To produce an exceptional Champagne, bottled in a singular vessel, and set its name way up there with the stars of the Champagne appellation. Such is the goal of Nicolas Dubois, the man at the head of Champagne Jeeper. It is an impressive ambition, but Nicolas Dubois seems built for it.
Strong and broadly-built, Nicolas Dubois has shoulders the size of a rugby player’s, the face of a boxer and the hands of a winemaker. A native son of Champagne, he started from scratch some twenty years ago. Today, with his wife Myriam, he runs a growing company that employs fifty people and puts out 350,000 bottles a year, all from the 40 hectares of vineyards that the company owns outright. Nicolas is a go-getter, a born builder, with thousands of ideas in mind that he lays out in his fast talking style, all the while harbouring a large smile as if such constant creativity was perfectly natural.
Jeeper Champagne was born in 1949. Right after WWII. Nicolas Dubois took over the house some sixty years later, in 2009. With his associate, Michel Reybier, owner of Cos d’Estournel in Saint-Estèphe, and renown brand developer, he set himself the goal of turning out exceptional cuvees in order to compete with the best of what major Champagne houses put out, and turn Jeeper into a star reference in the little family of prestige Champagnes.
Nicolas’s project rests on two pillars: Chardonnay, for the grape, oak barrels, for the wine. The domain’s plots are heavily concentrated in the “Côte des Blancs” (‘white coast’), and the choice of Chardonnay as the dominant varietal was therefore perfectly natural. As to oak barrels, they were for centuries the natural container for wine making and ageing. It was therefore also natural that Nicolas should want to preserve this tradition. Jeeper owns over a thousand barrels, mostly from Burgundy, where still wines are let to rest and mature (Chardonnays are aged for a minimum of two years, it is part of the quality standards of Jeeper Champagnes) and 250 ‘demi-muids’
(600 litter casks) used for vinifications.
His wine philosophy is to be as close to nature and as respectful of the environment as possible. The vineyard is tended according to the principles of sustainable agriculture. Jeeper received the top grade when it applied for the HEV (High Environmental Value) certification. No pesticides, or synthetic fertilizer or weedkiller are used. The rows are regularly ploughed, under and in between. Nicolas is even planning to bring back horses in his vineyard. Four Ardennes draught horses are on their ways. “It is not just for the show, he says. It is part of our quality standards and our environmental approach. Horses are lighter on the soil than a tractor. And the horse’s gait makes for a serene working rhythm.”
At Jeeper, the blending process is highly selective. Wines are vinified plot by plot. They are then tasted and graded on a scale of zero to five. Those that get a grade of four or above are kept. They are tasted again and graded, this time on a scale of zero to twenty. Only the top wines from this second tasting will eventually make it into a bottle of Jeeper Champagne.
As of today the Jeeper range extends to only four cuvees: Grand Assemblage (‘great blend’) a blend of the three varietals, with a dosage of 7gr/l, that provides a photographic picture of the Champagne region; Grande Réserve (‘great reserve’) which is 100% Chardonnay; Grand Rosé, made from 92% Chardonnay and 8% Pinot Noir ; as well as a cuvée called ‘Naturelle’ (natural) made from organic grapes, with a dosage of only 3gr/l. This last cuvee is not produced every year, since the quality of organically grown grapes is closely linked to weather conditions… A Grand Cru cuvee and a Premier Cru cuvee are also in the making. However, Nicolas and his master cellar, the young Marie Luce Thiéry, both agree that they are not yet ready to be released. They will wait, and so will we.
With his brand Jeeper, Nicolas Dubois has made great strides in the Champagne world. But as someone who is aiming for excellence, he knows that you sometimes have to take your time.
Gérald Olivier
The house was founded by Armand Gourtobe, a winemaker whose legs were injured while rescuing American soldiers. To thank him and reward him for his courage, the U.S army gave Gourtobe a Jeep which he then used to tour his vineyard, thus gaining the nickname ‘Jeeper’ which he naturally used for his Champagne bottles.
• 40 self-owned hectares
• 350 000 bottles a year
• more than 1000 Burgundy barrels & 600-liter barrels
• 4 cuvées
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