Get to Know Piollot
Visionary.
Avant-garde.
Biodynamic to its very core.
These are words we’ve used to describe Champagne Piollot, but more often than not, this extraordinary grower leaves us speechless.
The magic of Piollot begins along the western bank of the Seine river in Polisot, a small village in Côte des Bar, the incredibly unique southern part of Champagne’s Aube department. Here, vigneron Roland Piollot, his wife, Dominique, and their daughters, Jeanne and Rose, produce crisp, elegant cuvées from their perfectly positioned, predominantly pinot noir plots.
Roland inherited the Piollot family land from his father in 1986. Immediately, he began the painstaking process of converting all 8 ½ hectares first to organic and then to biodynamic. In addition to eliminating the use of synthetic fertilizers, he built soil fertility with compost, manure preparations and cover crops, managed weeds and pests naturally and encouraged biodiversity across his estate. In 2014, Piollot’s estate became certified organic, and in 2020, it earned a Demeter certification for biodynamic farming. But like other biodynamic operations, Piollot’s biodynamic Champagne vineyards require continuous tweaks and improvements. Recently, Roland began the process of introducing sheep into his vineyards to introduce natural fertilizer and assist with weed control.
"We do everything we can to protect the biodiversity in our parcels,” says Roland.
Champagne Piollot is widely known, specifically, for its world-class pinot noir grapes. Piollot’s location in the Aube’s Côte des Bar offers a warmer climate than the rest of Champagne, and its Kimmeridgian limestone soil offers perfect growing conditions for pinot noir. In vineyards casually tucked between forests, farms and streams, pinot noir accounts for roughly 87% of plantings, while chardonnay, pinot meunier and rare varieties like pinot blanc make up the other 13%. While pinot blanc is one of the seven grapes allowed by Champagne law, it is rare. In fact, to cultivate this uncommon grape, Piollot had to provide the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne with historical records that prove pinot blanc has been grown on their land over many generations. This historic, old-vine pinot blanc grows in Piollot’s Val Colas Robin vineyard in Polisot.
In the cellar, Roland and his family lead with three single-vineyard cuvées made from a single variety: Côme des Tallants (100% pinot noir), Colas Robin (100% pinot blanc) and Champs Rayés (100% chardonnay). In outstanding pinot noir vintages, Piollot also produces one of our fatcork founder Bryan Maletis’ all-time favorite rosés: a bone-dry, 100% single-vineyard, single-vintage pinot noir with gorgeous texture.
Still wine for the rosé and Piollot’s other Champagnes is vinified with native yeast and mostly aged in steel tanks, though a small amount of the base wine does go into barrels and wooden vats called “foudres.” Once bottled, Piollot Champagnes rest on the lees for four to six years before they’re disgorged with no dosage.
Ready to try Champagne Piollot for yourself? Shop the link below. We can’t wait to hear what you’ll say about these single-varietal stunners — that is, if you can find the words!