Champgne Pointillart Leroy

A life full of fights

The history of Champagne Pointillart-Leroy began at the end of the 19^th century. In 1894, the Champagne region is hardly affected by phylloxera. For about 10 years, the whole Champagne vineyard was devastated. Emile Leroy, his wife Pulchérie Griffon and their two sons Louis and Henri, were also affected by this disaster.

The family decided to struggle and strived for containing the disease that destroyed their vines and those of their neighbours. In 1904, the couple sent its two sons to the famous viticulture school of Beaune to learn the grafting methods. The objective is to contribute to the rebuilding of the Champagne vineyard by grafting on American root-stocks.

The war

World war 1 broke out in 1914. the two sons leroy were called on to fight for france whereas Aloïs Felten joined the german flag. The war was just beginning to start when louis was killed in le chemin des dames, that was the scene of the most deadly fights of world war 1. As most widows, clémence stayed alone to raise her children. However, she could count on her father and her father-in-law emile, to maintain the work in the agricultural land and the vineyard. The war ended four years later.

As the years went passing by, Clémence saw her two sons grow up and blossom in the village. This is especially the case for André, the eldest son. When he was 27 years old, the young man met his wife, Odette. In his turn, he started his family with the birth of his first daughter, Nicole Leroy in 1939.

Liberation

In the hardest times of History, hope always ends up rising. Aloïs was appointed in the same camp as a medical officer. From that time, the one who had been greeted as a Leroy family’s member will make his best efforts to help André to escape. Aloïs pretended to diagnose a viral disease to his friend and sent him to Pau, a town that was in free zone, with a panel indicating “yellow fever”. André Leroy was free.

In 1942, he came back to his native village. At the end of this dark period, the couple was stronger and set up an equal to equal relationship between André and his wife. The family became bigger in 1945 with Jacqueline’s birth. Three years later, Brigitte was born. After this unusual experience, André and Aloïs stayed very close friends for life. They kept this friendship alive by transmitting values of respect and mutual aid to the next generations.

The rebuilding

But the family was affected by fate once again and Odette died from illness in 1957. After this tragedy, the family balance was upset. The eldest daughter, who was 18 years old at that time, left school to help her father in the farm. Jacqueline, who will go to the housekeeping school a few years later, and Brigitte were brought up by Clémence, their grandmother.

Faced with the pain, André fully dedicated his time to create his Champagne. In 1959, to go ahead and forget the tragic events he suffered, he renamed the Champagne trademark as André Leroy.

A family work

In 1976, both families attended Jacqueline and Jean-Louis’s wedding. This new alliance will allow the young man to join the Leroy family’s farm and to bring in it 50 ares from the Pointillart family. The couple owned in total 3.50 hectares of vines.

Jacqueline who taught French and History and Geography at the private school Sainte-Chrétienne in Fismes, decided to change her professional career after her marriage and to fully dedicate herself to the vine work, with her husband. In the year 1976, the couple definitively sealed its history by renaming the trademark with their two names: “Champagne Pointillart-Leroy”. Both spouses walked together hand-in-hand and gave birth to their eldest son, Bruno, in 1980 and to their youngest daughter, Juliette, in 1985. They were convinced that their children will keep on writing the family history.

The descendance

Juliette changed of direction in 2009 and began a professional certificate of Agricultural Farm Manager at the very famous wine school of Avize. This programme is initially made in two years but she decided to go with giant strides and to complete it in one single year. Once she obtained the diploma, the young woman joined her father in the family farm. First of all, she worked as Jean-Louis’s wise assistant. Her father learned her the job in the field, to be able, one day, to take over the estate. This duo has worked in perfect harmony for few years. In 2012, Jean-Louis gave his daughter the opportunity to take the helm of the House. Juliette accepted the challenge without any hesitation. It was a beautiful reward for her parents. Jacqueline and Jean-Louis know it well: great stories are never written alone.

Join strenghts

Wine-growing methods have progressed a big deal since the establishment of the family farm. However, the philosophy of work has still remained the same as Juliette’s grandfather wanted: join strengths to go to the same direction. Even as the time of André Leroy, two actors shared the efforts. The man always worked with his most faithful partner: the horse. Most steps in the vines were made with and thanks to this beast of burden.

Progress gradually reached the family farm with the arrival of the first tractor in 1964. This technological progress allowed Jacqueline and Jean-Louis to get bigger and bigger yields. This method finally disappeared over the years and an integrated wine-growing whose aim is to work in the respect of the environment and of the grape qualities appeared.

Work together

In relation to a specialised organisation, Juliette attends meetings on the health condition of several plots every week. This technical information exchange allows the young winegrowers to synchronize and optimize the treatments necessary for the vines to grow well. Before everything, this way of proceeding allows to respect better the environment by reducing input products for example.

Juliette chose to make a sustainable growing. Grass cover-cropping, use of biodegradable hooks, analysis of the soils to detect needs of soil enrichment product and treatment limitation allow to preserve the soils’ quality. By taking care of its terroir, Champagne Pointillart-Leroy ensures to perpetuate the vitality of its vines. Juliette carries on with success the story that André Leroy started 70 years ago.

A multi-composite soil

Aromas of Champagne Pointillart-Leroy’s wines come from a multi-composite soil. On the top of the hillsides of Écueil, Juliette works a clay soil like in the parcel called “Les Montagnes”. Halfway down the hillsides, the parcels “Les Glaises” and “Derrière Moutier” are planted in a more calcareous-clay soil. On the bottom of the hillsides, the parcel “Les Garennes” is the best representation of an entirely sandy soil. In Vrigny, the parcel “Les Cumines” has almost the same calcareous-clay composition. On the contrary, the parcel “Le Bas Village” in Chamery is planted on a clay that is very sticky and very protective for the vine. We call this soil “the loving soil”. This soil diversity allows the House to have a wide range of aromas.

A collaborative work

To perpetuate André Leroy’s heritage, Juliette is still a member of the Écueil Cooperative. She makes a point of honour to make the whole of her grapes press in the Wine Centre that was historically attached to the house. The harvest is pressed slowly to respect the grape varieties’ characteristics as much as possible. Beyond the heart commitment, the cooperation with the press centre ensures Champagne Pointillart-Leroy a very high follow-up of quality that is a token of exceptional cuvées.

To keep on making wines of great delicacy, Juliette exchanges on a regular basis with technicians of the Cooperative and with her winegrower friends. Together, they select the best juices that will compose the champagnes’ blendings. The specialist committee takes all the decisions collectively. Champagne Pointillart-Leroy draws its strength and the genuine character of its cuvées from this collaboration.