Emmanuel Brochet

It is hard not to marvel at what Emmanuel does. He is a first-generation Champagne grower, who broke out of the farming tradition in his family in 1997. With a holding of only a tiny 2.5-hectare in the lieu-dit ‘Le Mont Benoit’ in Villers-aux-Noeuds, Emmanuel opts to cultivate his vines of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier organically and almost entirely by hand, without chemicals, in order to achieve harmony and quality. He works in the cellar with an artisanal approach - pressing his grapes in small batches with a traditional vertical press, using indigenous ambient yeasts, and adding minimal sulphites at the end of the malolactic fermentation. He makes rocking chairs to upcycle his old barrels, and distills gin as a passion project.