Domaine Vincey

If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. Meet the impressive husband and wife team shaking things up in Oger.

They say that history depends on a new generation to write a new chapter. In Champagne, where generational legacies are sometimes centuries old, setting down one’s own path can mean writing a whole new book.

Take, for example, one of Champagne’s newest – and youngest - grower-producers, husband and wife team Quentin Vincey and Marine Zabarino. Just weeks’ out from having their first baby, they welcomed me at their small but growing estate in Oger, located in chardonnay’s heartland - the Côte des Blancs. They are impressive, if not radical, for growers in this village.

It’s not just because their wines are incredibly good, nor is it because they’re getting better with every release, they are fearless pioneers in a village where most of the 500 producers are attached to just two local cooperatives. And it’s not going unnoticed.

Quentin is the domaine’s eighth-generation winegrower. In the 12 years following wine school, he has taken rein of the family’s vineyards, grown their holdings, commenced organic and biodynamic conversion and shifted the business from supplying a local cooperative to making their own champagne.

Quentin and Marine released their first champagne from the 2014 harvest, titled ‘La Première’ – because it was their first attempt – a 100 percent Oger blanc de blancs made from old vines dating back to 1954. In 2016 they changed the name to simply ‘Oger’ and are redesigning the bottle shape and label to reflect its metamorphosis in line with the domaine’s progress. It’s a big deal because there are very few single cru bottlings of Oger due to the organisation of growers with the cooperatives.

Back in the early days, they worked with oak as well as stainless steel, and organic viticulture was just a dream. Today, they use only oak and organic certification (which commenced in 2019 to Agriculture Biologique and Demeter) will become reality sometime next year. Their vision for independence from the cooperative system, let alone organics, has meant going out on a limb.

There is no ‘school’ of organics. Quentin learned the conventional way - as most of them did. Traversing the holy grail of sustainable viticulture is challenging to say the least, if not dissuading, unless one has a family lineage of learnings to draw upon or is backed by some solid mentoring. For the latter they turned to neighbour, Laurent Vauversin, the only other organic grower in the village - who seemed a natural choice - as well as Jean-Philippe Waris from Waris-Larmandier. Organic farming began in 2014 with their oldest vines and a huge investment in materials and people. Then in 2018, the couple stepped-up their efforts to biodynamics. Animals were ushered in - borrowed from neighbours - horses for tilling and sheep to maintain grass between rows, instead of using a tractor.

Training organised by Demeter has also helped them to succeed but so too has a communal approach working with Côte des Blancs luminaries, De Sousa, and other growers to strengthen biodynamic resources such as compost and biodynamic preparations.

Training organised by Demeter has also helped them to succeed but so too has a communal approach working with Côte des Blancs luminaries, De Sousa, and other growers to strengthen biodynamic resources such as compost and biodynamic preparations.

Maintaining an organic path has added challenge to acquiring more vineyards, which are geographically dispersed, to keep up with what they see as a steady increase in future demand.

There are now seven hectares. Five are grand cru chardonnay across five hectares in the Côte des Blancs, mostly located in Oger, but also Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly and Villeneuve-Renneville-Chevigny. Then there are two hectares in the Côte des Bar, specifically the village of Essoyes (planted to pinot noir and chardonnay), some old meunier vines in Mardeuil, more meunier in Germaine, and chardonnay in Oeuilly. They have plans to acquire more, but closer to Oger, so that organics, which is already labour-intensive, is easier.

Since their first release in 2020, Domaine Vincey’s production has skyrocketed from 2,000 bottles to 25,000 annually. And whilst almost all have been destined for export, the market for French consumption is starting to take off.

“Our aim is for minimal intrusion,” says Marine as we move deep into the coolness of Domaine Vincey’s cellars where there are modest rows of barrels filled with the previous year’s wines.

She offers for me to taste vins clairs (still wines) from several barrels. ‘Oger’ vins clairs are redolent with vanilla, spice and apple whilst others intended for ‘Le Grand Jardin’ throw-up references to Morocco with tagine aromatics. They are beautiful wines, even in this naked state, aromatically pronounced as well as silky and concentrated on the palate. She goes on to compare today’s result with their first attempt in 2014 when things were very different.

“There wasn’t even a press,” she says. Neighbours were called upon to use their equipment and higher levels of sulphur applied to protect the juice, which was necessary for transporting back to their cellars.

By 2016 they had dug-out large holes at the property so they could work with gravity - instead of filtration - and apply minimal sulphur. It was also the first vintage they pressed at the site which Marine says was challenging because of the difficult spring season. Friend, Guillaume Selosse, encouraged them to push maturity and aging in barrel was extended beyond May, when they would normally commence bottling. Now, they keep wines on élevage, in oak, for around one year before long maturation in bottles.

They also work in the Burgundian way, separating the press into three zones; top slope, middle slope and the bottom, according to each vineyard. And since vintage 2019, they have reduced the need for sulphur and started using the taille, which is aromatically richer and fruitier. Malolactic fermentation is also blocked.

Today’s result is “champagnes we want more of,” says Marine, who also believes that wine from the Côte des Blancs needs this extra time and responds well to ‘living materials’ (such as oak) instead of those made with modern resources.

Today’s result is “champagnes we want more of,” says Marine, who also believes that wine from the Côte des Blancs needs this extra time and responds well to ‘living materials’ (such as oak) instead of those made with modern resources.

Eight years on from their first vintage, Quentin and Marine have achieved something extraordinary, and completed the first chapter of an entirely new book. The next instalment may be just as ambitious as they acquire more land, release a Coteaux Champenois and new champagnes, all the while pushing the boundaries of great winegrowing and making.

As the saying goes…if there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.

Champagnes to try

Domaine Vincey is all about celebrating the beauty of Côte des Blancs chardonnay with specific reference to Oger. They are fresh and vibrant in style, with a strong chalk mineral backbone, but also opulent, juicy and textural. On the palate, they feel luxurious and approachable to drink. The bottlings ‘Oger’ and ‘Le Grand Jardin’ offer a rare and wonderful insight into Oger.

Domaine Vincey Oger 2017

100% chardonnay from Oger taken from several single vineyards with old vines up to 60 years old. 100% barrel fermented. Light bâtonnage. Aged one year in barrel. No malolactic fermentation. No fining or filtration. Aged three years on lees on cork. Dosage 1g/L. 8,297 bottles produced.

I will never forget the moment I first tasted Domaine Vincey’s Oger 2016. An absolutely stunning blanc de blancs loaded with spritz, crunch and zing and an otherworldly texture and porcelain-like delicacy.

2017 carries forward a good deal of this albeit with more generosity on the palate, juiciness and sweet spice. An absolute cracker for vintage 2017.

Domaine Vincey Le Grand Jardin 2015

100% chardonnay taken from a single vineyard planted in 1967. 100% barrel fermented. No malolactic fermentation. No fining or filtration. Aged eight months in barrel. Light bâtonnage. Bottled and matured under cork on lees for five years. Zero dosage. 2,024 bottles produced.

Step-up in profile to Le Grand Jardin, heralding from single-vineyard old vines. The nose here is slightly more tropical than citrus and the palate, richer and creamier, with bucket loads of energy.

Domine Vincey Interlude

100% chardonnay from Oger. Old vines, massale selection on limestone and chalk. 1/3 from 2015 aged for two years on lees and 2/3 from 2016 aged for one year on lees. No malolactic fermentation. No fining or filtration. Light bâtonnage. Four years aging on cork. No dosage. 1,240 bottles.

Until now, Domaine Vincey has only released vintages, which makes sense given their relatively short history to squirrel away reserve wines from previous years.

This year will mark another leap forward in the couple’s journey – their inaugural non-vintage release titled ‘Interlude’; a tiny production of a little over one thousand bottles with one-third based on 2015 with the balance comprising 2016.

In Champagne, I previewed this latest bottling. It’s wonderfully pronounced on the nose with a sweet white fruit character, oaky nuances and florals, underscored by subtle aldehydes. Masterfully textured and rich, adding layers of juicy luxury.

Words by Sara Underdown
Photography by Claire Lucet

In Australia, you can purchase Domaine Vincey directly from the importer Champagne de Vigneron