Champagne Ruppert Leroy

Bénédicte Ruppert and Emmanuel Leroy

In Essoyes, in the heart of the Côte des Bar in southern Champagne, the story of Bénédicte Ruppert and Emmanuel Leroy is an inspiration. Their commitment to biodynamic champagnes has made them key figures of natural wine.
Before bubbles, Bénédicte and Emmanuel shared another passion: kayaking. PE teachers for fifteen years, they met on the water. But it was among the vines that they formed their finest partnership. The 4 hectares of vines belonged to Bénédicte’s parents: in 2009 the couple took over the estate and created Champagne Ruppert-Leroy. The following year they bottled their first cuvée, and Bénédicte trained with the great teacher Pierre Masson, a champion of biodynamics in France.

Nature at the heart of Ruppert-Leroy champagnes

“Our biodynamic approach aims at balancing the vine in its vertical relationship between soil and air. It is a long, slow process in which we move forward through observation, trial and error, questioning… and a lot of pleasure.” You get it: harmony with nature, or nothing.
Nestled among woods, pastures and animals, the estate nurtures biodiversity: grassed vineyards with no fewer than 35 sown species across four hectares, plans for tree islands within the plots, biodynamic compost made on the farm, compost tea and horn manure to feed soil life. Shoots are braided rather than trimmed, to reduce stress on the vine. “I make my wine in the vineyard. In the cellar, we work as naturally as possible. We hardly intervene in the wines.” concludes Bénédicte.

Champagnes of excellence, by nature

“To showcase our terroirs, we make one cuvée per year, keeping each plot separate. We use the native yeasts from our grapes, with no fining and no filtration; cold stabilisation happens naturally thanks to winter frosts, to best respect the nature of our wines.” explains Emmanuel Leroy. All their champagnes are brut nature, with no dosage and no additives.
Fosse-Grély blends Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in equal parts, on red clays that give ripe grapes. Aged 9 months on lees in barrels and demi-muids, then 18 to 20 months on laths, it is a dense, vinous champagne with notes of citrus, vineyard peach and liquorice, and a mineral finish.
Papillon is a 100% Pinot Noir from the La Fosse plot: a vinous champagne with creamy bubbles, frank and generous.
Martin Fontaine is a 100% Chardonnay from a very chalky plot: an incredibly lively, mouth-watering champagne that goes straight to the point.
11, 12, 13… comes from a perpetual reserve bringing together several years of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from all the plots: grapefruit, sweet spices, cinnamon and nutmeg, for a champagne of great finesse.
We have also enjoyed offering the Puzzle cuvée. If these champagnes have made your mouth water… don’t wait any longer!