Winemaker Wednesday: Roger Champault
Tell us about your property (how long it has been in your family, how long you have been making wine there, the size, any growing philosophy you might have):
The story of our estate begins around 1850 with François CHAMPAULT who set up in Champtin, a little winegrower village near Sancerre. The estate has grown from 2 to 20 hectares in the last 60 years. Claude and Laurent CHAMPAULT, heirs of this family adventure which has extended for 5 generations, perpetuate the traditional winemaking with the same passion as their elders.
What is your favorite vintage and cuvee from your own property and why?
Sancerre Blanc 2010 “Les Pierris”: to drink very young; on the fruit. Very typical from Sancerre. Sancerre Blanc 2005 “Côte de Champtin”: very good vintage, ample, rich, a lot of roundness and fatness. Sancerre Rouge 2007 “Côte de Champtin”: we find the fruitiness of the Pinot Noir (red fruit) has a good complexity in the mouth and silky tannins.
When you are not drinking your own wines, what are you drinking? What other wines, beers, etc. do you enjoy?
Dry whites in general. The only condition is that has to be good! More specifically, non standard wines which make the palate tired. For the reds, not too high alcohol wines which lack freshness.
What is your favorite food and what wine would you pair it with?
Cheese with great white wines like old Comté with a Jura’s yellow wine or Crottin de Chavignol with a good white Sancerre. Also, red mullet sirloin with red Sancerre.