Champagne La Cocluette Oiry Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2016 - Maison Suenen

Maison Suenen

The true Champagne terroir

The Suenen vineyard has existed since 1898 in Cramant, a small village in the Marne department. The story of this family of French winemakers hailing from Belgium began with Nicolas Suenen. His wife Eliza-Victorine Billiard gave birth to Joseph Suenen in 1871. Later, the son married Laurentine Robert, with whom he had two children in 1899: Marcel and Paulette. At the same time, the Suenen family, the owner of a vineyard since 1870, began to sell its grape harvest to champagne houses in the region.

Later, after Marcel took Simone Stourbe to be his wife in 1924, the Suenens went from simply selling their grapes to making their very own champagne. That same year, they released their first cuvée: a Champagne Blanc de Blancs, sold under the name "Champagne Suenen-Stourbe". Simone was in charge of bottling the wine and designing the labels.

Their two sons, André and Bernard, opened a delicatessen in the village. Then, during the 1950's, Daniel (Bernard Suenen's heir) took his first steps in the family estate. For 18 years, he worked with his dad in the vineyard, before inheriting it. He helped develop the champagne sales (they actually sold 5 times what they used to sell, thanks to his hard work), bought a lot of new grapevines (more than 3 hectares in total) and produced the first vintaged champagnes of the house.

The last Suenen to enter the picture was young Aurélien. He wanted to become a star basketball player when he was a child but ultimately chose to join his father Daniel in the vineyard in 2009, after studying oenology in Avize. Aurélien is very respectful of the family traditions. The champagnes he produces are pure and tense, and they beautifully encapsulate what the local terroir is all about. He's currently working on two grands crus: Oiry and Cramant, made with Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grape varieties.

Découvrez les Champagnes de la célèbre Maison Suenen.