Joël Falmet’s domaine is a small family operation, made up of 6.5 hectares of vineyards, all surrounding the village of Rouvre-les-Vignes. Passed down through his family for generations, Joël took over the domaine in the early 1990s. With the help of his brother Yves (now a producer in Saint-Chinian), Joël produced the family’s first estate bottled wine. This is unusual in the Aube, where the grapes are often sold to larger Champagne houses to add body and richness to their blends, but rarely used for estate bottlings.

Exceptionally conscientious about farming, Joël never uses herbicides or pesticides in the vineyards. He also plants oats between the rows of vines. This helps to prevent erosion, introduces nitrogen back into the soil, creates competition for water in wet years, and helps prevent evaporation in dry years.