‘French champagne wins the hearts of its admirers all over the world. It is the drink that glorifies and will glorify great France for thousands of kilometers,’ said King Louis-Philippe of France, during whose reign the Motherland of sparkling wines was at the pinnacle of economic development, giving rise to several great Champagne houses.
Today, as part of the series of articles on the Champagne Houses of France, we will talk about the House that was founded during the reign of Louis-Philippe, the House that today is one of the six best Champagne producers in the world - the House with the German name Deutz.
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A bit of history
The Champagne House Deutz began its existence in 1838. Its founders William Deutz and Hubert Gelderman were immigrants from Prussia, where they sold champagne.
‘Hubert and I moved to France because of the prosperity and wealth of that country. We, like all sensible people, wanted to live where there was an opportunity to live well,’ William Deutz wrote in letters to his family.
In search of the best, Deutz and Geldermann, having pooled their capital, founded the Deutz Geldermann champagne house - the name Deutz became relevant after Hubert Geldermann married his friend William's sister Marie Deutz. It is noteworthy that the company had no vineyards of its own. So, William and Hubert bought cuvée bottled, freed the wines from sediment and put them on branded labels, and then engaged in the sale of wine.
‘It's a pity we didn't have enough funds to acquire vineyards. I'm still convinced that to make good wine you need a direct connection to the land where the grapes grow,’ Deutz has repeatedly stated. And, although the Champagne House only acquired its vineyards after the Second World War, throughout its existence, the Champagne House Deutz bought only the best cuvée, and later, only the best grapes. This is evidenced by the House's extensive client list, which includes Russia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain, as well as Germany.
In 1983 Deutz was sold to the renowned champagne house Louis Roederer. The new owners, who, by the way, are also a family company, have fully preserved the style and traditions of the Deutz family. It is noteworthy that direct descendants of the founders continue to work in the company in key positions.
Interesting: In 1989, members of the London Symphony Orchestra: Paul Edmund-Davies, John Alley, and Roy Carter joined together to form a musical group called the Deutz Trio.
‘We chose that name to compliment our favorite champagne,’ says Carter.
Remarkably, for 22 years, the trio has been traveling the world in concert, promoting that in music, as in wine, there should be harmony.
Vineyards
Deutz uses not only its grapes to produce champagne. For example, the company has several partners with whom Deutz has been working for generations. In general, for wine production, the company uses grapes from 190 hectares of vineyards located on the territory of Champagne (some of them belong to the House itself).
‘We are careful when choosing partners, as we need high-quality grapes. To date, we work only with proven farms, with which we have established friendly relations", - says Deutz technologist.
It is noteworthy that the Deutz Champagne House buys grapes at the market price and pays special premiums to farms with the highest quality berries.
House Style
All wines produced by Champagne Deutz are sold in the same bottles in which they were aged. Regular non-millesime Champagnes are aged for 30 months, while millesime wines are aged for five to eight years. Millesime Champagnes are remuaged exclusively by hand.
Today Deutz owns three kilometers of cellars, their depth is 65 metres. The production volume of this champagne house is 1.5 million bottles per year. Despite this, Deutz is considered an elite champagne brand.
‘We strive to harmoniously combine the traditions of the past and innovations of the present while maintaining our unique style - elegance, freshness and fruitiness ’
It is also worth noting that Deutz does not use oak barrels.
‘We have deliberately refused to age the wine in oak barrels, which is currently fashionable because oak makes the wine material more rough,’ says the house.
Model range
Today the Champagne House Deutz products are represented on the market by the following positions: Deutz Demi-Sec, Deutz Brut Classic, Deutz Brut Millesime, Deutz Blanc de Blancs, Deutz Brut Rose, Deutz Brut Rose Millesime, Cuvee Willam Deutz Millesime, Cuvee Willam Deutz Rose Millesime, Amour de Deutz Millesime.
Interesting: Amour de Deutz is Madonna's favorite champagne, and the not-so-famous Robert Parker lists Deutz Brut Rose as one of the world's best champagnes.
‘A true Champagne should be elegant, with pronounced fruity notes, being harmonious in flavor. It should be enjoyable and uplifting,’ believed William Deutz. It is these basic principles, laid down by the founder of Deutz, that have enabled the brand to be among the best for many years.