🍾 Nicolas Feuillatte

Nicolas Feuillatte is a Champagne brand of a growers’ cooperative based in Chouilly, in the Côte des Blancs. According to the house, the Centre Vinicole de la Champagne was set up in 1972, on the initiative of Henri Macquart, so that growers could jointly secure the sale of their grapes. The brand itself was created in 1976 by Nicolas Feuillatte, a Paris-born businessman from a family of wine and spirits merchants; in 1986 he sold it to the Centre Vinicole and stayed on as its ambassador.

On 1 January 2022 the Centre Vinicole merged with the Coopérative Régionale des Vins de Champagne (Champagne Castelnau) to form the group Terroirs & Vignerons de Champagne. The range includes Réserve Exclusive Brut and Rosé, vintage wines, grand cru blanc de blancs and blanc de noirs, and the prestige Palmes d’Or.

Champagne is a wine with a protected designation of origin (PDO). The bubbles come only from a second fermentation in the bottle, the wine is aged for at least 15 months before sale (36 for vintage), and all production takes place only within the delimited area. Nicolas Feuillatte is a brand; Champagne is the name of a place.

Why it matters to you. Grand cru on the label refers to the village where the grapes were grown, and blanc de noirs means a white wine from black grapes; “Réserve Exclusive” or “Palmes d’Or” are the house’s own names. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.