Champagne: Count Audoin de Dampierre

The “Family of Dampierre” is one of the oldest branches of the “House of France”: for more than seven centuries, their name has been closely linked with the history of the Champagne area. As patient and passionate men of art, the Counts of Dampierre take the utmost care of their wines, magnifying the cuvees of premiers and grands crus.

The Company, as it is known nowadays, was founded in 1986 by Count Audoin de Dampierre; a visionary, stamped with generosity, conviction and passion, making him a charismatic personality of Champagne.

He has led his life the way he has driven his classic cars, his great passion. The man is full of humour. Audoin de Dampierre re-launched the family business 28 years ago on the simple idea that good wines are necessarily made from good grapes. Year after year, from vintage to vintage, this perfectionist established his name in over 20 countries.

With experience, a constant desire to surpass himself and be original, he had in 1989 the intuition to revive the sumptuous tradition of the past and re-establish the absolute elegance of Champagne by using the ancestral technique of twine closure or twine hood sealing as the distinctive signature of his brand name.

At the time, it was considered madness in Champagne, but proved very successful worldwide. “Champagne is better appreciated in good company” and sharing has always been a chief virtue of this gourmet.

Audoin de Dampierre derives genuine pleasure from sharing his familial intimacy and welcoming the public as his guests to initiate them to the subtleties of his wines. He thus passes on his sense of tasting with perfect manners, like a true ambassador of Champagne. Audoin de Dampierre retired in 2011 in his castle in Charente-Maritime.

His successor, Mr Philippe Rosy and his team operates from Bouzy, in the heart of the Champagne area where the headquarters and the cellars of the company are based.

www.dampierre.com