Champagne Taittinger's Domaine Evremond is the first English vineyard built from scratch by a Champagne house. It's a wonderfully fresh, summery wine, with freshly cut apple and citrus fruit scents and very fine bubbles. At the moment the Chardonnay seems to dominate, with the Pinot brooding in the background - it is crisp and easy to drink now, but will only improve as it opens up after a few years in the cellar. If you are still on the fence about English wine, this could absolutely change your mind! A thrilling first release!

• In 2015, Champagne Taittinger and Hatch Mansfield partnered to create Domaine Evremond, a premium English sparkling wine. 
• Kent was chosen for its optimal growing conditions: Chalk soil; South or southwest-facing slopes, Below 100m altitude, and with natural shelter 
• In 2015, a fruit farm in Chilham, Kent, was secured, marking the first investment in the UK by a Champagne house, and remains the only project to have been started by a Champagne house from scratch. 
• The name honours Charles de Saint-Évremond, who introduced Champagne to the court of Charles II. 
• By 2017, 21 hectares of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier were planted.  
• The vineyard is managed by Taittinger’s Director of Viticulture, Christelle Rinville, working closely with Mark Gaskain. The winemaking is led by Taittinger’s Director of Winemaking, Alexandre Ponnavoy. 
• There was a tiny harvest in 2018, with the first meaningful harvest taking place in 2019.  
• A new winery was completed in 2024 and inaugurated by HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh.  
• Newly released is the Classic Cuvée Edition 1, a non-vintage blend made with 80% fruit from the 2020 vintage and 20% from 2019 (55% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Meunier). Aged over 3 years on lees, it has received high praise from early tastings.

In 2015, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger and Patrick McGrath envisioned a joint venture between Champagne Taittinger and Hatch Mansfield to create a brand new, premium English sparkling wine. The team established three strict site selection criteria; any suitable land needed to be on chalk, south or southwest facing, and below 100 meters in altitude with natural shelter. England remains a marginal climate for grape growing, making site selection critical. From the outset, the search focused on Kent - "The Garden of England" - where arguably the best fruit is grown as it benefits from more sunshine hours than any other county in England.

In 2015, the team identified the ideal location in a beautiful fruit farm in Chilham, west of Canterbury, that was owned by third-generation fruit farmer Mark Gaskain. The deal was done, and that Autumn the creation of Domaine Evremond was announced at a press conference in Canterbury Cathedral, marking the first investment in the UK by a Champagne house. The venture was named after a Charles de Saint-Évremond (1613–1703), the man who introduced the early wines of Champagne to the court of Charles II and remains the only Frenchman buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey – a fitting homage to the friendship between the UK and France and the foundation of the Domaine Evremond project. Today, Domaine Evremond remains the only English Sparkling wine with a Champagne house involved from its inception and created from scratch (rather than simply purchasing an existing vineyard) – a significant investment focussed on absolute quality, friendship, and the pursuit of excellence.

By 2017, 21 hectares of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier vines had been planted. The vineyard’s day-to-day management is overseen by Mark Gaskain and his team, under the supervision of Christelle Rinville, Taittinger’s Director of Viticulture. The first small crop was harvested in 2018, and the first meaningful crop followed in 2019. They were processed in the Domaine Evremond temporary winery, led by Taittinger’s Director of Winemaking Alexandre Ponnavoy. Since 2019, Christelle, Alexandre, and a dedicated team from Taittinger have travelled to Kent each harvest, demonstrating their unwavering commitment.

Today, over 60 hectares of vines have been planted. In 2022, construction began on a new winery, completed in August 2024, and on September 26th HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh officially opened the facility, an event that attracted significant media attention.

Domaine Evremond proudly presents the release of its first wine: Classic Cuvée, Edition I. As indicated on the neck label, each annual release will be numbered as a new edition, similar to a book series. Edition I is a non-vintage blend of 55% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Meunier, composed of 80% fruit from 2020 and 20% from 2019. Bottled in June 2021 and disgorged in August 2024, the wine has matured for over three years on the lees. Only 100,000 bottles have been produced.
 

Vintage 2020
 
“Tuesday, October 7th started as a clear, bright autumn day and saw the beginning of the 2020 Domaine Evremond harvest, over a week earlier that last year. It was also the first day that grapes would be picked and pressed on site at the estate in Chilham providing additional excitement and another notable day in our history.

The precocity of the year and the hot dry summer we enjoyed in 2020 favoured good ripening of the bunches. Following careful grape picking analysis over several weeks the dates were eventually chosen for harvest. The dry climate in September and the good health of the grapes made it possible to best determine the opening date of our pressing centre. Our qualitative ambition was to optimize the organoleptic parameters and the taste expression of the berries.

The fear we had at the start of the harvest was a risk of botrytis taking off following a very wet eight-day period immediately before picking. During harvest the sun and the drying wind, combined with the speed and quality of the picking, ensured a successful harvest. We had one day on the day of October 8th, where conditions changed, but overall it was a busy and good picking period. Harvest commenced with the picking of the black grape varieties (Meunier and Pinot noir) and concluded on 11th October with the Chardonnay.
We have every reason to be delighted with the quality of this harvest, fine bunches expressing good ripeness and we look forward to tasting the results over the coming months before bottling. We are happy to rejoice in this wine year, which has been a fruit year in many areas, and for grapes too! A great promise for our wines pressed and vinified for the first time at our Domaine!”
 
Christelle Rinville, Vineyard Manager of Domaine Evremond

N.B. This wine is not currently in stock but can be ordered, usually for delivery within a few weeks - please email info@cellarselect.co.uk for availability and lead time, or it will be confirmed after an order is placed.