Champagne Ullens is the rarest of stories in Champagne - a new domaine with no roots in the region. Belgian-born architect Maxime Ullens arrived in 2012, when he and his wife Anna purchased Domaine de Marz...
Champagne Ullens is the rarest of stories in Champagne - a new domaine with no roots in the region. Belgian-born architect Maxime Ullens arrived in 2012, when he and his wife Anna purchased Domaine de Marzilly, at the northernmost tip of the Montagne de Reims. Their intention was only to renovate the abandoned farmhouse and barn. But as the work progressed, Maxime befriended a number of growers and began tasting regularly in the area. Before he knew it, he was enrolled at the viticultural school at Avize and studying production.
Their vineyards are farmed according to strict organic principles and Maxime is committed to releasing wines only when they have had sufficient aging time, generally twelve months in barrel and another thirty-six in bottle before disgorgement. Maxime has commissioned all his barrels to be made from oak from the domaine’s own forest and is experimenting with not only different toast levels but barrels combining multiple materials, including clay, glass and steel. The final results are deeply vinous and serious Champagnes that have quickly become staples of Michelin-starred restaurants across France.
2021 was a deeply challenging vintage in Champagne. Growers faced frost, hail and a relatively cold summer. Maxime Ullens confronted the problem head on, excising any fruit during harvest that was not perfect and produced a single wine -'Casse-Tête.' Literally translated as 'broken head' this blend of Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay is a great example of what a top-level grower can do when faced with disaster. Fermented and aged in oak for 11 months, followed by more than 30 months on the lees in bottle and finished with 3.2g/l of dosage, this is racier than Maxime's classic brut but still bears his signature of brilliant ripe red fruit and spice.
