History behind Guy de Chassey

He Wines She Dines is proud to work with quality growers and vineyards in the champagne market. One of the growers is Guy de Chassey; our business has worked closely with this champagne producer for a couple of years. HWSD chooses to work with growers like Guy de Chassey because they produce sustainable, high-quality Champagne made by hand. Last June, Tim and Jen traveled to Guy de Chassey's house to learn more about their growers and build close relationships with them. They are now like family and one of our highest-quality champagne growers

From the beginning

Guy de Chassey was built at the beginning of the 12th century and is located in Montagne de Reims, between Marne and the Vesle Rivers, in the village of Louvois, France. Louvois is known for its history of the castle situated opposite the house of Guy de Chassey, which once was owned by Gaucher de Chatillon, the first lord of Louvois, Michel Le Tellier, the famous Louvois’s father, a minister of Louis XIV, and later become the property of the first ladies of France and Marie Antoinette. After suffering the horrors of multiple revolutions and wars, only a few remains still stand today, as they were once known as the Versailles of the Champagne region. Louvois is now well-known for its Grand Cru 100% classified vineyard, something that only 17 villages have accomplished in the champagne production market.

About

Guy de Chassey has received the prestigious label of Grand Cru 100%, and each bottle is hand-made at every step of its production. The vineyards cover 9.5 hectares of land, equal to 23 acres. All bottles of champagne are made of either Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, or both. The vineyard has clay-limestone soil, and the grape varieties include 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay. Guy de Chassey believes in production sustainability by growing all of its grapes for its champagnes, which results in 4,000 bottles a year. The vineyards are not weeded to avoid herbicide use but rather use sustainable vine-growing techniques to preserve the quality of the water, soil, air, and fauna. The vineyard uses a new straddle tractor to help work the soil and use the exact quantity of products. They use a wooden vertical press to get a softer and qualitative extraction of the grape juice. The winery uses stainless steel tanks that have thermoregulation, which results in a controlled temperature of 64 degrees Fahrenheit. The riddling of the bottles is hand-turned, which entails turning all 4000 champagne bottles every couple of weeks until all the sediment is collected in the neck of the bottle and disgorged, then corked.

On our website

All of the Guy de Chassey Champagne that we have listed on our website has the prestigious Grand Cru 100% label. HWSD currently carries four bottles with different attributes, so you will find one you love. The first is Guy de Chassey Champagne Brut Millesime 2012; this Champagne is the result of mixing 50% Pinot noir and 50% Chardonnay and has notes of candied yellow fruit, sweet mature flowers, and touches of spices. Second is Guy de Chassey Champagne Extra Brut N.V., which consists of Grand Cru Pinot noir and has notes of white fruit and a touch of citrus, with aromas of mandarin and lemon jam with a mineral finish. Next, we have Guy de Chassey Nicolas D'Olivet Cuvée Reservée Champagne Brut 2016, which is a special champagne that is aged in oak barrels and is made of 60% Pinot noir and 40% Chardonnay. It has vivid acidity with notes of marmalade, pear, grape, and apple, with mineral aromas of flint that opens up linden, black pepper, plum and almond. Finally, we have Guy de Chassey Champagne Brut Rosé N.V., which is made of 70% Pinot noir and 30% Chardonnay; the match of red fruit with black fruit reveals a balance between the Pinot noir and the natural acidity of the grapes.

Passed through generations

Guy de Chassey has been passed through seven generations of the Chassey family. The first two generations of the family were vine growers. The third generation began to operate under the name Lucien Beaufort. From then, only one family member carried on the expertise to pass on from generation to generation. Today, the family business is run by Marie Odile de Chassey and her daughter Ingrid, who perpetuate the family's beautiful story in a feminine way by being an all-female-run winery.