Since at least the Revolution, Delphine Laborde’s family has farmed grapes in Nogent l’Abbesse. Just prior to phylloxera, the village inhabitants cultivated some 100 hectares of vines, and what little survived at the beginning of the 20th century is thanks to the tenacity of Nogent’s growers (in the two other villages anchoring the mountain, Berru and Cernay-lès-Reims, vines disappeared entirely during the pandemic).

Their determination became all the more remarkable when the First World War erupted and the German army occupied the strategic hilltop. Women maintained the vines when possible; the men were sent off to work in sawmills occupied by Germans. Reims sat 15 kilometers away, the front line ran in between, and by the war’s end in 1918 Nogent l’Abbesse lay in ruins from shelling. Delphine’s maternal great-grandfather rebuilt the house where she lives today.

Tasting Notes: A seamlessly delicate rendition that delivers sun-kissed flavors in an almost weightless package. A clear, concise and elegant wine.