Champagne Collery
Aÿ, Champagne, France
Established in 1893, an award-winning Grand Cru Champagnes from Aÿ. Champagnes are crafted from high quality grapes carefully harvested manually and grown from the top 17 villages (out of 319 villages) in the Champagne region, incorporating reserved wines and undergoing extensive ageing on lees in thermoregulated vats, barrels, and wooden casks.
Champagne
An Exclusive Winery Focusing on High Quality Champagnes
Champagne COLLERY concentrates on producing exquisite high-quality single, blend and vintage-champagnes, from precisely produced Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. The winery pays attention in managing the grapes and therefore they only work with grape growers that embrace the same philosophy.
Champagne Cellar and Winemaking Approach
100% Grand Cru Champagnes
• Only the highest quality grapes from Grand Cru vineyards.
Winemaking Techniques
• Minimum aging on the lees: 4 years.
• Thermoregulated stainless-steel tanks, barrels, and wooden casks of various sizes
(10HL, 25HL, and 40HL).
• Second-hand barrels from renowned regions like Sauternes and Burgundy (aged "3 wines") and New American Oak. are used for aging the base wines.
• Detail-oriented winemaking with a focus on liqueur de dosage to emphasise the style and add nuance.
Generally blended with 20% reserve wines, kept in oak casks.
Ratafia
It is aged in oak barrels that previously held Cognac and Sauternes wines, to which fresh grape juice is added. We only use the highest quality, offering the perfect balance between fruitiness and tension. For this terroir production, the bottle is unique with its round shape, highlighting an authentic and chic visual identity that lends our three Ratafias a single malt-like character.
Ratafia is not a sparkling wine
Ratafia stands out for blending unfermented grapes and brandy. Unlike sparkling wines, it's fortified, with rich flavors and sweetness. Similar to Champagne, terroir and grapes affect its aromas. Our Ratafias highlight fruit flavors, offering a delightful surprise. Its aromatic profile includes dried fruits, candied fruits, honey, and floral notes
The Solera method for aging our Ratafias
The Solera method is a perpetual reserve that allows blending between wines from different years. This aging process guarantees the stability of the taste and the balance between the fruitiness of the musts(grape juice) and the patina of the alcohol. It is used in the production of champagnes, vinegars or spirits such as rum or whiskey. It consists of stacking barrels on several levels. Then, the wine taken from one level is replaced by a wine from another. And each vintage, this technique is repeated until the barrels are filled with wine from the harvest of the year. This know-how of Maison COLLERY increases the aromas of the Pinot-Noir and Chardonnay grape varieties tenfold while preserving the house's signature.
Coteaux Champenois
The name "Coteaux Champenois" translates to "Champagne Hills" or "Champagne Slopes" in English. This name reflects the fact that the grapes used to produce these wines are grown on the sloping hillsides of the Champagne region, which are ideal for grape growing due to their unique soil and climate conditions.
These still wines are made from the same grape varieties used in Champagne, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc but they are not carbonated or sparkling like Champagne. Coteaux Champenois wines are produced in small quantities and aged in oak barrels, resulting in complex flavours and aromas. They are considered rare and exclusive because they are produced in small quantities within the Champagne region of France.
The production of these wines is limited by strict regulations and specifications that dictate the grape varieties, vineyard locations, and winemaking techniques that can be used.