With a history dating back to 1787, Champagne Benoît Déhu is steeped in tradition, innovation and passion. Nestled on the periphery of the Champagne designation in the village of Fossoy in the Vallée de la Marne, the family-run champagne house has confidently become synonymous with world-class Meunier-centric cuvées. The house’s rise to fame is credited to the expertise, savoir-faire and stubborn vision of one man, Benoît Déhu.
Benoît Déhu took over the winemaking mantle from his parents in 2011. A radical makeover sent the family owned domaine on a journey off the beaten path.
On the heels of his four-year tenure at Bollinger, Dehu broke free from the shackles of the cooperative model Champagne Dehu Père et Fils was under, and in the same élan debuted his very own eponymous label.
“Bollinger was my last job out of the estate. I worked there for four years from 2000 to 2004. Before that I worked in Paris at a beer, wine and coffee distribution house. I was in charge of selling coffee which was very interesting because I was already dealing with the concept of cru. Following that stint, I joined Bollinger where I worked as a commercial agent selling Bollinger champagnes to restaurants, wine stores etc. That experience introduced me to the concept of vinification and aging process in oak barrels. I returned to the family estate in 2004 continuing the Champagne Dehu Père et Fils until 2011 when I launched on my own and began using oak as I had always intended to,” confessed Dehu.
With Benoît as the House’s new spiritual father, the champagne brand immediately shifted gears simultaneously converting to organic farming methods (earning the certification in 2014) and employing biodynamic practices (without being officially certified).
Benoît’s first order of business was the prestigious 1.7-hectare single parcel known as La Rue des Noyers, named after the local walnut trees surrounding Benoît’s vineyard. The intensely studious micro-project resulted in the production of the exceptional single-vineyard, single-vintage, 100% pinot Meunier champagne of the same name. La Rue des Noyers has been a significant game changer for Meunier.
“La Rue des Noyers was the one parcel that was the best suited to be converted to biodynamic farming practices,” says Déhu. “It regrouped all the criteria I had selected to be able to venture into this intricate method of viticulture. The vines were planted in 1971 and thus produce old Meunier. It’s a real treasure with regards to the quality of the grapes. I started small and then the adventure took off.”
Déhu’s winemaking philosophy rests on a simple proposition: tradition harmonizing with innovation. The House is famed for its meticulous approach to viticulture and winemaking, where Déhu emphasizes the importance of natural, handmade, artisanal farming methods, massal selection, vinification and aging in oak barrels, minimum dosage (if any), horse ploughing (on 0.40ha), absence of malolactic fermentation, use of indigenous yeast for the first fermentation, ensuring each bottle reflects the uniqueness of his terroir and individualistic expression of each vintage.
“The idea in 2011 was to elaborate a Côteaux Blanc, Côteaux Rouge and Champagnes on the same parcel to show that we could vinify three different styles – all in oak to bring forth the complexity and nuances of Meunier and without malolactic fermentation. My ultimate objective was to have very low dosage to showcase the terroir and prove that Meunier is a grape that does not require any dosage. My first vintage was 2011 at a dosage of 1gr of sugar per liter but after that all my cuvées went down to zero.”
The history of Champagne Benoît Déhu, deeply rooted in the soils of Fossoy in the Marne Valley, narrates a saga of boldness, stamina, commitment and passion. The vigneron’s very own personal signature is of course Meunier, the once-upon-a-time black sheep grape of Champagne which has singlehandedly catapulted him to rockstar status. One issue remains: annual production is painfully of lilliputian size. With some 20,000 bottles produced per year it’s a bit of a challenge to get your hands on his wines. Yet from Initiation, L’Orme and the Unicorn Cuvée, La Pythie, to, of course, La Rue des Noyers, these gems are worth the quest!
Déhu himself had to trek to the side of the Atlantic to find the gem in his beautiful jewel box – that one indelible champagne moment.
“Three years ago, I was in Charleston in South Carolina to conduct a tasting with a client. Surprisingly the lady had kept several Rue des Noyers in magnums. So, we had the exquisite pleasure of tasting all the Rue des Noyers from 2011 onward in the best format. That was something I had never done before because I never really thought of doing it, but it was an unforgettable moment.”
Today, Champagne Benoît Déhu stands as a testament to a rich heritage and a commitment to quality that transcends generations.
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