Pascal Doquet Champagne

A winegrower since 1982, Pascal Doquet became fully independent in 2004 after buying out the family’s shares in the Champagne house. Firmly committed to finding cultivation practices that are in harmony with nature and the planet, his philosophy can be summed up by the term ‘Sustainable Viticulture’.

His increasingly meticulous approach to small-scale, organic farming led him to seek organic certification in 2007 (the first certified vintage was produced in 2010).

Pascal Doquet: A Model of Organic Farming in Champagne

Pascal Doquet’s vineyard comprises 8.66 hectares, cultivated as follows:

• Homemade fertilisers and compost made from manure, hardwood bark and grape marc. Shredding of vine shoots and the use of organic fertilisers in carefully measured doses to maintain the soil’s biological activity.
• Chemical weed control has been completely phased out since 2001.
• Since that same year, soil cultivation has been carried out between the rows across the entire plot.
• Management of wild vegetation between rows to maintain a rich and complex habitat.
• Minimal impact on soil structure through the use of lightweight, fuel-efficient straddle tractors.
• High-quality manual work, aimed at achieving a harmonious and airy canopy.
• Integrated pest management is achieved by monitoring changes in risk at plot level. This makes it possible to limit treatments to the absolute minimum required.
• Exploring new approaches to biological control, using preparations based on plant extracts and microorganisms. Aimed at reducing the use of synthetic chemicals (primarily copper and sulphur):
• Yield control through pruning and management of vine vigour. Harvests are generally lower than the yields specified for the AOC.
• Harvesting takes place over 10 to 12 days, in keeping with the terroir. The aim is to harvest fully ripe grapes, thereby avoiding the need for chaptalisation. This means a harvest with a potential alcohol content of over 10.50 degrees.

Careful work in the cellar, all to ensure the best possible quality of the grapes

These quality standards are upheld through meticulous winemaking. Around two-thirds of the wine is aged in enamelled steel vats, which are less prone to developing reductive aromas than stainless steel. The remaining third is aged in oak barrels, primarily for wines used in the blend of the vintage cuvées. Here too, the choices are designed to bring out the full potential of the grapes’ quality:

• The grapes are pressed using a pneumatic press, a method tailored to the characteristics of the harvest. The cuvées are limited to the first two pressings, regardless of the volume obtained (on average 85% of the usual volume for wines purchased by the wine merchant).
• Fermentation is carried out using the native yeasts of each terroir, thereby preserving their unique character.
• The wines are aged on the lees in vats for an average of four to five months following alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, in order to develop richness and power on the palate. Since 2009, barrel-aged wines have been aged for 11 months, with moderate stirring of the lees, tailored to the vintage and deemed appropriate by tasting.
• A stock of reserve wines spanning more than one vintage forms the basis for the quality of the blends. These blends generally comprise wines from three different vintages. 
• Bottling takes place in late April or early May for the ‘non-vintage’ wines, following natural clarification and, where necessary, light filtration. Since 2009, the vintage wines have been bottled the day before the harvest.
• Extensive cellars carved out of chalk allow the estate to maintain a stock equivalent to four to five years’ sales. This enables the wines to be released after three years of bottle ageing, as well as blends designed for long-term ageing and older vintages.
• The sugar dosage at disgorgement is carried out without the addition of liqueur. Instead, a moderate amount of concentrated grape must is added, which more closely reflects the grapes’ natural sweetness.
• A storage room for disgorged bottles, holding around 80,000 bottles. This allows the Champagnes to be shipped approximately six months to a year after disgorging. They are then ready to be enjoyed around a fortnight after delivery.

A few photos of the Pascal Doquet Champagne House

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