The Buyer | How ‘new era’ Champagne Deutz aims to rebuild its UK market

Champagne Deutz is a relatively hidden gem in the UK, prized for its elegant, finely balanced wines rather than bold powerful styles. Among champagne critics, Deutz is often considered as an ‘insider’s’ champagne, less famous than Dom Pérignon or Bollinger, but no less praiseworthy for offering excellent quality and consistency.

If some Champagne houses are known for richness (such as Bollinger) or intensity (such as Krug), it is said that Deutz is recognised for precision and purity of fruit and an elegant balance between richness and finesse. The tasting proved just how accurate this comparison is. Deutz enjoys remarkably consistent high praise from experts and the pairing with exquisite Japanese cuisine is, well, close to perfection.

It is the first chance for many of us to taste the full Champagne Deutz portfolio from the Classic NV to the iconic cuvées in the William Deutz and Amour range. The producer’s export director, Cyrille Harmel, explains there is a new era with a ‘generation change’ in the Champagne house since 2022 and 2023. Long-standing CEO Fabrice Rosset retired and has been succeeded by Mark Hoellinger. There’s also a new chef de cave, Caroline Latrive, who took over when Michel Davesne retired.

Without losing any purity, Latrive has tweaked slightly the house style. “It continues to be the Deutz style, but with more precision and a bit more modernity in the blend,” Harmel explains. “Latrive’s first base harvest is 2022, working with Davesne, and she has increased the level of Chardonnay in the Classic blend and decreased the dosage from 8.4g/l to 6.5g/l.”

William Deutz and Pierre-Hubert Geldermann, wine merchants from Germany, settled in Champagne and founded Deutz in 1838 in the Grand Cru village of Aÿ. There is some symmetry with Deutz now joining forces with MMD. Wine buffs will remember that MMD was established by Champagne Louis Roederer and then Champagne Deutz was acquired in 1993 by the Rouzaud family, owners of Louis Roederer.

Throughout its history, the Deutz champagne house has, however, always continued to operate independently with its own winemaking philosophy and it’s a fact that Deutz outsells Roederer globally.

Deutz has 42.5 hectares, a third each in the Côtes des Blancs, Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne and close relationships with other growers to total 60 hectares of vineyard approximately. All of its grapes come from within a 20km radius of Aÿ which means they are massively weighted towards Premier and Grands Crus. Apart from the Classic NV, all the cuvées are 100% Premier and Grand Cru. Vinification is in stainless steel vats (no oak is used) and all the wines go through malolactic fermentation.

Full Deutz portfolio

The range begins with its Brut Classic NV and Brut Rosé NV non-vintage Champagnes, followed by a vintage, vintage rosé and vintage Blanc de Blancs.

Then come its prestige cuvées: William Deutz, Amour de Deutz (Blanc de Blancs and Rosé) and, most recently, its single-vineyard offerings – Hommage à William Deutz La Côte Glacière and Hommage à William Deutz Meurtet.

The Brut Classic NV, at one end of the spectrum, spends three years on its lees, while the cuvée William Deutz spends up to 10 years on the lees. The wines can be drunk on their own as an aperitif, but the vintage champagnes are really designed for pairing with food – especially when they have acquired some bottle age.

Deutz is very strong in mainland Europe and is looking to rebuild the UK market, targeting the on-trade and fine dining in the UK. Deutz’s appeal to sommeliers is that it offers a sweet spot between accessibility and sophistication, enjoyed by both experienced champagne drinkers and newcomers – and it pairs well with a range of foods. Added to this, as we discover, prestige cuvées reward long cellaring without excessive opulence.

Red thread of Deutz style

The Brut Classic NV represents 80% of the production and is the first blending of the year’s harvest. The base harvest 2022 which we are tasting has 40% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir and 25% Pinot Meunier. 75% is from Premier Cru vineyards.

The blend changes from one base harvest to the next (the 2022 blend has 28% reserve wines which is relatively low compared, for instance, to the 2021 base harvest which had 57% reserve wines.) After disgorgement the wines spend six months in the cellar.

A red thread between all the wines is Deutz trademark style – a balance between the texture, the richness, freshness and precision. Even the basic Classic doesn’t disappoint: it is precise, refined and silky smooth. It has crystalline freshness, aromatic complexity and light intensity.

By 2027 all of Deutz’s fruit will 100% certified organic and Latrive is also looking closely at the selection of growers, terroir and single vineyard expressions, projects that had already been started before she joined. In 2025 the maison acquired four more hectares of vineyards.

The Rosé Classic NV (also base harvest 2022) is 100% Premier and Grand Cru, something that is quite rare in Champagne. It has only 5% reserve wines (from the 2021 harvest) which keeps the freshness. The blend is 75% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir and a hint of Meunier. The pale colour expresses the elegance of the style. All the rosés are made by blending Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fruit with a top quality Pinot Noir wine from an unique plot of vines rather than the saignée method. It is an infusion more than an extraction.

Blanc de Blancs 2019 release

The just- released 2019 Blanc de Blancs Millésime (100% Chardonnay Grands Crus and Premier Crus) is a standout with lots of character, tension and finesse. Despite its age it is very youthful, fresh and bright.

Japanese cuisine pairing

Deutz pairs excellently with Japanese cuisine. At a lunch held at London Japanese restaurant Aki we start with Amour de Deutz Rosé 2013 Magnum to accompany Fuji Wagyu Beef Tataki, Blue Fin Tuna tartare and Asparagus Kushiyaki. Then follows a Deutz Brut Classic Magnum and Deutz Rosé Vintage 2013 with a delectable platter of Sashimi, Truffle Salt Edamame, and a spinach salad.

Together with Wagyu Beef and Black Garlic Gyoza, Seared Salmon Maki Roll and Sakura Nobashi Prawn Tempura, we enjoy the iconic cuvées Hommage à William Deutz La Côte Glacière 2018 and Hommage à William Deutz Meurtet 2015. Spoiled even further, we have the Cuvée William Deutz 2008 Magnum and Amour de Deutz 2011 Magnum with Caramalised Black Cod, Wagyu Steak and Tenderstem Broccoli. Japanese Millefeuille beautifully rounds off the Japanese feast.

The Champagne William Deutz pays homage to the great Pinot Noirs of the Montagne de Reims. A wine for connoisseurs, it has a deep and multi-layered palate.

Amour de Deutz 2015 release – charming wine and cap novelty

The Amour de Deutz is ‘a love letter’ to the Champagne region, shaped by the finest Chardonnay terroirs. It is 100% Chardonnay (predominately Grands Crus from the Côte des Blancs) and has a radiant pale gold hue, a delightfully nuanced elegance and a freshness with a pure expression of the fruit. The 2015 vintage has just been released. We discover hidden inside the top plaque of both the Amour de Deutz and Amour de Deutz rosé is a beautiful charm keepsake – a lovely touch that captivates us all.

Discovering the full Deutz portfolio paired with Japanese cuisine is a real treat. But discovering Deutz is a little like discovering an excellent new grower champagne. You are thrilled at your discovery but do not want to broadcast it too widely. We’re extremely lucky Deutz is making a push into the UK market, but, “Ssshh… let’s keep this ‘hidden gem’ to ourselves”.

Peter Dean writes: MMD creating a real line in the sand

As if to re-enforce the dictum ‘That was then, this is now’ MMD held another lunch in a top London Japanese restaurant with Champagne Deutz chef de caves Caroline Latrive on hand to explain winemaking technique to a small group of buyers and writers.

The meal at Michelin two-star Humble Chicken was one of the best meals I have ever eaten and the wines more than matched any culinary wizardry thrown at them (see below).

Richard Billett, MMD managing director, explained to me that he didn’t feel Champagne Deutz had the profile it warranted in the UK, especially with the single vineyard cuvées. The two press lunches were a way of throwing down a marker that this would be changing.

I first met Latrive when she was chef de caves at Ayala for a vins clair tasting and it was the microscopic detail she went into for each batch of Chardonnay that was so impressive and presumably so key to her appointment at Deutz, the Deutz Brut Classic being Chardonnay-driven and forming 80% of the House’s output.

Latrive joined Deutz in early 2022 and worked with the retiring Michel Davesne for 14 months to ensure a consistency of house style. Key pillars of this winemaking philoosphy Latrine explained are a non-interventionist approach with time and blending as fundamental. 70% of fruit comes from grand cru sites and she has a ‘palette’ of 220 different batches to blend with, her first wine for the House being the 2022 Brut Classic NV for which the 2022 vintage is the base with 28% reserve wines used from 2019, 2020, and 2021. Decisions for the blending start with tasting in January followed by final decisions in March.

Her first wine for Deutz is excellent with fleshy fruit intensity balanced with refreshing acidity and sharp, precise detail.

Vinification-wise, Latrive uses low-temperature fermentation at 14°C to preserve aromatic expressions and stainless steel and concrete to maintain purity and avoid heavy wood influence. Terroir specificity is understandably most prevelent in the stunning single vineyard expressions, distinct characteristics belying the fact that some sites are metres apart.

The rosé is produced through a blending process rather than maceration with just 2.8% of red wine added for colour and to maintain delicacy.

With all its wines the house aims for a minimum of one year of ageing after disgorgement before market launch to avoid imbalance in the wine and to allow the sugar to fully integrate.

A book could be written about the special cuvées that were rolled out for this extraordinary lunch.

The meal consisted of 16 dishes presented in three ‘acts’, photos of which are presented below.

Wines served with these dishes were: Amour de Deutz Vinothèque 2000, Hommage à William Deutz Meurtet 2019 and Hommage à William Deutz La Côte Glacière 2019.

Wines served with these four dishes were: Brut Vintage Late Disgorged 2015 and Brut Rosé Vintage 2014.

And wines served with the dessert dishes (one not pictured) were: Cuvée William Deutz 2014 and Cuvée William Deutz 2008 in magnum.

Conscious of the length of this piece and Miranda's excellent tasting notes (albeit of different vintages) I will not provide detailed tasting notes suffice to say there wasn't a disappointing note in this amazing portfolio. Highlights of the day would be the Brut Rosé Vintage 2014 and Amour de Deutz Vinothèque 2000 which were off the scale world class, but all the wines were gastronomic, layered and complex enough to deal with Humble Chicken's peerless cuisine.

Many thanks to the team at Champagne Deutz and MMD for a remarkable opportunity to have Caroline Latrive explain her philosophy and fire us all with enthusiasm for the wines and the direction they are heading. Santé.