The House - Älte Champagne

ÄLTE CHAMPAGNE

At the end of the Marne Valley, in Romeny sur Marne, Alexandre and Alice have shaped their own nest: a young House with alternative ideas full ofcommon sense.

Winegrowers who question themselves in a different way, with their own approach to modernity, inspired by the science of the elders. They bring a brand-new look to the precepts of their forefathers, in an assumed offbeat which aims at autonomy and degrowth.

ALEXANDRE

According to Alexandre, it is a good principle not to take everything at face value. Institutional frameworks are not really his cup of tea. He has a critical mind, even a rebellious mind, which questions certain foundations, sometimes in order to better return to them. Justifying and arguing. Away for him to consider new angles of reflection and, why not, to innovate.

ALICE

The Cirque du Bout du Monde: a beautiful natural site with a waterfall and a cave not far from where Alice grew up in Burgundy. She spent her vacation on her grandparents’ farm near Beaune, one of the first to introduce the concept of table d’hôte dining. Like Alexandre, she has a natural connection to the land, to preserving its balance, and to the art of doing things by yourself. We understand each other: in the sense of sharing, congeniality, and helpfulness.

“what i like is the intellectual aspect, questioning your terroir and seeking to understand it.”

what do you see in älte champagne?
the very root of the word “alternative”.

A way of considering the Champagne world differently, through:
· Counter-current thinking, striving towards degrowth.
· An approach to the grapevine skillfully mixing ancestral teaching and innovation (Redox).
· The search for authentic curiosity, in world of appearances.

The emphasis on humanity and difference, to be clear.

From the diaresis on the Ä, you will be able to read a reference to the brains of the project, Alice and Alexandre Mantel. At the same time as an allusion to the German word which could be translated as“old”, “ancient”.

A double hidden reference therefore.

the present is an everlasting new beginning

In Romeny sur Marne, the couple went underground. A Marne Maquis, like most villages in this part of the Marne Valley, hidden away, surrounded by greenery, amid forests, vineyards, fields, meadows and riverbanks.

Here, they are building their own world, far from the hustle and bustle outside, at the heart of their environment. Self-sufficient, yes, but not totally independent. Living apart from the world, withdrawing, would make no sense to them. Opening up to others, welcoming and passing on knowledge remains one of their driving forces. There is therefore a certain logic in wanting to produce wines for bons vivants, starting with a vineyard that aims to reveal nothing less than the full generosity of a welldefined territory...

And which has a lot to say. You can count on Alexandre to bring an intellectual dimension to the culture of his land. His keen curiosity about agronomical and technological issues as well as the world around him has led him to develop new farming (and cultural) practices. These include biodynamics and the Redox* method, which offer different but complementary approaches to gaining a deeper understanding of his terroir.