France · Côte des Blancs

SCEV Champagne Paul Sugot

An Avize family estate, dating to 1901, making Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne from Chardonnay, including old-vine bottlings with long lees ageing.

The producer

Paul Sugot is a family Champagne estate at 20 Rue Pasteur in Avize, in the Côte des Blancs. Olivier Sugot, the fifth-generation winemaker, leads a range centred on Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs: 100% Chardonnay wines whose differences come through vine age, vintage, dosage and time on lees.

The Vieilles Vignes wines draw on vines reported to be up to 112 years old. The non-vintage Blanc de Blancs is a multi-vintage wine with six grams of sugar dosage and ten years on lees, while the 2013 Vieilles Vignes Extra Brut spent twelve years on lees with very low dosage. Expect floral-citrus Chardonnay, persistent mousse, dry shape and a long finish in the vintage bottle.

Known for

Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne from Avize, with old-vine Chardonnay and extended lees ageing.

Notable facts

The story

Five Generations in Avize

Paul Sugot dates its family Champagne estate to 1901. More than a century later, Olivier Sugot is identified as the family’s fifth-generation winemaker, and Olivier and Chantal Sugot are listed at the house’s address on Rue Pasteur in Avize. The name now appears on Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, Vieilles Vignes Brut and vintage Vieilles Vignes Extra Brut: Chardonnay Champagne from the same Côte des Blancs base. In the old-vine line, vines are reported to reach 112 years of age; the non-vintage version is reported to spend ten years on lees, while the 2013 Extra Brut spent twelve. The family history is therefore attached to bottles marked by Avize Chardonnay, old vines and long bottle ageing.

From the atlas

SCEV Champagne Paul Sugot

At A Glance

Champagne Paul Sugot is a family estate in Avize, in Champagne’s Côte des Blancs, whose history dates to 1901. Olivier Sugot, the family’s fifth-generation winemaker, works with Chardonnay for Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne; the range moves from multi-vintage bottlings to old-vine wines held for exceptionally long periods on lees.

The Producer

The estate is based at 20 Rue Pasteur in Avize and is represented by Olivier and Chantal Sugot. Olivier’s fifth-generation role puts a named person at the centre of a house that traces its family history back to 1901; today, its documented bottles remain focused on Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs rather than a broad collection of grape varieties.

Place

Avize sits in the Côte des Blancs, and Paul Sugot’s labels make that location legible through Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs. Blanc de Blancs means Champagne made from white grapes; in the wines documented here, that grape is 100% Chardonnay. The result is a range built around one grape and one regional address, with bottle age and dosage creating the main differences between cuvées.

Soil And Site

The estate is described as approximately five hectares in Avize, while another account refers specifically to five acres of Grand Cru Chardonnay. The more immediate site signal in the wines is the Vieilles Vignes designation: vines in that line are reported to reach 112 years old. Those old vines feed bottles whose long lees ageing adds mousse and developed texture to Chardonnay fruit.

Story

Paul Sugot’s story is not one of changing grapes or chasing new appellations. A family estate dating to 1901 is now run by Olivier Sugot, its fifth-generation winemaker, and the current range still centres on Avize Chardonnay. That continuity arrives in concrete forms: Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, a Vieilles Vignes line, and vintage releases that remain on lees for up to twelve years before release.

Vineyards And Cellar

The cellar work is most clearly documented in the old-vine wines. The non-vintage Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs is a multi-vintage 100% Chardonnay blend with six grams of sugar dosage and ten years on lees. Its vintage counterpart, the 2013 Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru Extra Brut, is also 100% Chardonnay but has very low dosage and twelve years on lees. Less added sweetness and more bottle ageing shift the emphasis toward dry shape, fine mousse and a longer finish rather than overt sweetness.

Wines

The range begins with Paul Sugot Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, then narrows its focus through Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Vieilles Vignes Brut and vintage Vieilles Vignes Extra Brut releases. The non-vintage wine uses several harvests and ten years on lees, so Chardonnay fruit is carried by mousse, dosage and bottle-aged texture. The Vieilles Vignes Brut brings reported vine age of up to 112 years into the picture, with tasting material describing mousse, acidity, palate and finish. The vintage Extra Brut releases add a harvest year and lower dosage: the 2013 is a 100% Chardonnay wine with twelve years on lees.

In The Glass

For the Vieilles Vignes wines, the sourced sensory thread is floral and citrus-led Chardonnay, framed by mousse and acidity. On the palate, the long lees periods bring texture and weight beyond simple fresh fruit, while the Extra Brut 2013’s very low dosage keeps the wine dry. The finish is described as long for that 2013 release, with floral-citrus notes continuing after the mousse has settled.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Paul Sugot Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Vieilles Vignes Extra Brut 2013. It is a vintage 100% Chardonnay Champagne from the old-vine line, with very low dosage and twelve years on lees. The bottle concentrates the house’s clearest documented markers: Avize Grand Cru Chardonnay, vines reported up to 112 years old, dry structure, floral-citrus aroma, fine mousse and a long finish.

Anecdote

The Paul Sugot family dates its Champagne estate to 1901. More than a century later, the current winemaker is Olivier Sugot, identified as the fifth generation of the family, while an exhibitor listing names Olivier and Chantal Sugot at the Avize address on Rue Pasteur. The wines now documented under the house name include Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, Vieilles Vignes Brut and vintage Vieilles Vignes Extra Brut: Chardonnay bottlings that keep the family name attached to the same Avize base rather than a separate négociant label.

Final Word

Paul Sugot is worth seeking for Chardonnay Champagne where the distinctions are concrete: Avize Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, old-vine material, ten or twelve years on lees, and dosage that changes the wine’s dry feel and finish.

Sources

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