The Duval-Leroy house is now present on 250 starred tables across the world who all dream to serve a Champagne by their name. Since 1985, chairwoman Carol Duval accepted to sign “the Chef's cuvée” one or another Champagne of the house served by the glass. Now, like a visionary, she goes further and invites starred chefs and great leaders to created their made-to-measure cuvée.
The crafting of a Champagne is complex. “Champagne requires a lot of means. Its purity and elegance are the fruit of a long process. Champagne demands much more operations than any other wine”, Jean-Paul Kauffmann writes in Journey in Champagne.
To create a Cuvée Sur-Mesure, one has to get to Vertus at Duval-Leroy's head office where a service is especially available for that by appointment. The two-day programme has been imagined by Duval-Leroy and inaugurated with three forerunners: Chefs Eric Frechon, Christophe Bacquié and Rachel Lefebvre. The starred-chefs modelled their own Cuvée Sur-mesure to be enjoyed in their restaurant respectively at Lazare in Paris, Hôtel du Castellet at Castellet and Octopus at Béziers.
These gastronomic restaurants want a Champagne “that suits the place, that is worthy of a palace without being too ostentatious”, Charles Duval, one of Carol's sons, explains. But one does not drink the same Champagne in the South of France and in Paris, with grand cuisine and fusion cooking for example… “there is no arguing about matters of taste Frédéric Nietzche used to say… and however it is all we do!”
To refine the starred-chef's demand the programme is built up on 4 half-days. The first morning is dedicated to a visit of the vineyards, the presentation of the classical and forgotten grape varieties, the soils and to the didactic explanation of the farming method and concequences on the grapes and the taste. Then comes a lunch in the dining room with the vineyard manager, Julien, Carol and other family members.
The afternoon is dedicated to the degustation of still wines and their differences according to the grape variety, the region, the sun exposure and the maturity; then according to the élevage on stainless steel vats or on barrels. It takes place in the tasting room located between the state-of-the-art vathouse and the amazing cellar. Even for an enthusiast the exercise is difficult. An exchange with cellar master Sandrine Logette-Jardin will enable to model the pedagogic profile of the desired wine. The exercise being tiring, the restaurant owner can attend a Champagne dinner with food and wine pairings at the House, or take a break and have a rest.
The second morning is dedicated to the finished wines. “We open the cellar and we taste some thirty wines from three successive harvests—2007-08-09—to choose a Brut Champagne.” The subject of the afternoon is the dosage. From various shipping liqueurs merging grape varieties and vintages, the chosen wine will be refined, exalted.
The Cuvée Sur-mesure crafted accordingly is solely reserved for the chef who signs it, or for any leader who wants to mark a celebration, a child's wedding or so. This customization can only be undertaken for a minimum order of 1,000 bottles at €40 each. “Crafting one's own cuvée made-to-measure means choosing everything down to the slightest detail and adopting the enologist's poetic language”, Carol Duval asserts. It means being introduced in turn to transmit to one's customers or family the full range of one's skills by presenting the exclusive flavours of his made-to-measure Champagne.
Marie-Caroline Bourellis
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