Founded in 1859, Champagne Duval-Leroy remains a family business. But being steeped in heritage doesn’t mean that the house has rested on its laurels. Quite the contrary, Duval-Leroy has been on a journey to focus on its fine signature style. It has reinvented itself as a boutique house, taking the bold decision to pare back annual production from five million bottles 20 years ago to just one-and-a-half million today.
That’s a purposeful less-is-more strategy to enhance exclusivity and it’s successfully attracted the attention of the top restaurants where the house wants its bottles to be on show. Big volumes and selling to supermarkets chains is definitely not something in Charles Duval-Leroy’s vision.
Boutique Champagne House Duval-Leroy is about to release four of its 2008 vintage prestige cuvées and is putting exclusivity and quality above quantity
Duval-Leroy is based in Vertus, an area of Champagne known for its fine Chardonnays. Unlike most Grande Marque houses, it is a grape-grower as much as winemaker, with 200 ha of vines, mainly Premier and Grand Cru. Half the grapes it uses come from its own land and Duval-Leroy vinifies all its wines.
“We’re a Côte des Blancs Champagne. Our boutique size means we use grapes from local areas – it’s great to be more local in our production.We have great respect for our terroir,” declares Charles. Indeed Duval-Leroy was the first house to be certified for its sustainable viticulture and to produce certified organic champagne,” says Duval-Leroy.
Champagne Duval-Leroy lunch at Clarette, November 2024
To taste the quartet of prestige cuvées from the 2008 vintage we have an exclusive dinner in Clarette, a high-end French restaurant in London above a Tudorbethan-styled wine bar, with leaded windows and inset stained glass. The venture is backed by Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos – part of the family who own the legendary Château Margaux.
“The 2008 climate was cold and humid (a bit like 2024) so at first we were a little worried. But actually it’s turned out to be an excellent year,” explains Duval-Leroy.
First up is the prestige Blanc de Blancs 1er Cru 2008 (RRP £73 a bottle, dosage 3g/l). Fully Chardonnay, this comes from the six Grand Cru villages of the Côte des Blancs with ten years ageing on the lees and presents as an elegant and fresh wine with a good degree of complexity.
The star turn, however, is the Femme de Champagne Grand Cru 2008 (RRP £434, 5g/l), 76% Chardonnay and 24% Pinot Noir with 14 years lees ageing.There’s acacia flowers on the nose and on the palate brioche, vanilla, and dried fruits. With a fine mousse, there’s a good persistence. Only the best vintages (1990, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2008) are chosen with approximately 10,000 bottles produced a year.
The bottle has a distinctive bulbous shape, a reimagining of art deco, that is appealing and fun.
“The novel shape was my father’s idea – he laid down plans for modernising the winery and creating this new prestige cuvée,” Duval-Leroy comments. It became called “Femme de Champagne” after Charles’ mother, Carol, took over the business when her husband died in his thirties in 1985.
The name was chosen to celebrate the role of Carol, who became the “Lady of Champagne”. The couple’s three sons Charles and his brothers now run the business.
The Clos des Bouveries 2008 (RRP £149, 6g/l) is more exclusive, if a good bit cheaper, coming from the family’s historic 3.5 ha plot planted with nearly 60 year-old Chardonnay vines.
“We only choose the best rows in the middle of the parcel,” Duval-Leroy emphasises. This wine is notable for an elegant but intense concentration of flavour. There’s a touch of woodiness and toasted brioche aplenty with quite a lot of complexity and a decent structure.
With the main course of Gressingham duck and roasted pumpkin, we taste the Femme de Champagne Rosé de Saignée Grand Cru 2008 (RRP £420, 3g/l) which is 100% Pinot Noir from Bouzy. The Saignée, from the French word for ‘bleeding’, means a rosé made this way has a beautiful, deeper more vibrant colour and a ripe flavour of berry fruits on the finish. A proof, if any further was needed, that these rosé sparklers are now serious wines.
Towards the end of the dinner comes a totally unexpected delight. One of the guests has brought along a magnum of Femme de Champagne Grand Cru 2002 vintage from her cellar. What a treat share!
Unexpected bonus: Charles Duval-Leroy pours the 2002
This 2002 vintage hides a unique part in Duval-Leroy’s history. As would be expected, it has a complexity that comes with long-ageing. But there is also something that is difficult to place, a slightly mysterious aroma and flavour that is almost sake-like. Duval-Leroy unlocks the mystery by explaining the house experimented at the time.This two-decade old wine spent nine months in barrels from famed Sauternes producer Châteaux d’Yquem. This barrel ageing was never repeated.
The house, if asked, can still offer to create ‘sur mesure’ for the star gourmand chefs looking for something bespoke. But as a quality boutique house, its principal aim is to be found in glitzy hotels, the finest gastronomic restaurants and slaking the thirst of international travellers going first-class.
The on-trade supplier for Champagne Duval-Leroy is Hallgarten & Novum Wines. Carol Duval-Leroy’s recent book on running the producer is also entitled “Femme de Champagne”.
