Eric Maitre

Champagne Eric Maître is a family estate in Celles-sur-Ource, in the heart of the Côte des Bar in the Aube département. The house sees itself as a family business in which knowledge is handed down from father to son, to preserve the heritage of Aube champagne. The address: 32 Grande Rue, 10110 Celles-sur-Ource.

Family and history

Accounts of the founding year differ. The house's own website says the Maître family has owned the estate and made champagne there since 1860. The Guide Hachette, on the other hand, gives 1869 as the origin of the family business. What everyone agrees on: Éric Maître took over the family estate in the late 1980s and launched his own brand in 1995. Before him, Henri Maître and his wife Margareta had expanded the business. Today Éric Maître works alongside his wife Daniella, and their eldest son Vincent is part of the estate too.

Vines and wines

The vineyard area is quoted differently depending on the source: Hachette speaks of around 8 hectares, a merchant gives 8.65 hectares. So the order of magnitude is roughly 8 to 9 hectares. Pinot Noir is at the centre of it all. It is the only grape variety in the two cuvées selected by the Guide Hachette.

• Brut Tradition Blanc de Noirs: 100% Pinot Noir from 40-year-old vines, with notes of apple, pear, brioche and chalk.
• Brut Rosé: According to Hachette, around 3,000 bottles are in storage, and the wine is aged in tank.
• Cuvée Spéciale Blanc de Noirs: a further blanc de noirs in the range.

The wines are well known in the trade press. The house cites awards from the Mondial du Rosé and the Guide Hachette.

Visits and tastings

Madame and Monsieur Maître welcome visitors Monday to Friday from 9am to 12 noon and from 2pm to 5pm, or by appointment. The house can be reached by telephone on +33 3 25 38 58 69. Celles-sur-Ource lies in an area with a long champagne tradition. Almost 400 hectares of the appellation's vineyard are farmed by the village's growers. If you want to get to know the Côte des Bar, this is a place to taste Pinot Noir straight from the producer.