Stéphane Regnault

Stéphane Regnault is a winemaker in the heart of the Côte des Blancs, in the Grand Cru village of Mesnil-sur-Oger. He believes that the winemaker's job is to help the vines express their terroir to the full.
Time is essential, indispensable, for understanding the terroir. So Stéphane will need several years of work in the vines before he can start making his own wine. He first converted his estate to sustainable viticulture (HVE & VDC certification), then to organic farming from the 2020 harvest. In the same vein, he is influenced by biodynamic viticulture, using horn dung (500P), silica (501), valerian (507), infusions and decoctions of plants (nettle, horsetail, comfrey, yarrow, etc.). All these practices contribute to reducing the doses of copper and sulphur, but also to increasing respect for the soil and living organisms.
At Stéphane Regnault, winemaking is as simple as it gets. A beautiful, expressive grape stands on its own.
He chooses to make parcel-based champagnes. Each plot has its own history, its own identity, which is also why all fermentation during the harvest is spontaneous, the idea being that each plot has its own biodiversity, its own flora. The ferments, naturally present on the skin of the grapes, are different from one plot to another!
Fermentation therefore takes place naturally. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is matured. Long months of work with the lees allow the wine to develop and acquire complexity. The use of SO2 is exceptional.