COLLARD-PICARD

 

Collard-Picard is run by Oliver Collard who is the grandson of Rene Collard. The estate owns fifteen hectares of vines located in the Valley of the Marne, near the village of Villers-Sous-Chatillon. Collard-Picard is also the only grower to have its own tasting room on the prestigious Avenue de Champagne in Epernay where many of our customers have had delightful visits over the years. The Picard part of the hyphenated name is related to the Gonet family, also of legendary Champagne notoriety. Collard-Picard actually brings together the historic Valley of the Marne estate from the Collard side with the great Côte de Blancs estate in Mesnil from the Picard side, uniting two properties of equal esteem. Oliver loves large wood barrels and has a number of 3000 liter fouderes in which he does his primary fermentation, opting for the large wooden vessels over stainless steel. The wines have the weight and power from the Valley of the Marne pinot meunier, but with the zippy chalkiness of the Cote de Blanc chardonnay. The result is a marriage of champagne styles, much like the name suggests!