The historic Domaine Lagille is being powerfully propelled by the current generation Vincent and his sister Maud. Located in Treslon near the city of Reims, the family’s plantings comprise 7.3 hectares planted mostly to Pinot Meunier, from which they are crafting beautiful and terroir-driven Champagne.

Domaine Lagille

Founded in Treslon in 1818 near the city of Reims, Domaine Lagille owns 7.20 hectares planted mainly to Pinot Meunier, which makes up 55 percent of their vineyards, with the rest being planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The current generation, Vincent, joined the family business in 2012 and has been a driving force of change and improvement at the domain, placing a heavy focus on the work being done in the vineyard, along with moving towards a few special terroir-oriented bottlings that are profound and worth snatching up.

Champagne Lagille works primarily with single varieties for each wine and Vincent has shown exceptional skill working with Pinot Meunier. Vincent has pruned all the vines in Cordon de Royat – something usually reserved for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Grand Cru vineyard sites.

The only blended bottling is the La Grande Réserve, which is composed of equal parts Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. “For the rest, the choice was made to let our terroir speak for itself through each grape variety." Vincent’s focus in the winery is clear: minimal dosage, vinification in barrel, and search for tension and identity in the wines and plots.

Katharina Wechsler grew up in and around what has become the undisputed top area for producing dry Riesling in all of Germany. However, her family sold off their grapes planted in Kirschpiel, Morstein and an adjacent monopole vineyard called Benn. After studying winemaking in Oppenheim and working with the icon Klaus Peter Keller, Katharina is now making incredible wine from her family’s inherited treasures.

K. Wechsler

Katharina Wechsler’s family holdings in the Reinhessen are enough to make any lover of Riesling salivate. In addition to parcels in the well-known GG vineyards Kirchspiel and Morstein, her family is the sole owner of a vineyard located between the two iconic sites called Benn.

After university in Paris and a career in Berlin, Katharina returned home in 2009 to her family’s vineyards and decided to take up a career in winemaking, enrolling in a local program to study viticulture and oenology. It was during this period that Katharina met and worked with Riesling’s most revered name: Klaus Peter Keller. His influence and advice were paramount for Katharina, as they share and work close by with some of the top vineyards in all of Germany.

The Weschler’s own 16 hectares of vines split between Riesling, Burgundian varietals, and some local grapes that Katharina is making into some unique bottlings – her lovely range of bottlings from the variety Scheurebe come immediately to mind.

Working towards healthier vineyards is a huge priority for Katharina whose first official organic certified year was 2021; she’s also implemented some biodynamic practices the year prior. Katharina’s career and wines have been inspiring for us and we’re excited to continue to follow her wines.

Based in Morey-Saint Denis with prime holdings throughout the Cote de Nuits, the Lignier family has been crafting long-lived and elegant wines for generations.The estate has spent the past two decades converting to organic viticulture, achieving certification in 2019 led by Hubert’s son Laurent. Thanks to Laurent’s impeccable decision-making in the vineyards and in the cellar, the Lignier wines are as delicious as ever.

Hubert Lignier

With a history dating back to 1885, Domaine Hubert Lignier owns a little less than 10 hectares spread around several villages of the Cote de Nuits. Based in Morey-Saint-Denis, the family owns a robust set of Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards in their home village supplemented by choice parcels in Gevrey, Chambolle, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Pommard, and Saint-Romain. Since 2006, led by the current generation Laurent, the estate has been moving towards organic practices in all of the vineyards, and they achieved the Agriculture Biologique certification in 2019.

The Lignier’s work exclusively with destemmed fruit that is fermented in open-top cement tanks and fermented with natural yeasts. A point of focus for Laurent and the family is to work with old-vine massale selections, with some of their oldest dating back to 1936.

Laurent also prefers extended cold soaks pre-fermentation to allow for deeper extractions and long-lived and sensual wines. The usage of new oak is applied carefully and diligently, never exceeding 50% for premier cru and grand cru bottlings and the wines typically spend 18-24 months in barrel before being bottled without fining and filtration. It’s hard to find a domaine with such a clear direction and such regal wines.