History
The Coulon family has been rooted in the so-called Petites Montagnes south-west of Reims since the 17th century. The family first planted vineyards in the region in 1806, the year that is now the founding date of the house. Marcel Coulon marketed champagne under his own name for the first time in 1935/36. His son Roger, born in 1929, took over the business, but he died in 1979, not even fifty years old. His son Éric, the current owner, was still a teenager at the time. So the widow Bernadette took over until he had completed his schooling and training. In 1991, Éric Coulon finally founded Roger Coulon et Fils in Vrigny. Together with his wife Isabelle, he quickly made the small house well-known. The cuvées were initially classic: a Grande Tradition and a Grande Reserve Premier Cru, a Rosé, a Millésime … But soon also a Les Coteaux de Vallier from a lieu dit of the same name and other, individual cuvées.
The approach of relying on the enormous diversity of the estate’s own vineyard plots found expression in a new label design around 2010. In 2012, the family also bought a plot in Chouilly, the estate’s first Grand Cru property. In the meantime, the children Louise and Edgar are also making their way in the direction of viticulture – as the ninth generation of the Coulon family. Daughter Louise studied viticulture and oenology and gained her first experience at the Philippe Pacalet winery in Burgundy. She then worked in the south of England, Australia and New Zealand before joining the family winery in 2016. Son Edgar completes a master’s degree in wine and spirits in Dijon and works on red and rosé wines during an internship at Domaines Ott in Bandol. He joined Roger Coulon in 2019, where he is now responsible for the vinification. Today, the champagne house is literally an ‘intergenerational project’, with each member of the family contributing his or her own experience and approach.
Style
The estate owns no less than 115 different parcels on 11 hectares of vineyards. All of them Premiers Crus from Vrigny and the neighbouring municipalities of Coulommes-la-Montagne, Pargny-les-Reims, Villers-Allerand and Gueux. With the exception of the aforementioned parcel in Chouilly in the Côtes des Blancs. Historically, Meunier dominates with 40 per cent, some of which are up to 80 years old. However, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir now also account for an important share of 30 per cent each. The vineyard was converted to organic in 2019. The harvest has been AB-certified since 2022. However, further environmentally friendly and quality-enhancing steps are being taken in the vineyard, such as mass selection, yield reduction and greening the rows of vines. The basic motto is to adapt to nature and not to dictate anything to it. In addition, Louise Coulon has introduced the principles of agroforestry into the business. This is intended to maintain the natural balance in the vineyard and make the vines more resilient.
The vinification process is traditional and gentle. After pressing, the must is briefly pre-clarified. Alcoholic fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts. The wine is clarified naturally, without fining or filtering. Malolactic fermentation usually takes place, although there are now exceptions. Thanks to Edgar Coulon, wooden barrels have increasingly found their way into the cellar, both for ageing and fermentation. The house favours a subtle mousse with a lower pressure of 4.5 instead of 6 atmospheres. By using less liqueur de tirage, the alcohol content does not exceed 12 per cent. Bottle fermentation takes place in the family’s cool underground cellar. In the classic cuvées, freshness is increasingly sought rather than autolytic flavours due to long fermentation times. Disgorgement is done by hand and the dosage does not exceed the 3-gram mark. Half of the portfolio even consists of zero-dosage champagnes. Extended storage in the bottle ‘post-dégorgement’ is important to the family.
Portfolio
Roger Coulon divides his very individual portfolio into a ‘Collection Référence’, which connects the house with the savoir-faire of the region and its ancestors. And a ‘Collection empreinte’, which aims to emphasise the footprint of the terroir in the champagnes. The first is represented by the Cuvée Heri-Hodie (Latin for ‘yesterday-today’), a single-varietal Meunier. Here, one tenth of the base wines from the current year, which have spent ten months on the lees as is customary at Coulon, are blended with 90 per cent from a solera that has been in existence since 1995. Next to it is L’Hommée, an expression for an old area measurement that describes the daily labour of a vineyard worker. Chardonnay (60 per cent) dominates over Pinot Noir (40 per cent). Here, fermentation takes place in wood and the small proportion of reserves also comes from oak barrels. Finally, the Rosé Rosalie is now produced using the saignée method, i.e. ‘bleeding’ the grapes for 12 to 24 hours. 100 per cent Meunier from over fifty-year-old vines in Vrigny.
The ‘Collection empreinte’ includes first of all the Esprit de Vrigny. One third each of Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, each grown on specific soils. Concretely: sand, chalk and clay. Fermentation in small wooden barrels, here for the first time with significantly longer bottle fermentation. Then comes the Millésime Blanc de Noirs, in the current 2014 vintage made from half Pinot Noir from the Limons parcel in Vrigny and half Meunier from Les Linguets in Gueux. The speciality of the Meunier grapes, which were planted in 1959, is that they are grown as ‘francs de pied’, i.e. without rootstocks. The wine is matured in tanks, the malo is blocked and the bottle fermentation is very long.
The only Grand Cru is the Blanc de Blancs Les Hauts Partas Millésimé from Chouilly. This cuvée parcellaire is again fermented and matured in wood. After the editorial deadline, the winery announced a new cuvée called Continuum from the Lieu-dit Champs Chevalier made from old vintages. In addition, a Vrigny Rouge Pinot Noir from the same vineyard and a single-varietal Meunier Coulommes-la-Montagne Rouge from Le Mont Moine vineyard have revitalised the estate’s Coteaux Champenois.
Tasting
My third tasting after the Berlin Paulée of 2022 and 2024. The champagnes also showed their class in the tasting in February 2025. Heri Hodie Extra-Brut (Deg, 7/23, base wines from 2021) appears light and dark, ripe and fruity at the same time. Lively perlage and old gold colour with pale pink reflections. Mirabelle plums, pear, hazelnuts, some marc and biscuit on the nose. Vinous and fruity on the palate, multi-layered but also somewhat short. Quite sweet despite only 3 grams of dosage (91p). L’Hommée Extra-Brut (deg. 11/23, base wines from 2020) has a deep straw yellow colour. A bouquet of citrus, raspberry and ginger. Complex, with considerable depth and very pleasing acidity (94p). Rosalie Brut nature is this time a pure vintage (2022) and is the first champagne of the house to display the AB seal. Candy rosé colour, apples, raspberry biscuit from Reims and beeswax on the nose. Beautiful texture, soft and hedonistic, but lacks some tension (90p).
Esprit de Vrigny Brut nature (deg. 11/23, base wines from 2018) is the counterpart to L’Hommé in its straightforward horizontality. Horizontal, however, as opposed to ‘broad’, but in the sense of development and evolution on the palate. More tart and less fruit-forward than the rest of the range, but still with a lovely drinkability (93p). Only 2,300 bottles were produced. Millésime 2014 Extra-Brut (deg. 3/23, malo blocked) is downright spectacular. Pineapple, raspberries, orange peel and honey on the nose. Vinous and opulent on the palate, but beautifully balanced with a savoury finish. Great cinema (96p)! On the other hand, the Haut-Partas 2018 Brut nature (deg. 7/24) from a plot of just 0.2 hectares of old Chardonnay vines in Chouilly is still somewhat untamed. The mousse is lively, with pear, apple cider and sourdough on the nose. Complex on the palate, but also quite ripe due to the vintage, with soft acidity (93p). A strong performance of characterful individualists, with no champagne below 90 points!
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