Jacques Picard: Bastion of Berru

A stone’s throw east of Reims there’s a place you most likely haven’t heard of. Berru is an historic village that has been at the frontline of battlegrounds during both World Wars. Since the 1950s, it has enjoyed considerable success, thanks to one family, which are also blazing a trail making fine expressions of this lesser-known terroir. 

It was a particularly cold and windy day, but at least the sun was out. I was running late, once again underestimating the time it would take to go between appointments – this time from Oger in the Côte des Blancs, to Berru just 7km east of Reims.

A few lead-footed moments hurtling over the rolling hills and tiny laneways, and I had finally arrived. There was an old cobblestone house, with an appended red-brick gateway, and a lady waving to me from the wood-framed window. A French cliché, it seemed, confirmed when she began summonsing me down the driveway to avoid the awkwardness of foreign language exchange.

I was greeted by an entourage of three men and a dog, all kicking about, waiting for this Aussie girl to arrive.

“Bonjour Sara!” came the enthusiastic greeting, overriding my tardiness, from José Lievens as he approached from down the way. Underneath the warmth of a woollen beanie and layers of winter clothes, he cut a convincing French version of Sean Connery

I apologised, and patted the dog, before being bundled into the four-cab utility vehicle wedged between the members of my entourage including José’s Paris-based son, Théo, and champagne-loving neighbour. We drove barely a hundred metres above the property, on Mont de Berru, to survey the land.

This was the ‘historic cradle’ of Jacques Picard’s wines. Vineyards, wrapped around the dense forest atop Mont de Berru, are heavily planted to chardonnay, followed by meunier and a little pinot noir. Long ago these slopes were under water – during the Cretaceous period – today’s result is up to 400m of chalk sediment beneath 60cm of topsoil.

“It was essentially an island,” says José. “And the Montagne de Reims was a coast. Here we have a nice place - like we are on the beach!”

I smile at the humour of the situation, as the wind blasts past at sonic speed and the chill settles into every fibre of my bones.

“Unlike the Côte des Blancs where you have a big distance between the forest and the flat place, we have a short coteaux,” says José. “Here the complexity of soil is very good.”

The paleontological effect of Berru’s ‘big history in a small place’ imparts an unusual tapestry of aroma, flavour and texture into their champagnes. Estate vineyards around the ‘mont’ face mostly south-east and have a moderate gradient. And the nearby estuary provides sediment but also erosion, the combination of both makes for fuller bodied wines with powerful fruit and wonderful freshness.

Since this year, the estate has been certified organic – more than 10 years in the making. Standing there, on Mont de Berru, we observe the expansive plot before us.

“Here it is two hectares, which is rare in Champagne, but it makes organics easier,” says José, adding that generous and drying winds sweeping over and up the coteaux also helps. It means that roots go deeper, and are less stressed, and wines are fresher and more flavoursome. But it also means keeping the younger members of the family engaged and interested, like his son, Théo.

Berru was at the frontline of both World Wars and was all but decimated in the process. It was José’s wife’s grandfather – Roger Picard – who revived the village in the 1950s by planting vines after it was granted Champagne appellation status. But it was Roger’s son, Jacques Picard, who made the first bottling in the 1960s.

Today, estate vineyards extend beyond Berru to ensure ‘the right grape on the right terroir’. There are 17 hectares in total, including vines in Montbré in the central part of the Montagne de Reims (planted with meunier), and Avenay Val d’Or near Épernay (planted with pinot noir).

Since the 1990s, José and his wife, Corinne, have run the business along with Corinne’s sister, Sylvie, and her husband. They also tend to some vines close by for Pol Roger. As owners and winegrowers, production occurs exclusively on their land, with grapes only from their vineyards which gives them a Récoltant Manipulant (RM) status.

There are a mind-boggling ten champagnes in the portfolio that play largely to chardonnay and reserve wine blends as well as Coteaux Champenois and Ratafia. Pressing occurs plot-by-plot and fermentation is primarily in stainless steel vats that are stored in a multi-level cellar modernised in 2010 to accommodate a larger number of reserves. Most champagnes are aged much longer than mandatory requirements – up to five years for non-vintages – and are low or no dosage. There are some exceptions – oak can be found in a single-vineyard bottling as well as some beautifully crafted ‘Art de Vigne’ vintage champagnes which are vinified and aged in oak with ten years on lees.

The result is champagne of clear stylistic difference, championing the lesser-known terroir of Berru with vividness, purity and supple fruit character.

We conclude with a solid tasting of Jacques Picard’s best champagnes, starting with their Brut Réserve, only made with the ‘heart of the cuvée’ which has spent a staggering five years on lees. The compilation favours chardonnay at 75 percent, followed by 20 percent meunier and 5 percent pinot noir, then blended with 40 percent reserve wines. The nose is deliciously laden with pastries and the romance of spring florals. And the palate is full and fruity but also crisp.

Lieven's Brut Nature Double Solera, a compilation of 20 vintages, has produced a wine pulsating with energy that is clean and cut-through but also texturally silky after four years on lees. 75 percent of the solera is chardonnay with the balance made up of pinot noir and meunier. Les Termes, a 60 percent meunier and 40 percent pinot noir blanc de noirs from Montbré, has a flinty minerality and granular texture following six years on lees. Just 4g/L dosage keeps thing fresh, precise and minerally driven with some subtle red fruit character.

Moving up to something more exclusive, Art de Vigne Millésime 2007 crafted with 60 percent chardonnay and the balance split between pinot noir and meunier, has a gorgeous display of truffles and mushroom alongside the sweetness of dried fruits. Millésime 2008 was on another level, as you might well expect, with a lovely lightness, lemon zest and delicate finesse. We finished on Art de Vigne Millésime 2009, which was elevated and elegant with pure fruit character. The entire series is vinified and aged in oak with partial malolactic fermentation. A whopping ten years reveals wonderful aromatic complexity and a refined texture.

I walked away from my visit with a clear appreciation for all the work they have done; not only for their namesake, but for the recognition of this lesser-known terroir of Berru.

Words by Sara Underdown

Photography by Claire Lucet