A CHAMPAGNE TOUR
IN THE IS 220d

The champagne moment is a long-established tradition, but that doesn’t mean the bubbly business is standing still, especially when it comes to the industry’s ecological profile.

It started in the 1990s, when the Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins de Champagne (CIVC) identified 450 potentially harmful practices. To find out how methods have developed since then, we’re going to visit four estates that are quietly revolutionising the industry.

LEXUS IS 220d

We’ve chosen the Lexus IS 220d for our trip into the Champagne region. Like the champagne industry, Lexus has been working hard to reduce its impact on the environment. The injectors of our vehicle’s 2.2-litre diesel engine are operated by piezoelectric crystals.

Thanks to our hard disk drive navigation system, the Lexus is soon gliding along the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay. We meet the enthusiastic Arnaud Descotes, environmental officer of the CIVC, who gives us examples of the advice given to members. For instance, insecticide reduction has allowed the return of tiny mites that target enemy red and yellow spiders. There are also plans for a lighter bottle. Descotes says that the growth of the vines plus their reuse when burned for energy already make champagne bubbles carbon neutral. Above all, though, ‘We must preserve the terroir for the future,’ says Descotes.

The brown vines sleep on peaceful hillsides as we head along sweeping zigzags towards Verzy. Speed-sensitive steering combined with a smooth six-speed transmission and the fine poise of the Lexus make every bend sheer pleasure. Our destination is the Manoir de Verzy.

The 27-year-old Barbe Nicole Ponsardin lost her beloved husband François Clicquot in 1805 and took over the business. She created the brand of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin and built the export business. She also invented the riddling table.

LOWER CARBON FOOTPRINT

Veuve Clicquot remains an innovative brand and has held ISO 14001 accreditation since 2004. All Veuve Clicquot champagne is now transported by boat and the company’s historic Hotel du Marc is being turned into a zero-carbon building.

At the Manoir, we talk to Veuve Clicquot’s environment director Félix Bocquet over an incredible five-course dinner. Apparently, thanks to techniques such as sexual confusion, 70 per cent of the company’s vineyards use no insecticides. Bocquet, however, remains low-key about Veuve Clicquot’s eco-credentials: ‘We want to be a leader towards good environmental progress but would rather convince everyone than make a big noise about being the first.’

The next day we travel south to Tours-sur-Marne and visit Champagne Laurent-Perrier where estate manager Christelle Rinville refuses to fly, encourages workers to use bicycles and has planted grass and herbs around the vineyards to attract friendly insects.

From here, we head for the southern-most champagne growing area around the medieval city of Troyes, grateful for the peace of the Lexus. Michel Drappier welcomes us warmly to his family estate in the tiny village of Urville. He has been experimenting with environmentally friendly methods for 20 years, since his daughter was born. ‘A baby makes you look at the future,’ he smiles.

Drappier’s vineyards are nourished with compost of cattle manure mixed with pine bark and pruned vine branches fermented for two years. Pumping grape juice from the press to storage vats can cause oxidation and loss of taste, for which the usual solution is to add sulphites. Instead, Drappier’s tanks sit below the press, allowing gravity feed.

Michel has added grape varieties of up to 2,000 years old to the usual trio and some of Drappier’s Prestige Cuvée or vintage are now stored in oak barrels rather than modern steel vats, which adds a woody flavour. ‘We are introducing new tastes but the style of the house is retained,’ he explains.

Michel’s next project is a new solar-powered production facility.

BIODYNAMIC CHAMPAGNE

Jean-Sébastien Fleury, proprietor of Champagne Fleury in nearby Courteron, uses biodynamic methods first investigated by his father. He shows us the calendar he follows, which recommends the best days for work on leaves, flowers or roots. He says: ‘My grandfather knew days to do different things in the garden according to phases of the moon.’

Jean-Sébastien’s father first tried biodynamics in 1989. Together they have built a new production facility constructed from wood with insulation made from local organic hemp and clay. Taste remains paramount: ‘Image is not enough,’ says Jean-Sébastien. ‘It must be good.’

To experience a smooth, silent yet reassuringly responsive ride in the IS 220d, book a test drive here