A sparkling story in champagne: that of Jules Pierlot in Épernay
This is the sparkling story of Jules Pierlot in 1889, a winegrower from Epernay, the capital of Champagne where he made his first Cuvée de Champagne. At the time, he was the owner of a bar located Rue des Archers in Épernay, and used the Archers’ coat of arms as an emblem for his label, the symbol of his champagne, which is still used on our bottles. For more than 100 years, we have tried to honor this heritage in each of our bottles. Then with the financial support of his older brothers, Jules bought a champagne house at 33, rue du Donjon in Épernay. This street is now called rue Henri Martin. Until the 2000s, Champagne Jules Pierlot was located at this address. But, from now on, its cuvées are made on the site of Oiry.
Jules Pierlot
a champagne maker
in Épernay
But Jules was first and foremost a wine merchant. And it all began when he met the winegrower from Chigny, Mélanie Chauvet. He married her in 1879, at that time, the marriage was based on the transmission of heritage, land, and education. And it is only once they were married that this couple first invested in a small grocery store on rue de Brugny, in Épernay. Then they put down permanent roots in the capital of Champagne by buying the Café des Archers. These two lovers cooked local products from the Champagne region, such as snails, that they accompanied with a wine made with their know-how. Jules and Mélanie had 2 children. And it was Eugène, born in 1882, who took over the champagne house.
Jules Pierlot: a majority Premier Cru Champagne
Over the generations, the growth and renown of the Jules Pierlot Negociant House has allowed for investment in quality production equipment. Thus, Jules Pierlot Champagnes are made from grapes from partner winegrowers in the Sparnaccian basin, mostly classified Premier Cru.
Since 2013, on the production site located in Oiry, we elaborate our champagnes from alcoholic fermentation to disgorging the bottle. It is in the harvest villages of our winegrowers that the grapes are delicately pressed in order to preserve all the freshness and extract the best organoleptic quality of each of the grape varieties.
3 emblematic grape varieties honored
The three emblematic Champagne grape varieties are honored in the Cuvées de Champagne Jules Pierlot. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier are blended in varying proportions for their intrinsic qualities of the Champagne terroir. The emphasis is on the Meunier for its greediness, followed by the Pinot Noir for its structure, then Chardonnay for its aromatic freshness.
As for Pinot Noir, it is an early maturing grape variety. It thrives on cool, chalky soils. Chardonnay is a vigorous grape variety that is particularly suited for terroirs resting on outcropping chalk. And Meunier is a later grape variety as it thrives on clay soils and resists harsher climatic conditions.
Each cuvée of Champagnes Jules Pierlot represents a moment of sharing and conviviality. Find these moments of tasting on each of the vintages: Brut, Rosé, Premier Cru and Millésime. (with link to each of the cuvées)
Distributed in France and around the world, Jules Pierlot's champagne cuvées are inscribed to magnify the moment.