Champagne Drappier is the sometimes overlooked Côte des Bar’s leading light – and has long been a true champion of Pinot Noir.
TUCKED AWAY down in the Côte des Bar, the southern satellite of the Champagne region, lies Champagne Drappier. Innovation is an accolade frequently bandied about in the world of wine but, in the case of Drappier, it’s hard to find a better fit for a Champagne house.
Certified carbon neutral since 2016, it won the 2017 Green Award from the drinks business and was awarded a prize for innovation by La RVF wine magazine in 2019. The Drappier family was instrumental in the replanting of the Pinot Noir grape in the region, and it would be impossible to account for the recent rise in popularity and critical acclaim of the long-overlooked Côte des Bar Champagnes without its mention. For almost a century, the Côte des Bar played second (or third, or fourth) fiddle to the Vallée de la Marne, the Côte des Blancs and the Montagne de Reims in the north. It officially became part of the Champagne appellation in 1927, but never enjoyed the same level of admiration as its cousins.
The Côte des Bar’s differing soils and climate means it may have more in common with Kimmeridgian Chablis than chalky Épernay, though perhaps the mindset is more Burgundian too, more terroir-driven. But that is where the similarities with Chablis end, with 84% of the Côte des Bar now planted with Pinot Noir. As the most southern part of Champagne, and the sunniest, the dominance of Pinot Noir makes sense. Drappier’s best-known cuvées are Pinot Noir-dominant, including Carte d’Or. With a reputation so tied to the pernickety grape, the late, great André Drappier was known as Père Pinot in the region.