Meet the Grower: Domaine des Arondes
Swallows are a common sign of spring throughout the Champagne region. The small, migratory birds are fresh off their winter sojourns in subtropical Africa. And come March, they are seemingly everywhere — perching on power lines, twisting and gliding across the sky and returning to the trees and eaves where they were born to have their own young.
It’s this last characteristic, the swallows’ homecoming, that continued to flit through Marie-Marjorie Laurent’s mind, gaining momentum with each passing year. She yearned for the familiarity of her family’s vineyards, working the land and making Champagne. While her path led her away for many years, she knew the time was right to embark on a new adventure much closer to home.
In 2021, Marie-Marjorie returned to her family estate in Avenay-Val-d'Or, a small Premier Cru village just east of Aÿ, only a short distance west of Bouzy in Vallée de la Marne. Her father, Daniel Laurent, had been making Champagne there since 1982 with grapes he grew on two hectares of beautifully rich, chalky, limestone-ladened soil. As a young girl, Marie-Marjorie learned to grow grapes and make Champagne from her father. She recalls a childhood spent in the vineyards and in the press house, helping with whatever task needed tending and forging an unbreakable bond with her family’s land and its legacy.
After a couple of years at the helm of her father’s Champagne Laurent-Gabriel, she was ready to take the domaine in a new direction that honored the past but that was more representative of her. In 2023, she officially launched her own grower Champagne endeavor that spoke to her story of renewal, curiosity and exploration — Domaine de Arondes after the Old French word for “swallows.”
In her vineyards, which are now spread across 3 hectares, Marie-Marjorie gently works the land by horse and plow with Clydesdales she borrows from a local company. Sheep, also on loan, graze on weeds and overgrowth that compete with her vines for valuable nutrients and resources in the soil.
Back at the micro-winery, Marie-Marjorie is a one-woman show, performing each laborious task in the cellar on her own. Through it all, she demonstrates a deep understanding of terroir, grape-variety selection and winemaking as each of the cuvées in her release (only 10,000 bottles a year) strikes the perfect balance of exceptional complexity and elegance.
And because she’s doing things her way, Marie-Marjorie leaves room for levity, too. The names for all her cuvées are based on titles of an eclectic range of her favorite songs, including “Fallait pas commencer” by Lio, “J't'emmène au vent” by Louise Attaque and “Sentiers” by Izïa.
We love picturing Marie-Marjorie bopping along to these songs as she works in the vineyards and in her cellar. Cheers!