If centuries ago a crusade brought to Europe a vine that changed the world of French wine culture, giving life to Champagne, a new crusade started centuries later from the France of Champagne de l'Aube, to conquer new market segments in Europe and Italy above all. It is led by a brilliant entrepreneur from Troyes, the capital city of the Aube department in the Cote des Bar, Stephane Revol, a manager trained at the EDC Paris Business School in Paris, also called the Ecole des Dirigeants et des Créateurs d'entreprise, based in main business district of Europe, La Défense, a University that produces the high administrative French class and beyond.
With this we already understood what we are talking about. The young Revol was so highlighted in his course at the Business School that the then Economy Minister Christine Lagarde, now the current president of the European Central Bank, immediately eyed him and he wanted to the ministry. From there she sent him to Italy, to Milan, where Revol was supported by Total, one of the world's top four companies operating in the oil and gas sector, to study penetration scenarios of large French companies on the Italian market. Three intense years of great training that promised to be the premise for a brilliant career for the young Stephane who at 23 is awarded as one of the best talents in the foreign program. But in Milan Revol also met the woman who would in the future become his wife, and this totally changed the course of his life. The brilliant manager thanked the mystery of the economy and Total for the great opportunity they had given him and following the voice of his heart he established that Milan would be his second homeland after the town of Troyes which had given him birth.
Understood the character and the importance he gives to his impulses at this point the discussion should be expanded to explain what we said at the beginning.
Stained Glass Church Troyes with the Comte de Montaigne
So let's start from Troyes. Here a thirteenth-century French leader, a certain Comte de Champagne, on his return from a crusade in the Holy Land brought back, passing through Cyprus, a stock of Chardonnay which was planted in the Aube, in the Côte des Bar. This is no small matter because in reality that Chardonnay later became fundamental for Champagne. The merchants of the nearby region, the Marne, considered in the following centuries the homeland of Champagne, immediately understood the potential of that vine and appropriated it as a bottling grape, leaving the farmers of the Aube to be able to cultivate it, to produce wine but not to be able to bottled as Champagne. A real war ensued which lasted seven centuries until at the beginning of the nineteenth century an attack by Filossera destroyed all the wine heritage of the area. Only then were the producers of the precious Aube grapes able to raise their voice with the merchants of the Marne and in exchange for the grapes they obtained the annulment of the age-old halter agreement and the possibility of bottling the precious wine also in their region with the expected label for centuries.
Among the owners of land devoted to vines in the Aube there was also Mr. Revol, father of our entrepreneur, who one day taking his twelve-year-old son to mass in the Church of Santa Maddalena in Troyes, the oldest in the city, dating back to the XNUMXth century, showed him a beautiful stained glass window in a side aisle. The Comte de Champagne was depicted there, in the act of offering the Chardonnay rooted root to the Bishop of the city. A real certificate of historical authenticity that belonged to the vignerons of the Aube compared to the merchants of the Marne who had claimed the exclusivity of Champagne.
That Sunday remained strongly imprinted in the heart of the young Revol. A strongly emotional memory for the father who passed away the following year, but also a strong pride of belonging to a territory so mistreated for centuries. And above all the pride of having inherited a maison that produced Champagne with a name written by destiny: "Comte de Montaigne", the XNUMXth century leader.
That stained glass window, her father's words, childhood memories have translated Stephane Revol into something more than an affectionate memory. There was a desire for redemption in affirming a new concept in the production of a Premium segment, not only Champagne as a luxury product, but as a story of men, of culture, of traditions, of sacrifices, and therefore of passion and respect for a land, the Aube, remained too long in the shadow of the Marne. In short, a story of heart and love.
Let's translate it into facts: Revol uses a very effective image to make its relationship with its product understood: "we have 40 hectares divided into 80 parcels, and I feel like a gardener because each of these parcels has its own character that changes depending on the terrain. Just think of one thing: we have 80 temperature-controlled silos for 80 different wines. And this precisely to bring out the different characteristics due to the exposure, the distance from the river, the height of the vineyards, the characteristics of the terroir. All these characteristics make the difference then in the bottle. So we can obtain an extraordinary range of wines that have different typicalities and finalities of consumption".
And this already introduces the philosophy of the Revol family whereby wine is placed before the market. The workmanship makes it text.
Between January and April every year we proceed to the tasting of the different Cuvées, born from the first fermentation. A job that takes time, because this living material is constantly evolving. At the end of several tastings, only selected wines can be part of the Comte de Montaigne. Each Cuvée corresponds to a specific assemblage.
Once the assemblages have been completed, the wines are bottled, with the addition of yeasts for the second fermentation. In Comte de Montaigne, aging on the lees is twice as long as the minimum required by the specification. This is to give more complexity to the wines. The bottles are aged for 36 months, without light and oxygen, at a constant temperature of 10,5 degrees Celsius. The moment of remuage follows. The paddles must have great regularity and maximum precision, which is essential for the quality of the remuage and consequently for the brilliance of the wine.
Then follow the disgorgement, the dosage and the habillage.
In order for the wine to reach its apogee in the Revol house, it takes a long time. “For our basic product, 55 months pass between the moment of the harvest and the moment in which the bottle leaves the cellar – underlines the entrepreneur – while on average for the other Champagnes this time is reduced to 19 months. And that makes the difference."
It is clear at this point that a Premium product such as Comte del Montaigne has significant production costs which affect profitability. But Revol does not compromise on this: “our Comte de Montaigne is a Champagne that has the heart, the heart of a land, of those who work it, of those who produce it. Comte de Montaigne is passion, emotion, warmth, closeness, joie de vivre. Unique characteristics that only an out of the ordinary champagne can give. Because everything is different from the usual champagnes: its origin, its vineyards, the land where it grows, the production that follows a unique tradition".
He gets excited when he talks about his creature and knowing his biography it is clear that this entrepreneur knows how to combine feeling and business. A feeling that is not limited to the processing phase. The love for the territory already develops upstream in the processing of the vine which translates into some important best practices that minimize the harmful effects of winemaking on the surrounding ecosystem. For example: the specification that the Maison has given itself includes a maximum of three annual treatments of the vineyard, which are carried out only in the event of plant diseases and never as a preventive measure, as is usually the case. The management and tillage of the soil are aimed at increasing the organic matter content and therefore at reducing the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. Furthermore, to counteract the harmful effects of frost on the vines, gas is not used to heat the vineyard, but simple water, which having a freezing point of zero degrees, is sprayed on the buds, which would otherwise freeze at minus 2 degrees, to protect them. And further compliance with Corporate Social Responsibility is also recorded in the production cycle: after the first fermentation of the must at a controlled temperature, the in-house oenologists follow with fermentation in the bottle called prize de mousse, which almost eliminates CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.
Stephane Revol in the Champagne Comte de Montaigne soils
The Brut Grande Réserve (70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay), the Extra Brut Grande Réserve (70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay), the Rosé Grande Réserve (Rosé de Saignée, 100% Pinot Noir without addition of old wine), the Blanc de Blancs Grande Réserve Brut (100% Chardonnay), the Cuvée Spéciale Brut (100% Pinot Noir). Just to mention the champions of Comte de Montaigne.
Champion and Premium. But let's ask Revol if it makes sense today to think of a market for high-end products in a situation of general crisis and economic stagnation like the one we are experiencing.
And here the former model student of the Christine Lagarde Business School enfant prodige who looks over the hedge takes over.
Since the beginning of the year, the maison has launched an online sales platform, a real revolution for a house used to exclusive wine bars, high-level catering, high-end hotels, an audience of demanding consumers . Expected deliveries in twenty-four European countries in just twenty-four hours, at competitive costs, with free shipping in Italy and France for orders over six bottles. Obviously the packaging is strictly eco-sustainable and safe, in full compliance with the "green" policy that has always characterized the company.
It will not only be an e-Commerce platform, but also a channel for collecting reviews from Italian and foreign customers. Furthermore, users of the online shop will also be involved in the world of the Maison through special initiatives on the company's social networks (Instagram and Facebook).
Is this 'democratization' of the relationship with a wider clientele enough to ensure future commercial developments?
“This will only be a tool – replies Revol – the moment is certainly penalizing for the sector, but in the recovery, consumers will no longer be the same as before. This crisis has brought out new needs, new attention from consumers. We have used this moment to reflect, to reason. Which everyone should do. In times of crisis, in times of war, bonds are created that are destined to last over time. We wanted to approach our current and future customers with a dialogue tool. But above all, upon recovery, it is foreseeable that the market will demand quality, authenticity, values, respect for the rules, attention to the environment, these will be the effects of the fears that the Coronavirus leaves behind. At that appointment we present our history made of authenticity and passion, of the work of men and of attention to the territory, of eco-sustainability, and I am sure that the Italians will be able to appreciate it”.
In short, for Revol this Champagne should not be seen as a luxury product but for its history as a breath of optimism in life, something to share in happy moments. It is a Champagne that has heart
