Hugues Godme

Champagne Hugues Godmé is based in Verzenay, a grand cru village on the northern edge of the Montagne de Reims. Hugues Godmé brings 40 years of experience in the vineyard and the cellar. At the estate he works alongside Lucile Godmé, who is named as a winemaker next to him. His grandfather Joseph began bottling champagne after the Second World War, and his father carried on the tradition.

Vineyards and grape varieties

The estate farms 7.6 hectares: 2.8 hectares of pinot noir in grand cru sites in Verzenay and Verzy, 3 hectares of chardonnay (premier cru) in Villers-Marmery and 1.8 hectares of meunier (premier cru) in Ville-Dommange. The vines are spread across around forty parcels. So the number 40 refers to parcels, not hectares.

Biodynamic and parcel by parcel

Hugues Godmé has farmed organically since 2006, with organic certification following in 2013 and biodynamic certification in 2014. In the cellar, each parcel is vinified separately. The harvest is by hand, whole bunches are pressed, and the musts flow by gravity. Fermentation is spontaneous, in neutral barrels and in enamel-lined concrete tanks. The wine is neither fined nor filtered, and the dosage sits between 0 and 4 grams. Reserve wines play a major role, and most cuvées contain four, sometimes five vintages. The second fermentation takes place in a chalk cellar directly beneath one of the vineyards in Verzenay.

The range includes, among others:

• Les Terres d'Unions: a blend from Verzy, Verzenay, Villers-Marmery and Ville-Dommange, with equal parts chardonnay, meunier and pinot noir
• La Montagne Nord: 40% chardonnay and 60% pinot noir from the oldest vines in Verzy and Verzenay
• Les Bouquets: 100% pinot noir from Verzenay
• Les Romaines: 100% meunier from Ville-Dommange

Visit and tasting

The visit takes you through the press house, the barrel cellar and the old cellars dug into the chalk, and ends with a tasting of three cuvées. You will find the estate at 10 Rue de Verzy in Verzenay. It is wise to book ahead, and the contact details are on champagne-hugues-godme.com.