Just 40 minutes south of Troyes lies the commune of Les Riceys, a village surrounded by vines, arable land and woods. A landscape shaped by recent farming history, where mixed farming remains more established than in the Côte des Blancs in northern Champagne. This is the setting for the Olivier Horiot wine estate.
Marie and Olivier Horiot's wine estate covers just over 9 hectares in three AOCs. They work with the 7 Champagne grape varieties: Arbane, Petit Meslier, Chardonnay, Pinot gris, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir. Olivier began by making only still wines at the dawn of the 2000s, then champagnes from 2004 onwards. "When I took over the vines in 1999, I started by making only still rosés and reds in order to better understand the terroirs." Vines have been in the Horiot family since the 17th century, but it was really Olivier's grandfather who kept the winemaking business going, planting vines after phylloxera and producing grapes for the cooperative winery.
In order to be as close as possible to the local terroirs and respect their soils, Olivier opted for biodynamic viticulture back in 2002 and obtained Biodyvin certification in 2013. For him, biodynamics means working consciously, working in harmony with the natural elements, observing and understanding biodiversity by spending time in the vineyards to capture all the subtle variations in climate. For Olivier, biodynamic viticulture is first and foremost an intimate process guided by his convictions, just like the minimal use of sulfite, which brings him closer to the natural trend. He doesn't emphasize this approach in his discourse or on his bottles. There is no mention of certification on the bottles. What's important to him is what people feel when they taste his wines, their spontaneous impressions.
Since switching to biodynamic viticulture, Olivier hasn't noticed any major yield loss. No more than 10 to 20%. On the other hand, the quality of the grapes evolves and improves to better reflect the climate of each vintage. Yields remain a sensitive issue in Champagne more than anywhere else.
Another unique feature of the Olivier Horiot wine estate is the number of cuvées produced. Each climat has its own cuvée, its own personality and its own winemaking process. The Sève and Envol cuvées are made from 100% Pinot Noir. Cuvée 5 Sens is a blend of 5 grape varieties from different terroirs. Cuvée Métisse is a blend of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir from 6 different terroirs. Soléra is a blend of 7 grape varieties.
And what can we say about the very rare cuvées Arbane and Petit Meslier, produced in very small quantities and truly deserving of their rank! Olivier Horiot also produces superb white and red Coteaux Champenois that are on a par with Champagne's finest.
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