Henry de Vaugency

Henry de Vaugency is deliberately traditional, not out of nostalgia but because it works. The grapes are picked by hand and pressed on a wooden Coquard press. The base wines ferment in tank and go through full malolactic conversion, which gives the taut Oger chardonnay its roundness. For the blend, Pascal combines different harvest years; the Tradition, for example, comes from two harvests, 2019 and 2022, so that freshness and ripeness complement each other. The bottles then take their time in the chalk cellar: the Tradition spends around a year and a half on the lees, the Des Amoureux around three years, above the legal minimum of fifteen months. Remuage is done by hand on pupitres, and for most cuvées the dégorgement is done à la volée. Growing big has never been the plan here; every step, from grape to label, stays within the house in Oger.

Henry de Vaugency stands out for its exclusive focus on Grand Cru Chardonnay from Oger and the long tradition of family expertise. The champagnes carry a signature of their own, centred on traditional production methods and a subtly wilful balance.