Champagne Philippe Fontaine
champagne
philippe fontaine
A family estate in the southern Aube making grower Champagne from some of the most distinctive soils in the region.
The Philippe Fontaine Team
The Fontaine family has farmed in Balnot-sur-Laignes for generations. For most of that time, their grapes went to larger houses — good fruit grown on serious land, with someone else's name on the bottle. Philippe Fontaine changed that when he established the domaine. His daughter Salomé now leads winemaking.
Salomé's approach is attentive without being interventionist. She works parcel by parcel, watches what the land wants to do, and gets out of the way. Philippe set the foundation; she carries it forward with her own read on the vineyards.
Farming and Winemaking
The Côte des Bar sits in the southern Aube, well removed from the chalky Marne appellations that most people picture when they think Champagne. The soils here are Kimmeridgian limestone and marl — the same geological formation running through Chablis and parts of the eastern Loire — rich in fossilized marine life and producing wines with more texture and weight than the region's northern counterparts. The climate is slightly warmer and more continental, which gives the wines aromatic definition alongside that structural character.
Harvest is by hand. Each variety is vinified separately. Pruning wood goes back into the vineyard rows rather than being burned. Cover crops run between the vines for soil health and erosion control. Farming is conducted with organic products throughout. In the cellar, the philosophy follows from the vineyard: minimal intervention, patience, and nothing imposed that the fruit doesn't call for.
Balnot-sur-Laignes & Les Riceys
The estate's vineyards are centered in Balnot-sur-Laignes, where vines average 30 years of age on chalky, marly soils from the Jurassic era. Additional parcels extend to Polisot and Les Riceys — the latter being one of the few communes in Champagne to hold three separate AOCs: Champagne, Coteaux Champenois, and Rosé des Riceys. Vineyards are oriented east to southeast at approximately 590 feet of elevation. Grapes are pressed, vinified, and finished entirely on-site.
Philippe Fontaine Brut Tradition is available through K&N Wine Company. Contact us for wholesale pricing and availability.
