Le Royal Coteau

Le Royal Coteau is not a family estate but the growers' cooperative of Grauves. It lies about 10 km south of Épernay and was founded in 1948. It is one of the smallest cooperatives in Champagne. The name is also one of its brands: the cooperative runs several labels, Le Royal Coteau among them. Another is Pierre Lefranc.

Members and vineyards

Sources differ on the number of members, giving anything from 175 to more than 200 growers. They agree on the vineyard area: the members own just under 60 hectares of vines, mainly in the village of Grauves and a few neighbouring villages on the Côte des Blancs. The name of the village goes back to the Latin "grava", meaning stone. The vineyards of Grauves are surrounded by forest and form a horseshoe, which is where the nickname Royal Coteau comes from.

The grapes grown are chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. According to an older description, the wines are bottled in the cooperative's cellar and aged for 3 to 7 years before they go on sale. The Hachette wine guide describes the cuvées as long aged on the bottle and coming from Grauves and the Côte des Blancs.

Cuvées

The 2011 edition of the Hachette wine guide listed two cuvées: Le Royal Coteau Tradition and Le Royal Coteau Chardonnay Vieilles Vignes 2004. The Brut Tradition is made from all three champagne grape varieties. Hachette described an intense, powerful and long wine with toasty notes. For the vintages and blends in the range today, your best bet is the house's own website.

Visiting and tasting

The cooperative is based at 11 Rue de la Coopérative in Grauves. One directory listing gives opening hours of Tuesday to Friday, 2 pm to 5 pm. Call 03 26 59 71 12 before you visit to confirm the current times (from the UK or US, dial +33 3 26 59 71 12). The village of Grauves says that the growers and the cooperative are happy to welcome visitors and show what they can do.