THE MAISON
A Maison of selection.
Comptoir de vignes is a small project being built around a short list of independent growers in Champagne. Families who farm their own vineyards, make their own wine, and bottle under their own name.
The founder is a chef. Trained at FERRANDI Paris, then at Eels in Paris, the Château de Courcelles (Relais & Châteaux) and Les Crayères in Reims, two Michelin stars.
We taste like cooks: directly, precisely, with the table in mind. A wine is judged on what it does, not what it claims.
We trust the glass first. Whatever is written about the bottle comes after.
Today the work is in Reims. Hong Kong follows when the list is ready.
THE TERROIR
A grower behind every bottle.
Petite Montagne de Reims, Vallée de l'Ardre, Côte des Blancs, Côte des Bar: the search runs across Champagne. What narrows the list is the work in the vines and the cellar, not the address on the label.
We start with the grower. The way they farm, the way they work in the cellar. The label comes after.
SELECTION CRITERIA
What we are looking for.
Four short criteria. We wrote them down so we can be held to them. They guide every conversation with a grower.
- 01
Terroir
The wine has to speak of a place. A village, a parcel, a recognisable terroir. That is the first thing we listen for.
- 02
Scale
Small growers, small plots, small bottlings. We are after growers who farm what they know.
- 03
Craft
The grower is responsible end to end. From the vines to the bottle, the decisions and the gestures are theirs. So is the name.
- 04
Provenance
Every bottle is traceable to a parcel, a hand, a year. Nothing arrives in Hong Kong without a clear line behind it.
FROM REIMS TO HONG KONG
Built in Champagne for Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is where the project is heading. The dining scene there takes wine seriously, and that is the audience we want to talk to.
Currently in Reims. Hong Kong soon, with one or two trips along the way.