Devaux, Sténopé

Champagne Devaux was originally founded in 1846 by brothers Jules and Auguste Devaux in Epernay, before relocating to the Côte des Bar during the 1980s. Hailed as the heartland of Pinot Noir in Champagne, the Côte des Bar is physically closer to Chablis than Reims or Épernay, meaning its vines are grown on Burgundian soils of Kimmeridgian marl and Portlandian limestone. Chef de Cave since 1999, Michel Parisot was named the ‘Sparkling Winemaker of the Year’ at the 2020 International Wine Challenge, a testament to Michel’s pioneering approach to winemaking. Today, the estate is owned by the Union Auboise.

‘Coeur de Nature’ is Devaux’s first fully certified organic champagne. With a low dosage of five grammes per litre, it expresses the celebrated quality and freshness of Côte des Bar Pinot Noir while cementing Devaux’s position at the forefront of sustainable viticulture in the region. The flagship ‘Collection D’ range uses only the first quarter of the press (the ‘coeur de cuvée’) and is aged for at least five years, contributing to flavour complexity and an integrated mousse. The ‘Cuvée D’ comprises at least 40% reserve wines, including wine from two solera systems dating back to 1995 and 2002. The ‘Ultra D’ is a low-dosage Champagne containing 40% reserve wines, showing wonderful freshness and length. The ‘D Rosé’ blends 53% Pinot Noir and 47% Chardonnay with great finesse and hints of red berries. The ‘D Millésimé’ undergoes over seven years of extended ageing on its lees, displaying exceptional complexity, structure, and balance. Devaux ages most of their reserve wines in oak barrels of different sizes, toasts and ages, which are all sourced locally to minimise environmental impact. The intelligent use of oak in Devaux’s wines led former Chef de Cave of Krug, Eric Lebel, to refer to Devaux as “the Krug of the Côte des Bar”.

The ‘Sténopé’ is a collaboration between Michel Parisot and renowned Rhône winemaker Michel Chapoutier. Sharing the same philosophy around vineyards and respect for the land, they created an exceptional champagne that offers a ‘snapshot’ of a particular vintage; sténopé meaning ‘pinhole camera’ in French. ‘Sténopé’ is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir carefully selected by Michel Parisot from his preferred plots, with only a few thousand bottles produced each year.