Champagne Philippe Fourrier – Interview With Julien Fourrier

The love of Champagne is infinite, a language that everyone can understand, a sparkle that can shine in anyone’s glass, it can connect people, brings them together and places a smile on faces around the world.

In this exclusive feature on Glass of Bubbly, we speak with Julien Fourrier, the Owner and Winemaker at Champagne Philippe Fourrier, let’s discover a little about his life, his journey into the industry and one of his favourite Champagne memories.

It’s Great To Speak With You, Julien, Can You Tell Us A Little About Yourself & How Your Journey Into The Champagne Industry Began?

“I started to work in the family business in 2003 just after finishing my studies in oenology and wine-growing. I have grown up in the Champagne environment since my childhood. I learned my knowledge through my grandfather, Claude FOURRIER, and my father, Philippe FOURRIER. They taught me their know-how, their experiences, their working methods and their philosophies. Mastery of all parameters: from vine cultivation to winemaking allows me to produce great Champagnes while respecting our terroir and our environment.”

Do You Remember Your First Experience With Champagne? When It Was And What Kind Of Label It Was?

“When I was young, I used to participate in the bottling process with my grandfather. The harvest was always a great memory! This period is very important and very intense but very convivial. We hire many seasonal workers, and it creates good times of ‘giggles’.”

How Rewarding And Challenging Is Managing Your Own Champagne House?

“I don’t necessarily expect recognition. I feel more pleasure in being able to produce Champagne with our philosophy. I use the pronoun ‘we’ because we are a working team on the domain and everyone has their part of the responsibility. Our aim is to highlight our domain, the quality of our Champagnes as well as the feeling brought to our customers.

The challenge is to be able to maintain the high quality of our Champagnes each year. We are in a period where a lot of changes appear: climatic as the weather is more and more capricious (frost and high heat), we have to adapt to these hazards and the productivity as we are in an era where we always have to move faster, we should already sell the bottle knowing that the grapes have not been harvested yet. We must give our Champagnes the time to improve by ageing quietly in our cellars.”

When It Comes To Pairing Champagne With Food, Do You Have Any Favourite Combinations That You Would Personally Recommend?

“This is a very interesting subject that could be developed for hours!

The quality of Champagne is linked to many parameters: quality of grapes, exposure of the plots, different stages of vinification, etc.

Also, the ageing is a very important criteria, it brings complexity and roundness to our Champagnes.

– For a Vintage having spent several years in the cellar, beautiful notes of pastry and vanilla will be able to be expressed. All of this is counterbalanced with a beautiful acidity and the mineral pear side of the Chardonnay grape varieties or the more structured and robust side of the Pinot Noir. A vintage can be served as an aperitif, during a meal or even with a cheese platter.

– For a non-vintage Champagne, a Chardonnay will give us a wine with very nice finesse, very mineral, elegant, notes of white fruit, and pretty citrus fruits which will bring us a lot of subtlety. It can be served as an aperitif and possibly with a lovely seafood platter.

– A Pinot Noir with a lovely red fruit note, a beautiful structure, very nice length on the finish, a very nice freshness, a Champagne for all times.”

What Future Plans Can Enthusiasts Of Champagne Philippe Fourrier Look Forward To In The Coming Years?

“Our projects allow us to move forward and to be able to anchor our domain in the most beautiful cellars. An investment is underway for 2024 in the purchase of oak barrels which will bring more complexity to our Champagnes.

The renovation of our reception area is also planned to accommodate and highlight this area. And more projects are to come but we need to keep some secrets 😉”

Can You Share With Us One Of The Most Memorable Experiences You’ve Enjoyed With A Glass of Bubbly?

“My best experiences are meeting our customers and being able to talk with them, getting their feedback and above all their thanks for moments we spent together.

I will end by saying that being the 7th generation of a wine-growing family is a great opportunity and respecting one’s terroir and its environment is a duty, making Champagne is a hobby.”

Thank you Julien, for sharing your story and experiences with us and we at Glass of Bubbly wish you the very best for the future!

Images belong to Julien Fourrier. Glass of Bubbly was granted permission to use them.