Champagne Vincent D’Astrée

At A Glance

Field: Detail
Region: Champagne
Village and status: Pierry, Premier Cru
Main grapes: Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay
Signature wine: Premier Cru Brut
Defining feature: Cooperative house with a mineral and authentic formula

The Producer

Champagne Vincent D’Astrée brings a cooperative of Pierry winegrowers into one house. The cooperative has 170 member winemakers cultivating 70 hectares across a mosaic of plots. Its stated formula is mineral and authentic, with Pinot Meunier taking a prominent place in the range.

Premier Cru Brut and Blanc de Noir Meunier place the grape directly on the label. The house also makes Premier Cru Extra Brut, Brut Rosé, Solstice Rosé and Vinothèque 2007, giving the cooperative a range that moves from blended Premier Cru Champagne to rosé and dated cellar wine.

Place

Pierry sits on the southern slopes of Epernay, at the entrance to Epernay and within Champagne's Premier Cru vineyard geography. Premier Cru is a classified vineyard level, so the term identifies the status of the fruit used in the wine.

The cooperative's Brut cuvée includes reserve wines sourced exclusively from Premier Cru parcels. Pierry therefore appears twice in the bottle, first as the village home of the cooperative and again through the classified vineyards that supply its wines.

Story

In 2002, Sébastien Lapierre joined Champagne Vincent D’Astrée and became cellar master. His work covers the vegetative cycle, where pruning, binding, disbudding and trellising are treated as separate vineyard jobs. Pruning controls the vine's fruiting wood, binding positions the shoots, disbudding removes unwanted growth, and trellising arranges the canopy.

Lapierre is now the cellar master. The house describes its champagnes as coming from a mineral and authentic formula, linking his cellar role to a cooperative whose vineyards are worked through repeated, specific interventions.

Vineyards And Cellar

The vineyard program follows the vines through pruning, binding, disbudding and trellising. Each operation changes how the vine carries shoots and fruit during the growing season.

Vincent d’Astrée works beneath Pierry in cellars two centuries old. The house also holds ISO 22000 certification for food safety and traceability. Lees ageing keeps sparkling wine in contact with spent yeast after the second fermentation, a process that can bring brioche aromas and a rounder texture. Dosage is added after disgorgement and sets the final level of sweetness.

Wines

Premier Cru Brut is the central blended cuvée, with 30 to 40% reserve wines sourced from Premier Cru parcels. Premier Cru Extra Brut offers a lower dosage category, while Blanc de Noir Meunier names the grape directly.

The rosé range has two distinct wines. Brut Rosé shows fresh red fruit and a full, round palate. Solstice Rosé is made by saignée, with partial malolactic fermentation, four years of cellar ageing and 6g/l dosage. Vinothèque 2007 is the dated cuvée in the range.

In The Glass

Premier Cru Brut opens with lemon, brioche, flint and mineral notes. The palate brings tart lemon, caramel apple and stone fruit, with bracing acidity, mineral flavour and a balanced finish.

Vinothèque 2007 shows golden apple skin, croissant and lemon curd. Its palate remains crisp, with citrus, grapefruit, zest and a soft yeast expression.

Brut Rosé has fresh, crisp red fruit on the nose and a full, round palate. Solstice Rosé moves toward preserved red fruit, cherry and licorice, with a full, velvety mouth supported by minerality.

A Bottle To Understand It

Choose Premier Cru Brut. It combines Premier Cru fruit with 80% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay, then spends four years on lees before 8g/l dosage. The cuvée places the cooperative's main grape proportions, reserve wine practice and cellar timing in one bottle.

Anecdote

In 1956, seven winemaking families in Pierry formed a cooperative. Their stated aim was to preserve their expertise and terroir, enhance their grapes and showcase their vineyard character. The project created the house now known as Vincent d’Astrée. The present range includes Premier Cru Brut, Premier Cru Extra Brut, Blanc de Noir Meunier, Brut Rosé, Solstice Rosé and Vinothèque 2007. The founding families began with a local project in Pierry, built around grapes and terroir.

Final Word

Vincent d’Astrée joins Pierry Premier Cru fruit to a Meunier led range of Brut, Extra Brut, Blanc de Noir Meunier, rosé and Vinothèque 2007.

Champagne Vincent D’Astrée

At A Glance

The Producer

Place

Story

Vineyards And Cellar

Wines

In The Glass

A Bottle To Understand It

Anecdote

Final Word

Sources

Where to go next