Champagne Duval-Leroy

The Duval-Leroy Champagne House, located in Vertus, is a family-owned business founded in 1859. It is currently chaired by Carol Duval-Leroy, who continues to lead this venerable house ever further in its pursuit of quality and excellence.

The Duval-Leroy Champagne House owns a vineyard comprising 200 hectares of vines, divided among Chardonnay—which is the dominant variety—Pinot Noir, and Meunier. The grapes are harvested by hand and transported as they are picked to the House’s presses, where they are joined by grapes purchased from other winegrowers. The Duval-Leroy Champagne House also has modern winemaking facilities tailored to the specific characteristics of the cuvées it produces.

Duval-Leroy Champagnes are characterized by their finesse, lightness, and elegance, the result of a unique expertise whose secrets the house jealously guards and which is overseen solely by the cellar master, ensuring that the wines maintain consistent quality and consistency year after year.

Duval-Leroy Champagne is one of the few major houses that has retained its family-run character. After 160 years in business, it is a woman, Carol Duval-Leroy, who now runs the Duval-Leroy House alongside her three sons. With the help of another cellar master, Duval-Leroy Champagne has resolutely embraced innovation by focusing on Organic production Organic sustainable viticulture. 

The Situation at Champagne Duval-Leroy

The Duval-Leroy estate is located in Vertus, a village at the far end of the Côte des Blancs. It is primarily in this region that the majority of the estate’s 200 ha are located, in the Marne department, southeast of Épernay.

The estate’s vineyards are planted primarily with white Chardonnay, the dominant grape variety of the Côte des Blancs. It spans twelve communes, just north of Mont Aimé. The main communes are: Cuis, Avize, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and Vertus. Alongside white Chardonnay, there are also vineyards planted with Pinot Noir and Meunier—both red varieties—though in smaller quantities.

The Enrichment of Duval-Leroy Champagne

It is clear that the future success of Duval-Leroy Champagne depends on how Carol Duval-Leroy’s three sons manage the estate. But even as they dedicate themselves to this endeavor, they must still make the most of the existing terroir. They must respect the soil they have inherited in order to bring out its best natural qualities. Over a 20-kilometer stretch, the Chardonnay grape gives its very best, imparting to the “blanc de blancs” champagnes a distinctive mineral character and unique finesse. It is the chalky limestone that imparts its virtues to the grapes growing on this soil. All the great houses are represented in this exceptional terroir.

The Future of Duval-Leroy Champagne/font>

Under the demanding yet astute leadership of Carol Duval Leroy, the Duval-Leroy house can rightfully look to the future with confidence. Carol Duval Leroy is currently the only woman to have been appointed President of the Association Viticole Champenoise.

And this long-established firm from Vertus just keeps racking up first-place finishes in various sectors.

- She is a pioneer in oenoclimatology.

- The first winery to practice sustainable viticulture, with HVE certification.

- The first champagne house to produce a certified Organic Brut cuvée,

(certified by EcocertOrganic).

- The world's first winery to combine a photovoltaic power plant, a rainwater harvesting system, and thermal and acoustic insulation with a living wall.

- The world's first wine company to be ISO 9002 certified for quality.

- The first company to hold triple certification—IFS, BRC, and ISO 22000—in food safety.