We want to congratulate Champagne Devaux’s Chef de Caves, Michel Parisot, for being named Sparkling Winemaker Of The Year 2020 at the International Wine Challenge in London.
Get 10% off Champagne Devaux
Get 10% off the Devaux range with code DEVAUX10 when you buy three or more wines. Hurry, offer ends midnight Tuesday 8 December, 2020.
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Devaux is located in the far south of Champagne in an area known as the Côte des Bar where big luscious Pinot noir fruit is the hero. Approximately 100 hectares of their huge land holding is dedicated to making the house champagne of Devaux, with the remaining fruit sold to other producers. This Champagne is a fabulous start if you are taking the first step to move away from the Grand-Marque, big-brands that you have bought for many years. It is an exceptionally produced range of wines which will totally satisfy your guests at a soiree.
Devaux Champagne —a Fine Product of Time
A saying at the Champagne Devaux company is “the best deserves time”. This epitomises the time and effort put into producing their premium champagne.
The company was founded in 1846 by brothers Jules and Auguste Devaux. It was then run by the same family for five generations before being sold to one of the largest vineyards holders in the region, Union Auboise.
Distinctive Wines from Exceptional Grapes
Devaux’s vineyards are in the Cote Des Bar, the most southerly region of Champagne and one of the least known for wine production. It originally produced grapes for the larger champagne houses in the north of the region but generally obtained a lower price than other areas. This changed when the growers started producing their own wine and led to the situation we have today.
The soil in the area is based on clay rather than the chalk soil nearby and the region, being further south, has the sunniest weather. This gives rise to a very distinct style of wine that is different to standard types of champagne.
The area was always well known for its Pinot Noir grape, which is an exceptional quality and its lighter style was valued for blending. It has helped Devaux become a premier champagne house in a region that has some really outstanding producers. Its wines are light and fruity, have character and balance and, in Devaux’s own words, are produced for people to enjoy.
Adherence to Principles Creates the Finest Devaux Champagne
Producing great champagne depends on several factors — the environment where it’s produced, the grapes it’s made from and the people involved in the process. Devaux combines all these elements to great effect and adds in its own principles to ensure a distinctive and high quality product.
All growers are required to follow a strict set of rules that exceed the standards set by the Appellation system. These rules include sustainable vineyard management and are backed up by technical support at all stages. Quality is then ensured by strict parcel selection, particularly for the top of the range Collection D.
The grapes are pressed as close to the vineyards as possible and the quality approach continues in the cellar. Reserve wines (from previous harvests) are aged in oak vats and only the first press ones (the ‘cuvée’) are used in the blend for the Classique and the ‘cœur de cuvée’ for the Collection D. After the second fermentation, the wine goes through an extended ageing process in the bottle that is over double the minimum required by Champagne law. This is at least:
- three years for the Classique
- five years for Collection D bottles
- seven years for Collection D magnums.
The outcome is wines that have aromatic complexity and great finesse, a balance between character and elegance, and which possess a lovely lightness with integrated yeast. Since 2007, Devaux has aimed to create a rare champagne to represent each year’s vintage. The Cuvee was named Sténopé, the French word for a pinhole camera, and the intention is to provide an interpretation of each season. This is a very limited edition, only 3,400 bottles and 620 magnums being produced for the best vintage in 2008.
Devaux is renowned for its classic cuvée and rosé styles, culminating in its best known Devaux brut rosé, the D de Devaux Rosé that was rated only marginally lower than the celebrated Dom Perignon Rosé 2002. Although this may be unobtainable, there are plenty more Devaux champagnes to delight your palate.
