Champagne Duval-Leroy passes the baton with special releases
To mark a generational transition, Champagne Duval-Leroy has refreshed its cornerstone cuvée and released a “deeply personal” limited-edition gift-boxed selection.
Even in a region, like Champagne, where family legacy is a recurring theme, the recent story of Champagne Duval-Leroy seems particularly rooted in its family’s narrative. Carol Duval-Leroy, who took the driving seat under the most difficult of circumstances, successfully managed the house for three decades, so that her three sons could one day take over.
More than that, she set it on a path to premiumisation and increasingly international renown. Such was her success that she attained the nickname ‘the lady of Champagne’.
Now, it is the maison’s sixth generation – her sons Julien, Charles and Louis Duval-Leroy – shepherding the producer, after Carol stepped back last year. They have the vital, if difficult job of safeguarding the maison’s heritage while embracing the future.
As one of the first orders of business under their leadership, Champagne Duval-Leroy have revamped the product selection with two new releases. Champagne Duval-Leroy Brut Réserve has received a new look – launching 9 February – while the Coffret Héritage is a gift box that pays tribute to the family behind the wines.
Moving forward and glancing back
In many regions, it is the top wine by which the producer will be judged. In Champagne, however – where premium positioning is almost a given – you are just as likely to appraise a classic brut as the prestige cuvée.
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At Champagne Duval-Leroy, the Brut Réserve is a suitable standard-bearer for the entire range. It achieves the necessary consistency year in, year out, but with elegance and intensity above its price point. Judges at last year’s Champagne Masters awarded it a Gold medal, praising its “vinosity and complexity”.
Now, a new release of the Duval-Leroy Brut Réserve is premiering a new design. While the blend and style remain the same, the more premium visual identity is intended to communicate the maison’s premiumisation journey. As the benchmark cuvée, it will help communicate Champagne Duval-Leroy’s identity around the world.
The Coffret Héritage Vol. 2, on the other hand, is a conversation between past, present and future. In a limited-edition production of 999 boxes, it presents three bottles of the Brut Réserve, representing the continuity of the house, alongside two wines that mark the generational transition.
There is one bottle of the Vintage 1996, a favourite of Carol Duval-Leroy for its balanced profile and its ageworthiness. Then, there are two bottles of the Vintage 2002, Louis Duval-Leroy’s favourite: a year which showed exceptional concentration and richness.
These are presented, as in the first volume, in a gift box designed by tattoo artist Chaim Machlev (also known as DotstoLines). The collaboration between tattoo artist and winemakers represents the eternal aspects of both crafts, as Louis Duval-Leroy explained on the launch of the first Coffret Héritage.
On the launch of the second volume, Charles Duval-Leroy comments: “With the Héritage gift box, we wanted to tell a family story. These wines were patiently preserved across generations and now shared as a symbol of transmission, memory and passion. It is a deeply personal project that reflects who we are today and where we come from.”
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