Réaut – part one
At dinner with friends recently we tried a very interesting Champagne, which left us keen to learn more about it. The Champagne was from Domaine Réaut, in the nearby village of Courteron. We mentioned how much we liked it and, the following week, our friends organised a tasting.
It was a little hard to find, as it was located in a quarry at the top of the village, that seemed a tad unwelcoming at first. However, Alexander Réaut approached Brian as he got out of the car and things quickly changed. Alexander is a warm and engaging character. He is the son of the current owner, and will be the fifth generation vigneron for Champagne Réaut. As soon as he began to speak we realised he cares deeply about his craft, and is passionate about creating biodynamic wines, something his father first introduced in 1992.
We started our tour by visiting one of his vineyards, high above the village. Standing at the edge of the vineyard he explained that his methods are bio-dynamic, and he asked us first whether we could see the difference between his vineyard and the neighbouring one. The answer was the vineyards were unploughed, with grass and weeds growing between the vines. The first part of his philosophy was not to fight nature, but work with it. The greenery growing in his vineyard was an indicator to him of the soil beneath, allowing him to ‘read’ its healthiness, which he said was very good. To demonstrate this he took a spade and dug some of the soil up. The small handful he took was alive with worms and crawling insects.
He brushed them off and then squeezed the earth in his hand, saying that a healthy soil will clump into a ball, whilst a dead soil will crumble.
Walking away from the vineyard to a clearing in the woods above, he showed us his compost pile that he had created, made from cow and horse manure with the addition of dried hemp. This compost mix was rich, dark and again alive with worms. He folds this into his vineyards once a year, ensuring his soil has life.
He was very passionate and, moved by his clear love for his terroir, we were more excited than ever to try his Champagnes…