Emmanuel Brochet

Emmanuel Brochet has always had a clear objective for his winemaking: to create a balanced synergy between vine cultivation, winemaking, and production philosophy – a production he could take personal pride in. Thus, in 1997, he decided to acquire the plots in the Premier Cru village of Villers-aux-Noeuds, which his father had leased to other houses, becoming the first winemaker in the family. Since then, he has embarked on a journey of courageous choices, evolving over the years into a true self-taught Champagne artist. Solely managing his estate, Emmanuel then chose to convert his vineyards to organic farming, giving life to different bubbles each year but always true to themselves.

The Brochet domaine is situated on a small hill of only 2.5 hectares, Mont Benoit, where the clay-loam surface conceals a chalky soil in which the plants sink their roots, drawing their minerality. The parcels, with an eastward exposure, are divided into classic grape varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, planted in 1962 and 1986. Harvesting is done manually with precise and demanding selection of each cluster. The precision work continues in the cellars, where Emmanuel matures his grapes in oak barrels. The Brochet cellar produces just over 11,000 bottles annually, an almost confidential production with no serial continuity: his bubbles appear and disappear depending on the vintages and Emmanuel's creativity.

Brochet's production is an example of clear and well-expressed ideas, a skillful balance of technique and emotion, masterfully summarized in Emmanuel's vocation. The exclusivity of his bottles is a vivid synonym for the craftsmanship and uniqueness that characterize boutique winemaking and the passion for uncompromising production. This is precisely the appreciable quality in a Brochet glass – authentic and intriguing complexity, the result of an unceasing quest for harmony between the fruits of the earth and human labor.