Vincent Cuillier

In Pouillon, some ten kilometres north of Reims on the Massif de Saint-Thierry in the Montagne de Reims, the Cuillier family farms around four and a half hectares of vines across Pouillon, Trigny and Chenay, today run by Patrick and his son Vincent. Alongside his work for the family label, since 2015 Vincent has chosen to set apart the parcels he considers most significant, including Mont Agé in Chenay and Les Voyets, the family’s most historic vineyard, to create a signature of his own. It is a vision captured in the motto «fait à la main par nature», handmade by nature, which makes him one of the most dynamic young vignerons in Champagne.

Here Vincent works in partnership with nature, guided by observation, through permaculture and agroforestry, with trees planted among the rows, cover crops, minimal tillage and home-made compost. The soils, unusual for Champagne, combine around a metre of sand over compact bedrock rich in fossils, bringing fruit, freshness and a subtle minerality. In the cellar he intervenes as little as possible, vinifying the different press fractions separately with indigenous yeasts, in steel and barrels, without fining, filtration or dosage. The result is nuanced, profound Champagnes, a new voice from the Massif de Saint-Thierry well worth discovering with curiosity.