Champagne Henri Abelé

Théodore Vander Veken established his Champagne house in Reims in 1757 and Henri Abelé, not wishing to rush, then merged the company of his ancestors on his mother’s side with that of his father under the single name Abelé – Vander Veker, in 1908. Despite more than 250 years of history, the Henri Abelé name has remained a well-kept French secret until very recently.

With this lengthy history, Henri Abelé has had the enormous advantage of taking grapes from the very finest terroirs across the region. The arrival of Franck Nicaise as the new Cellar Master in 2007 burnished the house’s reputation and has provided new export impetus.

Maison Henri Abelé has made its lack of vines one of its greatest strengths. The house is thus free to select its grapes from the region’s finest terroirs, allowing a precise plot-by-plot vinification process.

In order to ensure consistency of style, these selections take place under loyalty contracts binding the house of Henri Abelé and the finest vine-growers in the Côte des Blancs and the Montagne de Reims. Through generations of shared passion and hard work, the house has built up a network of close, loyal relationships with small vine-growers, selected for their commitment to quality.

One of the primary characteristics of the Henri Abelé style has to do with its precision in wine production, and its choice in blending wines at their perfect maturity. The new winery and large collection of small vats allow the most suitable blends possible with a variety-by-variety and terroir-by- terroir vinification. R

Reaping the benefits of this terroir-by-terroir approach to vinification, the house’s peerless blending expertise has been passed down and honed from generation to generation, evolving into a genuine art and guaranteeing the unique, distinctive character of Abelé Champagnes.

Available to buy at www.dcwines.co.uk

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