Domaine des Tonneaux

Located in Jarnac Champagne, in the very heart of the Petite Champagne cru, Domaine des Tonneaux spans a modest 8 hectares of vines. Interestingly, Laurent has strategically reduced the vineyard size to these 8 hectares to enhance vine management and improve the overall quality of the wines and consequently, the Cognac. This is a remarkable move: when so many others are seeking to add hectares and expand production capacity at all costs, Laurent is scaling down, putting quality first, quality he feels that comes with having a vineyard more manageable in terms of hectares. The domaine has adopted environmentally friendly practices, notably abstaining from using weed killers for a considerable amount of years now. This shift has fostered richer biodiversity and healthier vine life within their plots, which ultimately leads to healthier grapes and better wine. The terroir is that of textbook classic Petite Champagne: limestone and chalk-rich soils so common between Jarnac Champagne and Archiac. Vines are primarily planted to Ugni Blanc grapes, with a tiny amount of Colombard. Recently, the vineyard faced harsh climate challenges, including being ravaged by hail for two consecutive years, leading to minimal grape yield - basically none - and an anticipated gap in Cognac production from those years. This is an unfortunate reality many Cognac producers are faced with in the Cognac region.