2019 Doyard Champagne 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs “Clos de l’Abbaye” Extra Brut, Champagne, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

Doyard’s 2019 Clos de l’Abbaye is a highly site-specific Blanc de Blancs from Vertus, made entirely from Chardonnay. The fruit comes from a tiny, enclosed parcel of roughly half a hectare planted in 1956 on intensely chalky soils. Doyard farms the site without chemical inputs, works the soil by horse, and deliberately keeps yields low to emphasize concentration and terroir. 

The Chardonnay is vinified entirely in seasoned Burgundy barrels, with no chaptalization and no malolactic fermentation, preserving the naturally firm acidity of the site. This disgorgement carries an extra brut dosage of 2 g/L. The 2019 release was disgorged in 2024. disgorgement dates can vary by lot. Production is tiny—Doyard generally produces only about 1,500 bottles plus 150 magnums of Clos de l’Abbaye.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

The Doyard family traces their winemaking roots in Champagne back to 1677 when a marriage license of Jean-Baptise Doyard showed “winegrower” as the occupation. Maurice Doyard was the first in the family to make wine in Vertus under the Doyard label in 1927, officially signifying the domaine’s foundation. In 1979, Yannick Doyard took over, turning it into a beacon for precise, vinous, mineral-etched Champagne in the Côtes des Blancs.

Today, Yannick’s son Guillaume is at the helm, farming 10 ha of prime vineyards in Vertus and the Grand Cru villages of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cramant, Oger, Avize and Aÿ. The domaine employs organic farming in the vines, with most of the vineyards worked by horse. Yields are kept very low, adding to the concentrated intensity that defines the estate’s style. In the cellar, state of the art double-banked Coquard PAI presses are employed to get the cleanest and most delicate juice possible and every parcel is vinified separately in barrel. All of the wines undergo very long lees aging before disgorgement — a minimum of 48 months on all cuvées — which truly sets them apart from much of Champagne and is a key component to achieve the incredible complexity and depth that is found throughout their magnificent lineup.