Vallée de la Marne, Champagne | France

"This was my first visit with Maxime Oudiette, another thrilling discovery among Champagne's new generation. Oudiette is a pharmacist by training, but he was inspired to change directions while working at a wine shop in Avize. After an internship with Selosse, he took over the family vines.  This first release is immensely impressive, and if it's indicative of what's to come, then importers will want to beat a path to Oudiette's door"

- William Kelley, Wine Advocate.

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Location

Beaunay is an escarpment along the Marne river where Maxime tends 7 vineyards totalling 3 hectares. 

Maxime will tell you about the various different soils of each tiny vineyard, but soft, white chalk is the throughline. 

Maxime

The Oudiette family has been farming here for over a century, but only with the most recent generation, Maxime, have decided to place their own name on wines from their grapes. 

Maxime’s attention to progressive farming practices and his formal training with Jacques Selosse have culminated in one of the most exciting new Champagne producers.

Farming

For 10 years, Maxime has farmed with a mind for harmony in his wines and with nature. Perennial clover carpets the spaces between vines, fixing nitrogen under foot and protecting the soil ecosystem. The result is less a standard vineyard and more of an exercise in cultivating an ecosystem through permaculture. 

Additional care is given to the soils in the form of fermented nettle, burdock, and horsetail along with organic mulch for the winter. 

Cellar

According to Maxime, the wine has been growing on the vines all season, but his part in the process begins when he harvests plot-by-plot. Then the grapes are then gently pressed according to each vineyard and allowed to settle without sulphur. 

The juice is placed into barrels, again separated by their vineyard, to allow the ambient yeasts to start fermentation.