André Clouet: The Champagne of Chalk and Kings

When we first brought on Champagne André Clouet in 2017, we were astounded at the way it managed to capture the hearts and the palates of both our staff and customers immediately, casting a spell over everyone it encountered and wrapping us up in an instant vinous infatuation – we simply had to have it. 

At the time, we had only brought on their NV Grandé Reserve Brut – a 100% Pinot Noir Champagne from their family vineyards in Bouzy and adorned with an intricate blue and gold label designed in 1911. It wasn’t one of the ‘big’ Champagne names, but it carried with it a lot of respect and a detectable electric undercurrent of intrigue, reserved for only the most ‘boutique’ and ‘in-the-know’ of producers. We pretty quickly added their No.5 Brut Rosé and their V6 Experience cuvées to the line up who in time, have also garnered a passionate group of fans here in New Zealand.

And now, seven years after adding this historic and revered house to our stable, we are so excited to announce the upcoming arrival of a new cuvée. NV Chalky is perhaps the most beautiful, clean, minimalist and frankly, instagrammable bottle we’ve laid our eyes on, and it houses the first Blanc de Blancs cuvée from the king of Pinot Noir, proving this producer is more than a one-grape pony.

The Chardonnays that make up this cuvée grow one-third on the southern slopes of the Montagne de Reims and two-thirds on the Côte de Blancs.

Chalky is a particularly noteworthy addition to the Clouet lineup in that it’s a deviation from their cornerstone varietal, Pinot Noir. The other cuvées Clouet produces are all Blanc de Noirs from their vines in Bouzy, where Pinot Noir thrives. Jean-François – the winemaker and descendant of the domaine’s namesake, André Clouet – is never one to shy away from a challenge. Known for his uncanny knack at extracting balance, flavour, texture and character from this varietal – he’s also a big, charismatic and inherently curious personality. So while the pivot away from Blanc de Noirs may be intriguing, for anyone that knows about Jean-François Clouet, it’s really no surprise at all and perhaps even less surprising, is the fact he’s nailed it.

The Chalky Blanc de Blancs was aged for an astonishing 72 months on lees – or six years. The base wines of this initial NV release come from the “late-ripening, almost brutally brilliant year” (Lobenburg) 2013. Disgorgement was in 2021, with a dosage of 6g. The resulting wine is creamy, mineral and – you guessed it – chalky.

There’s two elements to the Champenois love affair with chalk; the vines and the cellars.

The Vines:

Chalk (limestone) makes for a naturally high pH, alkaline-rich soil, with neutral shades of white, grey or beige that can also reflect sunlight to promote photosynthesis. It’s origins began over 200 million years ago, after the Jurassic sea levels receded and tectonic shift exposed an array of fossilised shells, coral and other debris that had accumulated and formed calcified sediments on the ancient sea floor. These remains give limestone its distinctive chemical makeup, called calcium carbonate.

This calcium carbonate content is extremely beneficial for vines. First, it offers incredible water retention capabilities while simultaneously permitting excellent drainage. Secondly, calcium rich limestone soils tend to have a higher pH than other soils, which translates to easier nutrient absorption and higher acidity levels in fruit that aids age-ability to the wines. Third, the high calcium content in limestone also helps berries fight off diseases. When calcium content in soils is low, grapes begin to prioritise their inner health rather than skin health, which in turn, makes clusters more susceptible to disease and rot.

All of this to say, fruit grown in limestone soils generally has bright acidity and solid structure, which then lead to wines of serious age worthy potential. (Read more about soil types and their impacts on vines here).

The Cellars:

Clouet explains, “Chalk is the protector of champagne as it ages, allowing itself to be dug into deep underground cellars, where the precious nectar can safely mature, tucked away from the light and fluctuations in temperature.”

Clouet’s cellar, where all of their cuvées age, was dug under their home in the 1700s. They have recently undertaken a project to expand their winemaking facilities and cellars, which is still in progress now.

The Clouet family history in Bouzy dates back to the 1400’s. Before their vinous adventures, the Clouet ancestors were the appointed printers for the French monarchs. Over the next 200 years and through several generations, the family slowly accumulated vineyards in Bouzy before finally, in 1741 they first started to make Champagne. Cellars were dug into the chalky soils and the family set down their roots officially in the town they’d spent several centuries in under the watchful eye of one André Clouet.

André Clouet’s descendants took over his estate, ensuring that it remained in the family. The property had aged but has now been modernised, and the team working to perpetuate the House of André Clouet is inspired above all by the desire to preserve the personality of its champagnes.

“Jean-François is deeply rooted in the heritage of his village,” explains Tyson Stelzer in his book, The Champagne Guide 2020-2021 Edition VI, “He still possesses his family’s request for a deed for the purchase of land in Champagne by their ancestors in 1689 and a letter from the 1820’s requesting an order of Rosé to be sent to Paris.”

A story the family loves to tell is that of André Clouet’s memorable interaction with Marie Antoinette. In 1770, the future Queen of France visited the vineyards in Bouzy and a dinner in her honour was organised in a castle not far from the village. Andre Clouet was in attendance and decided to entertain the guests at the Queen’s table by adding a few drops of red wine from their vineyards to the white wine. Known as “Bouzy Rouge,” this Vin des Sacres, was the red wine served to celebrate the crowning of the French Kings.

On that night, it’s said the ladies’ eyes began to sparkle with amazement as the white wine became pink!

The men raised a toast to the Queen and André Clouet proclaimed: “This is how we perfect Pinot Noir in Champagne! Now the Burgundians will just have to deal with it!”

A few years later, a cousin placed an order for some of this ‘pink wine’, but sparkling this time, for her “crazy English friends!”

Jean-François is the larger-than-life current generation of the Clouet line and is at the helm of this family Estate. Growing up amongst the vines, the vineyards are in his blood. He’s been described as many things – a wizard, a wonder, a ringmaster… and all of these may be true but there’s no doubt his legacy will also recognise him as a phenomenal vigneron.

A fun story he enjoys telling pertains to the tanks and barrels that age the wines;

“When I was a little boy, I loved walking around the wine-making cellar. In my imagination, the enormous wine tanks transformed and became champions, guardians, protectors of the wine…

“My Heroes! Creaking, wheezing, groaning, squealing, sweating… sometimes they even seemed to be laughing! I watched the noisy show, as some were gushing from their nozzles, while others were being filled up. I grew up learning to play with my heroes who live in the wine-cellars.

“Each has its own name and personality to share and their attributes come alive in the wines: Superman, Zeus, and Thor lend their power to the Cuvée Grande Reserve.

“Laser, D’artagnan and Zorro transmit their intensity, tension and minerality to the Brut Silver.

“Sophie Marceau, Heather Locklear and Michelle Pheiffer flirt beautifully with the Rosé.

“Rocky comes out swinging to make a Dream Vintage!

“As I blend to create champagne, I work to find the perfect balance of characteristics that come from all my remarkable, dauntless heroes: the Stainless Steel Giants.”

You can choose to take our word for it when it comes to Clouet’s brilliance, but if you don’t then you must listen to Tyson Stelzer.

Already quoted a few times in this piece, he is a multi-award winning wine writer, television host and producer and international speaker. Tyson has been named The International Wine & Spirit Communicator of the Year, The Australian Wine Communicator of the Year and The International Champagne Writer of the Year. He is the author and publisher of seventeen wine books, contributor to many wine magazines, a frequent judge and chair at Australian wine shows and a presenter at wine events in 12 countries. All this to say: he knows his wine and is great at articulating the magic where mere mortals fall short!

In 2017, Tyson published an article titled “Is this the most underrated champagne grower of all?” which is a poetic and beautiful summation of this Champagne House, which we’ve detailed below:

The (beautiful) elephant in the room here is undoubtedly the phenomenal packaging that Clouet’s Chalky is presented in.

You don’t have to look far to see where the inspiration was drawn from (really, just take a look at the cellars!), but the execution is simply as much of a visual masterpiece as the phenomenal juice it holds, and brilliantly announces the kind of ‘simple done well’ beauty that one can expect when opening the bottle.

They’ve taken ‘Chalky’ quite literally, and made the bottle and its gift box look like… well.. Chalk. But they’ve done it with stunning accuracy and still managed to weave the signature Clouet label branding through.

It’s sleek, minimalist, and draws the eye with its sheer modesty and sophistication. Frankly, we can’t imagine a situation where this bottle wouldn’t look divine. It’s the ideal bridal Champagne (imagine the wedding photos!) or celebratory tipple at any event. Little black dress? How about little white champagne…