After the First World War, Maurice Doyard brought back his vineyards from ruin, in Vertus. As he was preparing his vineyards to produce Champagne he helped to organize an association of Champagne producers. They have one premier cru vineyard and four grand cru vineyards all located within the prestigious zones of Vertus, Oger le Mesnil, Oger, Avize, and Cramant/Ay. Today Yannick Doyard oversees his family’s vineyard working hard to maintain their reputation through the highest quality. The champagne tour is performed by the son of the owner and it’s very informative. We were taken to see part of the vineyard, the caves and explained the entire process so that we can understand it all. I know now more about champagne than at anytime before. During our stay at their hotel we tasted different champagnes and bought one unique champagne in the the entire region. It’s called “La Libertine” and the uniqueness comes from the fact that it contains 60g of sugar making it a sweet champagne. The vintage “The Libertine” is the culmination of a search for more than ten years. The goal was to get as close to the first taste characteristics of a Champagne from the early eighteenth century.The bottle is gorgeous with textured surface and the cork tied with rope tied in a seal. The Libertine has no equivalent and approaching any current Champagne. It’s the result of the assembling of three to five different vintages and ten years of cellaring. A visit at Doyard Champagne is a must.
