Blanc de Blancs 2018.

Place

Avize is one of the five villages classified Grand Cru in Champagne's Côte des Blancs. Grand Cru is a village classification, so it describes the status of the source community within Champagne's vineyard hierarchy rather than naming a grape variety. Avize gives the house a Grand Cru setting closely associated with Chardonnay.

Soil And Site

The Millésime Blanc de Blancs 2018 comes from one selected Grand Cru plot planted in the 1960s, in clay soil. Clay can hold water in the root zone, while a single plot fixes the wine's source to one defined piece of ground. The site is bottled as a vintage Blanc de Blancs rather than as a broad house blend.

Story

Hervé Dubois chose to leave malolactic fermentation unfinished in certain Chardonnay vats. Malolactic fermentation converts sharper malic acid into softer lactic acid; blocking it preserves more acidity and mineral character. The practice is selective, applying to particular vats rather than every wine. It gives the house a cellar choice with a direct effect on the finished Champagne.

Vineyards And Cellar

The house farms 6.5 hectares. The holdings include 3.5 hectares of Chardonnay Grand Cru in the Côte des Blancs, 0.5 hectare of Chardonnay Premier Cru in the Reims Mountain, 1.5 hectares of Pinot Meunier and 1 hectare of Pinot Noir in the Marne Valley.

Hervé Dubois practices integrated viticulture, limiting inputs and working the soil. The vineyards therefore combine a Chardonnay base in Avize with Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and additional Chardonnay from other Champagne areas.

Wines

Brut Tradition is the broad blended cuvée. Réserve Blanc de Blancs is the principal cuvée, made from Chardonnay alone. Millésime Blanc de Blancs 2018 is the vintage bottling, with malolactic fermentation blocked in 70% of the yield.

The range moves from a blend of Champagne grape varieties to Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs wines, then to a vintage bottle with a specific Grand Cru source and a selective cellar choice.

In The Glass

Brut Tradition is intense straw yellow, almost golden, with citrus and fresh aromas. The palate brings zesty acidity and minerality, then finishes with lemon and the characteristic fruit of the Pinot varieties. A yeasty note sits alongside the freshness.

Réserve Blanc de Blancs shows intense yellow color, Chardonnay aromas, minerality, citrus and floral touches. Its liveliness carries the floral character through a mineral finish associated with the Côte des Blancs.

Millésime Blanc de Blancs 2018 has long mineral and citrus flavors with a hint of butteriness. The wine combines the selected plot's Grand Cru Chardonnay with a cellar choice that keeps much of the yield out of malolactic fermentation.

A Bottle To Understand It

Choose Brut Tradition. It is made from 50% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir and 25% Pinot Meunier, bringing all three grape varieties into one bottle. The cuvée gives a direct view of how Chardonnay and the two Pinot varieties are combined before the range narrows to Chardonnay only in the Blanc de Blancs wines.

Anecdote

In 1920, Paul Dubois bought land in Avize and established the family vineyard. Sixty one years later, his grandson Hervé Dubois started his own adventure and marketed his own Champagne brand in 1981. Paul's purchase created the family vineyard; Hervé's launch created the commercial house. The two dates mark the move from holding land in Avize to selling Champagne under the family name.

Final Word

Champagne Hervé Dubois brings Avize Chardonnay together with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, while freshness, minerality and citrus define the house style.

Sources

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