Champagne Apollonis by Michel Loriot

The Michel Loriot range of champagnes bears the name champagne Apollonis. Found in the small village of Festigny, the Apollonis estate owns 7 hectares of vines comprising 20 or so separate plots planted for the most part with pinot meunier (80%), some chardonnay (18%) and a little pinot noir (2%).

The estate has been awarded the high environmental value (HVE) certificate, the highest award recognizing respect and care for the land, the environment and its biodiversity.  Festigny has relatively chalky soils for the Vallee de la Marne and the village itself lies in the warm valley, fully exposed to the sun.

Within this valley is a solitary hill upon which the best vineyards of the village are located. With its steep slopes and a crown of trees on top, it is almost reminiscent of the hill of Corton in burgundy. The majority of this domaine’s vineyards are found surrounding this hill, planted on steep slopes in clay rich in marl and limestone. Only natural fertilizers are used to treat the vineyards (it’s been over a decade since Michel has eradicated all use of herbicides).

Michel firmly believes that getting things right in the vineyard allows healthy grapes to be harvested, which enables minimal intervention in the winemaking process. Production is a mere 300 000 bottles a year.