#116 - The story of Marie-Antoinette's Champagne: with Maud Rabin, Managing Director of Rare Champagne | Wine Makers Show: the wine podcast

Description

Pour a glass and hold onto your tiara: this episode drops us straight into the gilded world of Rare Champagne, the vintage-only prestige cuvée born at the court of Versailles.

We sit down with Maud Rabin, Managing Director of Rare Champagne, inside the house's headquarters in Reims (in the Salon Marie-Antoinette itself) to unravel a story that runs from a queen's love of pineapple in 1785 to a bottle dressed by Van Cleef & Arpels two centuries later.

Maud trades ten years in fashion for the world of Champagne, tracks down the very family who relaunched the brand, and reveals why Rare Champagne only exists in vintage years, why it took four decades to make just four rosés, and why the tiara on every bottle is glued by hand, one dot at a time, by a team of eight women in Reims.

Expect royal history, Chardonnay obsession, and a glass of Rare 1988 paired with Comte. Tune in!

▬▬ 🎁 GIFTS 🎁 ▬▬

📚 Marie-Antoinette, by Stefan Zweig

📚 La Rose de Versailles (Lady Oscar), by Riyoko Ikeda (French History through the story of Marie-Antoinette, in a manga)

📚 Vigneronne, by Laure Gasparotto

🍾 Learn more about Rare Champagne: https://www.rare-champagne.com/

👸🏼 From Septembre 22, 2026 to January 24, 2027: celebration of the 20 years of the movie Marie-Antoinette by Sofia Coppola, through an exhibition presented at the Petit Trianon, at Château de Versailles

🎁 Get your wine essentials on our shop: a curated selection of wine accessories, posters and much more

🗺️ Get the best Wine Map of the Champagne region: as information as decorative

▬▬ ⭐️ ABOUT ⭐️ ▬▬

My name is Antoine, and I’ve been passionate about wine for several years. I knew nothing at first, so I went out to meet the biggest figures in the industry and turned those encounters into a podcast that’s now listened to by over 100,000 people. I now share with you what I’ve learned, and I hope we embark together on a beautiful wine journey to discover the finest experiences.

ALCOHOL ABUSE IS DANGEROUS FOUR YOUR HEALTH. CONSUME IN MODERATION.

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Transcription

Speaker #0
All right. Hi, everyone. Hi, Maud.
Speaker #1
Hi.
Speaker #0
Thank you very much for welcoming me here at Rare Champagne. My pleasure. Just in the, we're in the south of France, right? So in Champagne region. I see that Rare Champagne is the jewel of Champagne. So we'll have plenty of opportunity to talk about that. But first, can you start by introducing yourself?
Speaker #1
Thank you so much for being with us. It's always a pleasure, you know, to welcome Beautiful soul who love, you know, what we do. A bit of context, I'm Maud Rabin. I'm a mother of two beautiful daughters. And I started, you know, in the fashion industry. And I knew that my family was, because my family, they were wine dealers. So since day one, I grew up in the middle of the vineyards. not in Champagne because I was in the Loire Valley. So it's not so noble because you were the Muscadet. But my grandfather would have loved, you know, seeing me here in the Champagne because for him, it was the most beautiful wine in the world. And I remember that even at the age of 10, Christmas, we all had a glass of Champagne. I don't know, for the kids, you know, the family was just one drop. But we had this like a routine, the Christmas routine. So I don't know why, but maybe this stays in my mind or in my spirit. But I spent 10 years in the fashion industry and this was really important. Why? Because in a fashion, you have to pay attention to details. You have to go fast. So it's the exact opposite of Mother Nature because Mother Nature, you have to take your time, etc. But the contrast is very interesting. you um you understand and you build a brand like Art de Vivre. So you are building, you know, an art of style, art of living, but not specifically a product. And then I joined the company Rémi Cointreau. I was in charge of the image of the spirit division, mainly Cointreau. It was 99% of my time. And I grew up in Angers, in Loire Valley. So I knew I had Cointreau in my blood. honestly so complete different industry as well because you are in the spirit industry so not so far from fashion because it's very quick to make a spirit but I imagine Cointreau had a perfume of cocktail because it was at the heart of every beautiful cocktail such as Margarita Cointreau etc and at Rémy Cointreau we had the champagne division at that time and there was Piper Heitzik He was part of Cointreau with the Charles Heitzik. And Rare Champagne was a prestigious cuvee of Piper Heitzik. And Rémi Cointreau sold the champagne company to Monsieur Descours in 2011. And in 2015, he decided to hire the number two of Rémi Cointreau, Damien Laforie, to ask him to run the company. And in 2017, Damien Laforie called me. telling me that we have a beautiful project. I was thinking of you. If you are interested, we would love you to meet with the family, with Regis Camus, who was a cellar master at that time of Piper Heitzik and Raar Champagne. And I spent three hours with Regis Camus that I knew, but not really, you know, I knew who he was. I was a certain admiration for the character, but I did not know him personally. But we spent three hours. together and he told me Maud, even if you grew up in the Loire Valley, you grew up with the vines and this is the most important because wherever you could come from, you know, South Africa or Napa Valley or even Beijing, you know they do some beautiful wines now the most important is to understand that Mother Nature is the most important you have to respect You have to live with the mother nature. You have to wait. You have to learn. You have to understand. And you have to transform into jewels. And I say, yes, I will take the challenge. So I was hired in 2018 to split and to separate Rare Champagne from Piper Heitzik to create a standalone brand. And my first question was, can I meet with the family? Because even if I knew Rare Champagne, I didn't know why the name Rare. Why the tiara? Why the vintages? Why Chateau de Versailles? I had some pieces of the puzzle, but it was not a complete puzzle. And me, I need to work for an authentic and sincere brand. Otherwise, I'm not able to do... what I want and I'm not able to make any success, you know, with the team because everything has to make sense. And my boss told me, we don't have any relationship with them, you know, they cut many years ago. So no chance. And three weeks after, believe me, I believe in God and universe. I went to London with Regis Camus. We had our first C'est la fin. first master class sorry at paul mall 67 so kind of big one you know very important we cannot fail and the purpose was to explain to that client and their team and all you know the best client they had with them at that time for this specific moment that we wanted to separate our champagne from the paper high tick and they all said but it's meant to be there was no question And at the end. of the masterclass, someone came to me and said, Madame, I heard about rare champagne. I was not aware of this masterclass, but I felt frustrated because it's my father who launched rare champagne. And I said, what? He knows that, what? And we spent three hours with Patrick Dolan, so the son of Marquis Dolan, who launched rare champagne. And I had the chance to be able to ask all the questions I had to the Marquis Dolan. And he explained to me the whole thing. So my puzzle, one month after, was almost 100%, you know, done. And then the whole, you know, life of rare champagne since then is just a wonderful journey. Voilà.
Speaker #0
So let's dig into the different parts of this story. First, so... You say that you come from Loire, so it's far from Champagne, but it's still the country of castles. Yes,
Speaker #1
a history of France.
Speaker #0
A history of France, and I think pretty close to the royalty. That being said, so you start your career in the fashion industry. It's true that fashion spirits are very different to wine, even though for fashion, it's still interesting because you launch collections potentially every year. and maybe you have the same alignment here of launching a new product every year. But what are the lessons that you keep from this fashion industry that you apply here in the champagne space?
Speaker #1
Good question. The main thing I would say is the spirit of agility because we don't have a vintage to be launched every year, but we can do other things. You know, we are not obliged to wait for vintage to speak, you know, the history to, I would say, to tell, you know, people how beautiful we are. So the main lesson is to be agile, to take the opportunity to talk about the brand beautifully. So it can be to the chef, to the sommelier, to the pride collectors and organizing some incredible experiences. And the fashion, what was magical at that time, because today it's a little bit different, but you had this big, you know, fashion show from Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld. You remember, you know, it was like a one catwalk was a window for six months. So I imagine the hard experiences exactly that way. Creating something extraordinary, money can't buy experiences that you cannot purchase. So it can be... discovering rare champagne on the top floor of the Arc de Triomphe. It can be opening the Versailles Palace for a group of six people only at midnight with a rare champagne, you know, 2012. We have to organize things like this. And this makes me think of the fashion industry, because in fashion, you have to be agile. You have to be creative. And this is the two lessons I kept. Maybe others as well. you That one is very important. We have to be creative. And it's not a question of money. It's a question of idea. And the fashion you are obliged to create always, you know. And even Chanel said, you can copy me. I will always be more creative than you. And this is not my motto every day. But I think, I often think to this sentence because it's exactly where we have to be. The energy, the vibe, we had this discussion yesterday with my team in the US. We need to work as we were in a startup. This is the vibe of working at RAR Champagne every day. So the positivity, the agility and the creativity.
Speaker #0
Yeah, it's pretty interesting because what you did in the fashion industry brings you the ability to do things the other can't think of. Like opening Versailles, it's an amazing idea, but no one did it before. But not this way.
Speaker #1
It's a big dinner for, you know, a kid or whatever, but not for six or eight people. Way true. Exactly. and the thing is um um It's all about emotion and the fashion, you know. The media of the fashion is the clothes. So they have to give you the emotion of, wow, this was wonderful. You know, you have to forget even the model behind. And for our champagne, it's exactly the same. The wine is so beautiful. The bottle is so beautiful. I don't want to add a specific packaging or something with two glasses. You know, it's not the thing, you know. What we need to create is... a wonderful moment, even a simple moment, even the moment of today, you know, it's simple, but it's beautiful. I mean, the weather is beautiful. You brought the sun, you brought, you know, the warm temperature. We are in the salon Marie Antoinette. I mean, this is very beautiful.
Speaker #0
So let's talk a little bit about this experience. So you mentioned the tiara on the bottle. It's actually a bottle I'm not sure you will find at the supermarket. No. The bottle of Raphampagne. So maybe you've not seen it that much compared to other brands. But the first thing that is impressive is the shape of the bottle and this decoration around it. Can you give us a bit of background on the story of the house and why you did apply these elements to the bottle?
Speaker #1
This is, I think, one of the most beautiful history. I could have even imagined, you know, in my life, when the Marquis d'Olonne told me, Maude, the thing is in the 18th century. So I am the sixth generation. So my grand, grand, grand, grandfather, the Florent Louis Heitzik, the founder of Piper Heitzik, had one motto in mind. He wanted to become the richest man in Europe. Super simple.
Speaker #0
Very small ambition.
Speaker #1
Small ambition. But the thing is...
Speaker #0
At the time, it was easy.
Speaker #1
So he had to convince one person because the bubbles were only at the royal court. You know, nobody could afford any bubbles. It wasn't, you know, trendy at all. It was only for the royal court of France. So he said, ah, I need to meet with the queen and I want to create a cuvee worthy of a queen. So he made some researches about the queen and he discovered that she was in love with pineapple, in love with tropical fruits. And when you make some research on the pineapple, it arrived in France in 1730. So it was only for the queen and the king. Same. She was so in love with that fruit, which was considered and still today, the king of fruits. You know, with the crown. That if you go to visit the private apartment of the queen, you can see the pineapple everywhere in the pattern. So he created a blending full of tropical notes. This is the recipe, the notes that the Marquis de Lens could find in the little notebook of Florent Louis XVIII. And he met with the queen and the whole team because he was surrounded by 100 people. He met with the queen on May 6th, 1785. And he introduced this elixir, this specific blending. And she loved, they loved, they loved the bubbles. and the other 3,000 bottles. So he sent Piper Heitzig. So not the elixir, but Piper Heitzig. And that's how Piper Heitzig arrived in the royal court of France. With this also blending of very, you know, rich and delicious. And then he was very smart because he knew that if she took the champagne, the royal court of Spain, of Austria, of Netherlands, they all, you know, they all purchased. Piper Heitzig. And still today, you can find Piper Heitzig at the Royal Court of Spain, Netherlands, Belgium. They still have the specific label for them. So he made his dream come true, except that the elixir was like a sleeping beauty. So the next generation, they wanted really, you know, to create something. So they decided to create the bottle, which is a Pint Majeur. So this, we have a pattern on the shape of the bottle. Um. And he asked Pierre Calphaberger to come back with a specific label, very beautiful for the queen. And unfortunately, the drawing is very beautiful, but it's impossible to make, to realize, because it's supposed to blue, you know, to burn a little bit the bottle, because you have to put some lapis lazuli. It's a nightmare. And still today, we cannot do it, because in the bottle, you have the champagne. So in rare champagne, we keep it 10 years, you know, on lease. So we cannot do anything on the bottle. So the project stayed like a shipping beauty for years and years and years. And Le Marquis d'Olonne, he discovered the car who took the queen, who took, you know, Floral Waitsick to meet with the queen, the notebook, etc. And he said, no, but I will do it. I will be the one who will make his dream come true. And I will create the most expensive. and the most beautiful cuvée in the world. So he asked the family Van Cleef & Arpels, because they were close friends, to take as an inspiration the drawing of Pierre Calphabergé and to say, well, voilà, this was, you know, the inspiration. Can you make the decor of the very first prestigious cuvée of Piper Heitzig? Champagne rare at that time. So the first bottle of rare champagne was decorated by Van Cleef & Arpels. And it was 1 million francs at that time in 1985 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first appointment between the Queen and Florian Louis-Haïtique. And he has chosen Versailles Palace. So we are actually, and this is Madame Pégard. So she's the ministre de la culture today, but she was the CEO of Versailles Palace for many years. And one day she called me and said, Thank you. Maud, did you know that you are the only, enfin, you, Rare Champagne, is the only one brand born at Versailles? Do you know that? And she sent me the articles in Paris Match, Jour de France, all the media at that time. It was one of the most important dinners which occurred at Versailles Palace. And when they decided to create the book to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Versailles, They dedicated two pages for her champagne because the dinner was so crazy. 56 meals, 1,200 guests. They put, you know, 12,000 roses. They have a fireworks. It was completely extraordinary. Carole Bouquet, she was the hostess, the master of the ceremony. Why? because she was just... recognized as the most beautiful woman in France. So that's why, you know, he wanted people to understand that Champagne Rare was the most beautiful, prestigious cuvee in the world. And then he left France for three months. And that's how they did at that time. He went to make the tour of the United States with his wife to introduce himself, the prestigious cuvee Champagne Rare. And when he sawed... the champagne to La Famille Herrière du Breuil, Rémi Cointreau. At Rémi Cointreau, the team decided to switch Champagne Rare by Rare Champagne because everyone was easier, specifically in the United States. They say the rare champagne, rare champagne. And in 2007, I would say, they decided to apply a tiara. So they briefed Arthus Bertrand. So one of the most beautiful goldsmiths to create the allegory of the triumph of the vine, because this was a brief of the cellar master in 1976. And 1976 is the first vintage of rare champagne. It was that one once launched at Versailles Palace in 1985. And in the year 2006-2007, they apply the tiara, which is dressed. here in our warehouse by a team of eight women. So once we receive an order, the Franciennes, Anne-Charlotte, Chloé, and all the others, you know, they dress the bottle one by one. You have 48 dots of glue. It's like, you know, a true savoir-faire, a know-how. It's absolutely marvelous. And it's a tiara as a tribute to the Queen Marie-Antoinette, but also a tribute to Reims. because Reims, it's a wonderful city. They crowned 33 kings. Almost all the kings except Napoleon and Henri IV. So it was important for us to have this notion of crown, recognition, triumph, triumph of the vines, triumph of this magical city. Because champagne, I mean, everyone dreams about champagne. You can be completely lost in the desert. If you imagine you drinking a glass of champagne, it's a... It's a full dream. So, voilà. This is a beautiful homage, tribute to French history, French culture. The queen, who is the queen, the most famous in the world still today. From Japan to the US, everyone knows Marie Antoinette. And thanks to Marie Antoinette, we are here today. Absolutely. She's always with us.
Speaker #0
When you talk about that, I realize something is that I'm actually super grateful to live in a moment in which champagne is that much available compared to 200 years ago when it was only for the court and for the majesty. Now I can just go wherever I want and order a bottle of champagne and it can be a bit expensive, but it's still super accessible. so So it's a good demonstration of our quality of life just improving.
Speaker #1
Absolutely. And this is very important because, yeah, actually, we elevate ourselves every day. It is very important.
Speaker #0
I think about that every time I eat Comté as well.
Speaker #1
Oui.
Speaker #0
What's a good time to be alive with Comté? Alors,
Speaker #1
Comté with a rare 1988. It's one of the most beautiful pairing.
Speaker #0
I would love to try it.
Speaker #1
told you, Régis Camus on the Scenario Master who really is a define the style of rare champagne.
Speaker #0
I can imagine if you have like this tropical signature in it, it can make a very good mix with the Conté. Speaking of this, let's talk a little bit about how you create these different cuvées. So rare champagne is only vintage, not every year.
Speaker #1
No.
Speaker #0
And do you have different style? rosé, blanc de blanc? No. Just one champagne?
Speaker #1
We have sometimes. The Brut, le rosé. Sometimes, it's only vintages. This was written by Le Marquis d'Olonne. He only wanted, you know, vintages. Not every year. Why? Because sometimes we are not able to have this style that we want. So the tropical notes. In every vintage of rare champagne, you will be able to... to discover the pineapple, the vanilla, the coconut, the kiwi, the little jasmine flowers. Always. According to the year and the weather we had that year, the pineapple can be cooked, the pineapple can be fresh, but you will always have these tropical fruits, these tropical nuts, this perfect balance between flower, fruits, and the spicy nuts. And sometimes the cellar master and his team are not able to have this exact style that can last more than 10, 15, 20 years. This is very important. With climate change, we will have more vintages year after year because it's not good for humans, but it's good for the wine. For the champagne, actually, because champagne loves the sun. the vineyards love the sun so we will have more vintages in the coming years but when it's very cold or when we cannot have these specific notes we don't vintage so there is no vintage and the rosé, the first one arrived in 2007 and we only have 4 rosés so Regis Camus created 4 rare rosés 2007, 2008, 2012 2014 team. that we will discover soon. And I don't know the next one. It's Emilien Boutilla, who joined the company in 2018, who will decide if he's going to launch the Rosé because even at the last minute, the year we're supposed to launch the vintage, we're not sure if it's not what we wanted.
Speaker #0
No.
Speaker #1
So it's only the best. We have a quest for excellence. It's very important because we are driven by value, not by volume. We are a family-owned company. Monsieur Descours is only one person. He's very young. He's in love with wine, with the champagne, with Italian wine as well. And for him, it's very important and he will be intransigent on the quality.
Speaker #0
Where can people discover rare champagne?
Speaker #1
Rare champagne, the wine stores. So the wine, I mean...
Speaker #0
Only the good wine stores. That's a good definition.
Speaker #1
The wine who have good taste. A Michelin restaurant, but also Palas. You can have some trendy places as well. Rarchampagne, we target some cities rather than the countries because we are in under allocation. So it's not so easy. But we have a team in London. We have a team of three people in the U.S. So we will have one in Miami, one in Las Vegas and one based in California. But you can do, you know, the whole the U.S. and Marie. in New York. We have someone in Paris as well. So even if we work with distribution, there are team behind. We identify hard birds that we call the rare birds. And they are, you know, the one who perfectly embodies the brand, understand the brand and are able to list hard champagne in wonderful places by relationship, by concept we can imagine, like the afternoon tea Marie-Antoinette at Le Crayon that we launched last year in October. And it was such a success that Le Crayon asked us to be back for this year. This is the history of our champagne. It's only vintages under allocation. So we create concepts according to places we are. But it's relatively places where you can enjoy. beautifully the life even if it's a simple restaurant the the people who run the the restaurant the family are very very nice very kind and they are very very aware of what is going on in the world they know perfectly the the wine universe they are in love with the wine universe yeah maybe you're also in love with uh it's maybe dumb to say when we talk about uh restaurants and But...
Speaker #0
in love with details, with gastronomy, with doing good things and interesting things in that way. Do you still serve royalty today?
Speaker #1
No, with rare champagne, I don't think so. It's a good question because two years ago when Versailles, they organized the first exhibition in the history of Versailles in China at the Forbidden City. They made a beautiful exhibition. and it was directly linked to the Queen Marie Antoinette because they allow the public to discover the China, the piece of art that Marie Antoinette purchased at that time from China. And they asked us to be there. So they asked Rarchampagne to be with them. So it was a way to be linked to the history and to Versailles. But maybe it is, maybe not, I don't know. I know that someone offered. Rare Champagne, the Rare 2013 to the King of England. I don't know if he was able to discover it. We know that Rare Champagne is at the Elysée. So every dinner, which is very important, they open a bottle of Rare Champagne. But voilà. We can be, you know, very surprised. It's really, you know, by chance. completely that we can discover that kind of beautiful moments.
Speaker #0
It's amazing that someone 200 years ago just decided to make the best product in the world. And today, it's still like by chance opened in some crazy places like that.
Speaker #1
Absolutely.
Speaker #0
What is the relationship? So today, we are recording this in the Salon Marie-Antoinette. I saw that we are in the Piper IT HQ, I guess. What is the relationship that you kept with them?
Speaker #1
Here you are in the headquarters of the three houses, actually, because it's written Piper Heightsick, but there is Charlotte Seek as well and Rarchampagne. Charlotte Seek has their own pavilion, Les Crayères, in the city center. We also have one Crayères at Rarchampagne, but we have decided to have a little space here as well because it's more convenient. I love this headquarters. It's very beautiful. and it was made by a... Jacques Ferrier was the architect of the French pavilion at the big exhibition in China in 2008, l'Expo Universelle, Universal Exhibition. And it was just awarded last year or two years ago, most beautiful headquarter in France. So it's like a piece of art. And I imagine, you know, Marie-Antoinette, she would love that place because it's very modern in a way. And she was modern. And so usually, you know, we love to create our experiences at Eisenhower Residence in the city of France. It's a place, it's a magnificent hotel particulier, which was transformed into kind of a gem, a boutique hotel by the family Descours. But we play with the two places. So either we organize some beautiful experiences at Eisenhower Residence or... we organized some beautiful ones here as well. And we will revisit the garden as well, the little court, to explore more and to live more intensively the experience of Marie Antoinette here.
Speaker #0
Just behind you, there is a painting of someone serving champagne to a lady. I guess it's Marie Antoinette.
Speaker #1
Oui.
Speaker #0
Is this an original painting? Does it describe a specific scene or did you do it on purpose?
Speaker #1
It was done really before the company bought the champagne. Because this was, I think it was done by Le Marquis de Lens. Because Florent Louis XVI, he asked a painter. This is not the first one. The first one was a small piece. But they reproduced it in 10 or 20 frames. This is hilarious. But the thing is, he was so honored, happy. that he really wanted to, because at the time there were no pictures, no cell phone, nothing. So the way was he asked someone to draw the moment he had and he introduced the moment this way, which is clearly impossible. She could not meet with Florent Louis-Haitzik that way because we imagine here that it's a bedroom. She never received and welcomed any person in a bedroom.
Speaker #0
You know, the bed in the mirror.
Speaker #1
Exactly. So this scene is what he probably lived, but not in this area. But the magic is he really wanted to recreate the moment, to make it, you know, to embellish this moment and to explain that it was true, you know. So Le Marquis d'Olonne decided to reproduce this mini beautiful painting, which is in the safe. in 20, 25 and different dimensions. But this is the one.
Speaker #0
Taking the time to admire this must have been a crazy moment for him.
Speaker #1
And since it's incredible, you know, the power she had, the influence and the inspiration. She was inspiring so many people. We owe a lot. to the Queen Marie Antoinette. We owe a lot to François I, Marie de' Medici, to Marie Antoinette and to Imperatrice Eugénie, who was completely in love with Marie Antoinette. But for, and thanks to l'Imperatrice Eugénie, it was a revival of Marie Antoinette because imagine at that time, I'm not sure she was well seen, you know, because we all know the end. the life of Louise XVI and Marie Antoinette. But l'imperatrice Eugénie completely understood the queen, completely understood what really happened, which was completely unfair. And she decided to reintroduce the true Marie Antoinette. And that's how everything happens again around the queen. And that's how she was a little bit more rehabilitated. And in the beginning of the 20s, There was some movie about the Queen, some beautiful books. And Antonia Fraser completely rehabilitated Marie-Antoinette.
Speaker #0
Do you have a book recommendation about Marie-Antoinette?
Speaker #1
For me, the best one... It's a biography of Stefan Zweig.
Speaker #0
Okay. It's very nice to read.
Speaker #1
He completely understood the Queen. For me, it's the best one. Antonia is absolutely brilliant as well, Fraser. But Stefan Zweig, it's something...
Speaker #0
Yeah, plus easy to read. You can see how...
Speaker #1
Different inside. Yeah,
Speaker #0
how it's incarnated. It's interesting. I must say that I'm not super familiar with her history. by herself. Like, I know the end and like everyone in France, but I think we don't talk about it.
Speaker #1
No, but even, you know, in Japan, they know more the history of France rather than us because they all watched the manga La Rose de Versailles. And La Rose de Versailles is Histoire de France through the history of Marie-Antoinette Quinn. So this is completely crazy. And me, I was completely passionate about La Rose de Versailles when I was young. I watched all the manga. It was my Wednesday morning. and when I had the chance to visit my team in Japan two years ago and I had an interview like the one we have today with a wonderful woman and she asked me did you watch manga and I said yes La Rose de Versailles silence what? we're going to relaunch the manga in a movie in two months worldwide I said what? I don't know. I didn't know. And they launched the movie January 6th, the year after, the 2025th, the Ryoko Ikeda. So the queen is still alive. And last year at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, you had a Marie Antoinette exhibition. I couldn't even attend. It was sold out in two weeks for the six months.
Speaker #0
You should have provided champagne. You would have access it.
Speaker #1
In the coming months, you will be able to discover the new exhibition at Trianon, which will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola, the movie, which is her view of the personality of Marie Antoinette, which is not the way we see her. But everybody, you know, is a perception of the queen. and thanks to Sofia Coppola Marie Antoinette was seen as a pop and very sparkling and brilliant woman as well. It's not the true Marie Antoinette because Marie Antoinette, actually, she didn't drink a lot. It was only little bubbles, but once a day, not so much. She was vegan. She was obliged to meet... to eat meat, but she completely disliked that. So she was okay to...
Speaker #0
That's what all vegans say.
Speaker #1
To eat a little bit of chicken, but that's it. She was really in advance on her time because she wanted an old garden with the strawberries, with the potatoes. She invented... I don't know what it is, with the potato. She was...
Speaker #0
she invented the croissant as well so it was a lot you know in every kind of universe she inspired and elevates the either you know the product or the moment i know it's not her i was about to say a mistake i was about to talk about the glass but this is a pompadour i think she really used it as well because she was um she
Speaker #1
was like a kid you know so she has a I heard of a kid, so she wanted to play. She wanted to have fun. And the pompadour glass for her was something a bit crazy because it was a form of the boobs, but it was also used because you could not put some portions because the glass was this way. So the portion at that time, it was too complicated. So it had a double use as well. Indeed. Um...
Speaker #0
Going back to the champagne by itself, do you, so how does, like, in terms of production, where does the vines come from? Is it your own estate or do you have, like, partners through which you buy grapes or juice? And what is it inside? Mainly Chardonnay, I guess?
Speaker #1
We are Chardonnay-driven. Okay. We are the only one. We think, we don't really know because, you know, there are so many, plenty, plenty. But at Rarchampagne, we have a little bit, but not so much. We have a lot of partners since years and years and contracts of decades. Even Emilien, his father was already, you know, someone who gives the grapes for 30 years already. So it's a really family. relationship and today we even have some new producers who say we would love to sell some grapes to Har Champagne. Are we able to do that? The thing is we are sourcing our Chardonnay in the kingdom of Pinot Noir and we use 70% of Chardonnay, 30% of Pinot Noir and it's a blending of between 9 and 11 villages but 80% of the time is the same villages. So I know that Régis Camus was in love with Villers Marmerie, but we have a lot from Avis, Aïe, Boussy, Verzi, Verzenay. Sometimes it's Pinot Noir, sometimes it's Chardonnay. But we are mainly Chardonnay.
Speaker #0
And so it's your head winemaker who basically decides? Ah oui,
Speaker #1
it's a cellar master with a team of eight people. They all know how to do paper. how to make pepper, how to make chard, how to make rare champagne. But we have one person who decides the style, if we will launch it or if we will not. And that's why, for example, Emilia, in 2023, it was end of 2022, decided to launch the vintage 2013 and not the 2012. Because the 2012 were not ready at all. So he said, no, it's impossible. It's too young. Even if it's already 11 years, we are not able to launch it. So we will reveal first the 2013 and then the 12. Can we do that more than a Ciba? You decide. I mean, if the wine is not ready, it's not ready. So let's start with the 2013. And the magic is when we do some masterclasses with the 13 and the 12 side by side, you understand why Emilien decided this. Because the 13 is much more mature rather than the 12, which is so fresh. The fresh pineapple with a lime, bergamot, citrus notes, rather than the 2013, it's much more about the apricots, the cooked pineapple, the notes of brioche, honey. It's the opposite. So we can perfectly understand why.
Speaker #0
Why you switched.
Speaker #1
This is a magic thing, you know. This is magical. And nobody else is doing this. In other houses, you know, they release year by year. And they have another speech and they have another, you know, and it's not Chardonnay driven either. It's more Pinot Noir. But here at Rarchampagne, it's what we do.
Speaker #0
Is there anything we didn't mention that is very important to you?
Speaker #1
The main thing is that really, you know, the Marquis de Lens really wanted, you know, to create a jewel. And Regis Camus, when he defined the style of rare champagne, really insisted on this, making the most beautiful wine he could even imagine making. And this is very important because we have to respect this. Rare champagne, we will discover the 12. We are in 2026. Can you imagine? Patience. The know-how. It's the exact opposite of what we are living in the fast fashion, in the fast consumption, mass consumption. It's exactly the opposite. So for me, this is a quiet luxury, but this is a true luxury. Voilà, c'est ça. C'est le luxe du luxe. Mais accessible.
Speaker #0
But more accessible than when it was reserved to the royalty. Behind the camera, do you have any leftover questions? No more questions.
Speaker #1
They want to taste.
Speaker #0
They want to taste. Yeah, we will.
Speaker #1
The bubbles.
Speaker #0
Before finishing this interview, I still have three last questions. The first one. So we talked about book, about Marie-Antoinette. So it's done. I will put the link in description. But do you have a book recommendation about wine?
Speaker #1
Oui, alors, José, I took this one. Alors, I could take many, many books. But that one really, you know, touched me. because Lord Gasparotto, she was in trouble in her life at that moment. And she took this challenge of creating her own wine. But she bought the vineyards. She made everything by herself. And I love one of the sentences in the book, so I don't remember where it is. It's at the beginning. But she said, my first harvest was like my first kiss. And when I read this, you know, I was immersed in my childhood with my grandfather because I know, you know, I know they were so in love with their vineyards, you know. They were more important than us. You know, we could be sick. So you go to the doctor.
Speaker #0
Go to sleep. I will take care of the vines.
Speaker #1
The vines, if they were sick, it was a drama. Absolute drama. Absolute drama. And this is exactly what she explains. And she had at that moment, you know, a daughter. She was only two. So she was living in between Paris. And for me, she's a queen. And she exactly explained what Vigneron here is and the power of love of modern nature. And I didn't find any other books where you can find the love for the vineyards. You can have the love for the wine, but the wine, it's an expression of your vineyards. So if you don't pay attention to your vineyards, the wine, it won't match. And I will make the parallel with Valentin Tardiovitali, with the onologue, the vigneron as well. She loves to say I am a vigneron of Chateau Laverie. And Chateau Laverie is the first domain, wine estate of Monsieur Descours. In the 1980s, his grandfather bought this Bastide, Le Mar, in Luberon. And he created his wine because he wanted like a Grand Bordeaux. So he created the Grand Défense. And Valentin Tardieu-Vitali, who is the owner, the vigneron, but also the CEO of the wine estate, she's working like Laure. And that's why the wine I love is the Chateau Laverie as well. And when you asked me the question, which wine was... wow, something different you discovered not so long ago, I would say Le Grand des Fonds Rosés. Because I didn't know it was a rosé. I thought it was a red wine. And I was completely shocked, surprised. And Le Grand des Fonds Rosés, I hope you will be able to discover it because it's something you cannot find anywhere. You don't know where you are. It's something.
Speaker #0
It happened to me, to us in Bandol two years ago, I think something like that. We're visiting an estate in Bandol and the owner was like, so, you know, we just arrived five hours off train. Before that, we did. I don't even know what we were doing, but like, you know, you're tired, a bit dirty. You just want to take a shower, go to sleep. And so the guy says, you want to drink something tonight? So we're like, yeah, why not? Why not? So we're like, okay. We're French. Yeah, we're still French, plus we're on holidays, so let's go for it. And he was like, okay, let me find a bottle for you. And so he brings a rosé and he doesn't say anything to us. And he just opens it and he goes away. And we're like, we're just going to take like, you know, half a glass each just because it's the holidays. And so we start drinking it and we're like, okay. And so actually, I think we drank almost.
Speaker #1
The bottle?
Speaker #0
The whole bottle. Like the treasure? 75% of the bottle. It was like a name of the... So it was at Domaine de la Baie-Gude. And it's L'Iréductible. Oh, okay.
Speaker #1
I will note.
Speaker #0
And it's like it's really... So L'Iréductible, but 2011, which is older vintage for them.
Speaker #1
Older vintage as well.
Speaker #0
And it's like if I hadn't seen it as a rosé, I think I would have been lost as well. What the hell are we drinking right now? It makes no sense.
Speaker #1
This is crazy.
Speaker #0
I understand your experience.
Speaker #1
Incredible. So this is a wine I would have picked because I had this surprise.
Speaker #0
So you anticipated that question, but it was a perfect link.
Speaker #1
I don't know which book you would recommend me to read.
Speaker #0
From Laure Gasparotto, actually. Les vins d'Orient, non? Non. I love Le jour où il n'y aura plus de vent.
Speaker #1
Ah oui,
Speaker #0
j'ai pas lu encore. So she wrote that with Lilian Berillon. And so it's the story of what's happening before the vines. It's basically the story of the grape varieties and of the cèpes.
Speaker #1
Les cèpes, oui.
Speaker #0
The materiales végétales. it should be very interesting and it's very interesting because you see what's happening behind by the industry that is basically for some part of it sabotaging itself for the future because they destroyed the diversity of this material and it's very interesting to very well return Laurel with those amazing things absolutely she sometimes listens to this podcast so bonjour
Speaker #1
Laurel she came here to taste Piper Hightick and Rare Champagne you three or four years ago now.
Speaker #0
I interviewed her as well three or four years ago. It was an amazing moment. We were in our kitchen. Our kid was in the living room. It was a pretty fun moment. Last question is who is the next person I should interview?
Speaker #1
I don't know if you know that guy who is completely crazy.
Speaker #0
I probably know him.
Speaker #1
It's Nicolas Kennedy.
Speaker #0
I don't know him.
Speaker #1
So he doesn't have any wine estate, but he's a wine and gastronome lover.
Speaker #0
Okay.
Speaker #1
He works with Jean-Maurice Sacré, who is the one who collected more than 30,000 menus. So he had the chance to... to open the Elysee every journée du patrimoine, le président Emmanuel Macron let him showcase some of the menu because he has everything. The most beautiful menu, dinners with the most beautiful wines. It's a very good idea. And when you talk with them, and specifically Nicolas Kennedy, he's completely crazy. He's even fucked up. But he's so much in love with French gastronomy. He's a patriot. So... French gastronomy, French wine, and all the recognition we should have all over the world. And he's brilliant. He's very agile, but he's a good guy. He loves to cook. And he knows every wine, actually. It's crazy. But there are so many people you should interview. But that one, I was looking at who you interview and I said, ah. Maybe another profile, someone who is not making any wine, but is able to say, you should taste this wine because he perfectly understood who you are and what you're going to love. And he will organize this in a certain way that you will never, never forget in your life.
Speaker #0
Can't wait to have this experience. So we will definitely reach out to Nicolas after this. Thank you very much, Maud.
Speaker #1
Thank you so much.
Speaker #0
It was an amazing moment to share. I hope you guys loved this interview. If you're still watching, it's that it's the case. So go try to discover the story of Marie-Antoinette and Rare Champagne. Don't forget to like, subscribe, share this episode. Thanks again, Maud.
Speaker #1
Merci beaucoup.
Speaker #0
And see you soon.
Speaker #1
Yeah, see you soon.
Speaker #0
Perfect. Ah, c'était très chouette. Merci beaucoup.
Speaker #1
Merci à vous.
Speaker #0
J'étais pas très familier.

About Wine Makers Show: the wine podcast

Join us on Wine Makers Show, the podcast that uncorks the world of wine! Hosted by Antoine, a passionate entrepreneur and wine enthusiast, this show dives deep into the stories, expertise, and journeys of the people who make wine extraordinary: winemakers, sommeliers, vintners, and industry trailblazers.

What to Expect

In-Depth Interviews: Hear from top figures in the wine world, from renowned vintners to unsung heroes, as they share their experiences, challenges, and secrets to success.
Club Episodes: Explore specific wine topics, from production techniques to tasting tips, in focused, occasional deep dives.
A Journey of Discovery: Whether you're a novice or a connoisseur, we break down the complexities of wine to make it accessible and engaging.

Why Listen?

Wine Makers Show is your gateway to understanding wine like never before. With a focus on storytelling and sharing, Antoine brings you closer to the heart of the wine industry, one conversation at a time. Expect authentic discussions, insider knowledge, and a celebration of the craft and culture of wine.

Connect with Us

Visit winemakersshow.com to get in touch or suggest a guest.
Email Antoine directly at winemakersshow@gmail.com.
Follow the journey on Instagram: @winemakersshow
Join the Academy and learn everything about wine

Tune in to Wine Makers Show and sip on the stories behind every bottle!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Wine Makers Show: the wine podcast

What to Expect

In-Depth Interviews: Hear from top figures in the wine world, from renowned vintners to unsung heroes, as they share their experiences, challenges, and secrets to success.
Club Episodes: Explore specific wine topics, from production techniques to tasting tips, in focused, occasional deep dives.
A Journey of Discovery: Whether you're a novice or a connoisseur, we break down the complexities of wine to make it accessible and engaging.

Why Listen?

Connect with Us

Visit winemakersshow.com to get in touch or suggest a guest.
Email Antoine directly at winemakersshow@gmail.com.
Follow the journey on Instagram: @winemakersshow
Join the Academy and learn everything about wine

Tune in to Wine Makers Show and sip on the stories behind every bottle!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Description

Pour a glass and hold onto your tiara: this episode drops us straight into the gilded world of Rare Champagne, the vintage-only prestige cuvée born at the court of Versailles.

Expect royal history, Chardonnay obsession, and a glass of Rare 1988 paired with Comte. Tune in!

▬▬ 🎁 GIFTS 🎁 ▬▬

📚 Marie-Antoinette, by Stefan Zweig

📚 La Rose de Versailles (Lady Oscar), by Riyoko Ikeda (French History through the story of Marie-Antoinette, in a manga)

📚 Vigneronne, by Laure Gasparotto

🍾 Learn more about Rare Champagne: https://www.rare-champagne.com/

🎁 Get your wine essentials on our shop: a curated selection of wine accessories, posters and much more

🗺️ Get the best Wine Map of the Champagne region: as information as decorative

▬▬ ⭐️ ABOUT ⭐️ ▬▬

ALCOHOL ABUSE IS DANGEROUS FOUR YOUR HEALTH. CONSUME IN MODERATION.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
All right. Hi, everyone. Hi, Maud.
Speaker #1
Hi.
Speaker #0
Thank you very much for welcoming me here at Rare Champagne. My pleasure. Just in the, we're in the south of France, right? So in Champagne region. I see that Rare Champagne is the jewel of Champagne. So we'll have plenty of opportunity to talk about that. But first, can you start by introducing yourself?
Speaker #1
Thank you so much for being with us. It's always a pleasure, you know, to welcome Beautiful soul who love, you know, what we do. A bit of context, I'm Maud Rabin. I'm a mother of two beautiful daughters. And I started, you know, in the fashion industry. And I knew that my family was, because my family, they were wine dealers. So since day one, I grew up in the middle of the vineyards. not in Champagne because I was in the Loire Valley. So it's not so noble because you were the Muscadet. But my grandfather would have loved, you know, seeing me here in the Champagne because for him, it was the most beautiful wine in the world. And I remember that even at the age of 10, Christmas, we all had a glass of Champagne. I don't know, for the kids, you know, the family was just one drop. But we had this like a routine, the Christmas routine. So I don't know why, but maybe this stays in my mind or in my spirit. But I spent 10 years in the fashion industry and this was really important. Why? Because in a fashion, you have to pay attention to details. You have to go fast. So it's the exact opposite of Mother Nature because Mother Nature, you have to take your time, etc. But the contrast is very interesting. you um you understand and you build a brand like Art de Vivre. So you are building, you know, an art of style, art of living, but not specifically a product. And then I joined the company Rémi Cointreau. I was in charge of the image of the spirit division, mainly Cointreau. It was 99% of my time. And I grew up in Angers, in Loire Valley. So I knew I had Cointreau in my blood. honestly so complete different industry as well because you are in the spirit industry so not so far from fashion because it's very quick to make a spirit but I imagine Cointreau had a perfume of cocktail because it was at the heart of every beautiful cocktail such as Margarita Cointreau etc and at Rémy Cointreau we had the champagne division at that time and there was Piper Heitzik He was part of Cointreau with the Charles Heitzik. And Rare Champagne was a prestigious cuvee of Piper Heitzik. And Rémi Cointreau sold the champagne company to Monsieur Descours in 2011. And in 2015, he decided to hire the number two of Rémi Cointreau, Damien Laforie, to ask him to run the company. And in 2017, Damien Laforie called me. telling me that we have a beautiful project. I was thinking of you. If you are interested, we would love you to meet with the family, with Regis Camus, who was a cellar master at that time of Piper Heitzik and Raar Champagne. And I spent three hours with Regis Camus that I knew, but not really, you know, I knew who he was. I was a certain admiration for the character, but I did not know him personally. But we spent three hours. together and he told me Maud, even if you grew up in the Loire Valley, you grew up with the vines and this is the most important because wherever you could come from, you know, South Africa or Napa Valley or even Beijing, you know they do some beautiful wines now the most important is to understand that Mother Nature is the most important you have to respect You have to live with the mother nature. You have to wait. You have to learn. You have to understand. And you have to transform into jewels. And I say, yes, I will take the challenge. So I was hired in 2018 to split and to separate Rare Champagne from Piper Heitzik to create a standalone brand. And my first question was, can I meet with the family? Because even if I knew Rare Champagne, I didn't know why the name Rare. Why the tiara? Why the vintages? Why Chateau de Versailles? I had some pieces of the puzzle, but it was not a complete puzzle. And me, I need to work for an authentic and sincere brand. Otherwise, I'm not able to do... what I want and I'm not able to make any success, you know, with the team because everything has to make sense. And my boss told me, we don't have any relationship with them, you know, they cut many years ago. So no chance. And three weeks after, believe me, I believe in God and universe. I went to London with Regis Camus. We had our first C'est la fin. first master class sorry at paul mall 67 so kind of big one you know very important we cannot fail and the purpose was to explain to that client and their team and all you know the best client they had with them at that time for this specific moment that we wanted to separate our champagne from the paper high tick and they all said but it's meant to be there was no question And at the end. of the masterclass, someone came to me and said, Madame, I heard about rare champagne. I was not aware of this masterclass, but I felt frustrated because it's my father who launched rare champagne. And I said, what? He knows that, what? And we spent three hours with Patrick Dolan, so the son of Marquis Dolan, who launched rare champagne. And I had the chance to be able to ask all the questions I had to the Marquis Dolan. And he explained to me the whole thing. So my puzzle, one month after, was almost 100%, you know, done. And then the whole, you know, life of rare champagne since then is just a wonderful journey. Voilà.
Speaker #0
So let's dig into the different parts of this story. First, so... You say that you come from Loire, so it's far from Champagne, but it's still the country of castles. Yes,
Speaker #1
a history of France.
Speaker #0
A history of France, and I think pretty close to the royalty. That being said, so you start your career in the fashion industry. It's true that fashion spirits are very different to wine, even though for fashion, it's still interesting because you launch collections potentially every year. and maybe you have the same alignment here of launching a new product every year. But what are the lessons that you keep from this fashion industry that you apply here in the champagne space?
Speaker #1
Good question. The main thing I would say is the spirit of agility because we don't have a vintage to be launched every year, but we can do other things. You know, we are not obliged to wait for vintage to speak, you know, the history to, I would say, to tell, you know, people how beautiful we are. So the main lesson is to be agile, to take the opportunity to talk about the brand beautifully. So it can be to the chef, to the sommelier, to the pride collectors and organizing some incredible experiences. And the fashion, what was magical at that time, because today it's a little bit different, but you had this big, you know, fashion show from Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld. You remember, you know, it was like a one catwalk was a window for six months. So I imagine the hard experiences exactly that way. Creating something extraordinary, money can't buy experiences that you cannot purchase. So it can be... discovering rare champagne on the top floor of the Arc de Triomphe. It can be opening the Versailles Palace for a group of six people only at midnight with a rare champagne, you know, 2012. We have to organize things like this. And this makes me think of the fashion industry, because in fashion, you have to be agile. You have to be creative. And this is the two lessons I kept. Maybe others as well. you That one is very important. We have to be creative. And it's not a question of money. It's a question of idea. And the fashion you are obliged to create always, you know. And even Chanel said, you can copy me. I will always be more creative than you. And this is not my motto every day. But I think, I often think to this sentence because it's exactly where we have to be. The energy, the vibe, we had this discussion yesterday with my team in the US. We need to work as we were in a startup. This is the vibe of working at RAR Champagne every day. So the positivity, the agility and the creativity.
Speaker #0
Yeah, it's pretty interesting because what you did in the fashion industry brings you the ability to do things the other can't think of. Like opening Versailles, it's an amazing idea, but no one did it before. But not this way.
Speaker #1
It's a big dinner for, you know, a kid or whatever, but not for six or eight people. Way true. Exactly. and the thing is um um It's all about emotion and the fashion, you know. The media of the fashion is the clothes. So they have to give you the emotion of, wow, this was wonderful. You know, you have to forget even the model behind. And for our champagne, it's exactly the same. The wine is so beautiful. The bottle is so beautiful. I don't want to add a specific packaging or something with two glasses. You know, it's not the thing, you know. What we need to create is... a wonderful moment, even a simple moment, even the moment of today, you know, it's simple, but it's beautiful. I mean, the weather is beautiful. You brought the sun, you brought, you know, the warm temperature. We are in the salon Marie Antoinette. I mean, this is very beautiful.
Speaker #0
So let's talk a little bit about this experience. So you mentioned the tiara on the bottle. It's actually a bottle I'm not sure you will find at the supermarket. No. The bottle of Raphampagne. So maybe you've not seen it that much compared to other brands. But the first thing that is impressive is the shape of the bottle and this decoration around it. Can you give us a bit of background on the story of the house and why you did apply these elements to the bottle?
Speaker #1
This is, I think, one of the most beautiful history. I could have even imagined, you know, in my life, when the Marquis d'Olonne told me, Maude, the thing is in the 18th century. So I am the sixth generation. So my grand, grand, grand, grandfather, the Florent Louis Heitzik, the founder of Piper Heitzik, had one motto in mind. He wanted to become the richest man in Europe. Super simple.
Speaker #0
Very small ambition.
Speaker #1
Small ambition. But the thing is...
Speaker #0
At the time, it was easy.
Speaker #1
So he had to convince one person because the bubbles were only at the royal court. You know, nobody could afford any bubbles. It wasn't, you know, trendy at all. It was only for the royal court of France. So he said, ah, I need to meet with the queen and I want to create a cuvee worthy of a queen. So he made some researches about the queen and he discovered that she was in love with pineapple, in love with tropical fruits. And when you make some research on the pineapple, it arrived in France in 1730. So it was only for the queen and the king. Same. She was so in love with that fruit, which was considered and still today, the king of fruits. You know, with the crown. That if you go to visit the private apartment of the queen, you can see the pineapple everywhere in the pattern. So he created a blending full of tropical notes. This is the recipe, the notes that the Marquis de Lens could find in the little notebook of Florent Louis XVIII. And he met with the queen and the whole team because he was surrounded by 100 people. He met with the queen on May 6th, 1785. And he introduced this elixir, this specific blending. And she loved, they loved, they loved the bubbles. and the other 3,000 bottles. So he sent Piper Heitzig. So not the elixir, but Piper Heitzig. And that's how Piper Heitzig arrived in the royal court of France. With this also blending of very, you know, rich and delicious. And then he was very smart because he knew that if she took the champagne, the royal court of Spain, of Austria, of Netherlands, they all, you know, they all purchased. Piper Heitzig. And still today, you can find Piper Heitzig at the Royal Court of Spain, Netherlands, Belgium. They still have the specific label for them. So he made his dream come true, except that the elixir was like a sleeping beauty. So the next generation, they wanted really, you know, to create something. So they decided to create the bottle, which is a Pint Majeur. So this, we have a pattern on the shape of the bottle. Um. And he asked Pierre Calphaberger to come back with a specific label, very beautiful for the queen. And unfortunately, the drawing is very beautiful, but it's impossible to make, to realize, because it's supposed to blue, you know, to burn a little bit the bottle, because you have to put some lapis lazuli. It's a nightmare. And still today, we cannot do it, because in the bottle, you have the champagne. So in rare champagne, we keep it 10 years, you know, on lease. So we cannot do anything on the bottle. So the project stayed like a shipping beauty for years and years and years. And Le Marquis d'Olonne, he discovered the car who took the queen, who took, you know, Floral Waitsick to meet with the queen, the notebook, etc. And he said, no, but I will do it. I will be the one who will make his dream come true. And I will create the most expensive. and the most beautiful cuvée in the world. So he asked the family Van Cleef & Arpels, because they were close friends, to take as an inspiration the drawing of Pierre Calphabergé and to say, well, voilà, this was, you know, the inspiration. Can you make the decor of the very first prestigious cuvée of Piper Heitzig? Champagne rare at that time. So the first bottle of rare champagne was decorated by Van Cleef & Arpels. And it was 1 million francs at that time in 1985 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first appointment between the Queen and Florian Louis-Haïtique. And he has chosen Versailles Palace. So we are actually, and this is Madame Pégard. So she's the ministre de la culture today, but she was the CEO of Versailles Palace for many years. And one day she called me and said, Thank you. Maud, did you know that you are the only, enfin, you, Rare Champagne, is the only one brand born at Versailles? Do you know that? And she sent me the articles in Paris Match, Jour de France, all the media at that time. It was one of the most important dinners which occurred at Versailles Palace. And when they decided to create the book to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Versailles, They dedicated two pages for her champagne because the dinner was so crazy. 56 meals, 1,200 guests. They put, you know, 12,000 roses. They have a fireworks. It was completely extraordinary. Carole Bouquet, she was the hostess, the master of the ceremony. Why? because she was just... recognized as the most beautiful woman in France. So that's why, you know, he wanted people to understand that Champagne Rare was the most beautiful, prestigious cuvee in the world. And then he left France for three months. And that's how they did at that time. He went to make the tour of the United States with his wife to introduce himself, the prestigious cuvee Champagne Rare. And when he sawed... the champagne to La Famille Herrière du Breuil, Rémi Cointreau. At Rémi Cointreau, the team decided to switch Champagne Rare by Rare Champagne because everyone was easier, specifically in the United States. They say the rare champagne, rare champagne. And in 2007, I would say, they decided to apply a tiara. So they briefed Arthus Bertrand. So one of the most beautiful goldsmiths to create the allegory of the triumph of the vine, because this was a brief of the cellar master in 1976. And 1976 is the first vintage of rare champagne. It was that one once launched at Versailles Palace in 1985. And in the year 2006-2007, they apply the tiara, which is dressed. here in our warehouse by a team of eight women. So once we receive an order, the Franciennes, Anne-Charlotte, Chloé, and all the others, you know, they dress the bottle one by one. You have 48 dots of glue. It's like, you know, a true savoir-faire, a know-how. It's absolutely marvelous. And it's a tiara as a tribute to the Queen Marie-Antoinette, but also a tribute to Reims. because Reims, it's a wonderful city. They crowned 33 kings. Almost all the kings except Napoleon and Henri IV. So it was important for us to have this notion of crown, recognition, triumph, triumph of the vines, triumph of this magical city. Because champagne, I mean, everyone dreams about champagne. You can be completely lost in the desert. If you imagine you drinking a glass of champagne, it's a... It's a full dream. So, voilà. This is a beautiful homage, tribute to French history, French culture. The queen, who is the queen, the most famous in the world still today. From Japan to the US, everyone knows Marie Antoinette. And thanks to Marie Antoinette, we are here today. Absolutely. She's always with us.
Speaker #0
When you talk about that, I realize something is that I'm actually super grateful to live in a moment in which champagne is that much available compared to 200 years ago when it was only for the court and for the majesty. Now I can just go wherever I want and order a bottle of champagne and it can be a bit expensive, but it's still super accessible. so So it's a good demonstration of our quality of life just improving.
Speaker #1
Absolutely. And this is very important because, yeah, actually, we elevate ourselves every day. It is very important.
Speaker #0
I think about that every time I eat Comté as well.
Speaker #1
Oui.
Speaker #0
What's a good time to be alive with Comté? Alors,
Speaker #1
Comté with a rare 1988. It's one of the most beautiful pairing.
Speaker #0
I would love to try it.
Speaker #1
told you, Régis Camus on the Scenario Master who really is a define the style of rare champagne.
Speaker #0
I can imagine if you have like this tropical signature in it, it can make a very good mix with the Conté. Speaking of this, let's talk a little bit about how you create these different cuvées. So rare champagne is only vintage, not every year.
Speaker #1
No.
Speaker #0
And do you have different style? rosé, blanc de blanc? No. Just one champagne?
Speaker #1
We have sometimes. The Brut, le rosé. Sometimes, it's only vintages. This was written by Le Marquis d'Olonne. He only wanted, you know, vintages. Not every year. Why? Because sometimes we are not able to have this style that we want. So the tropical notes. In every vintage of rare champagne, you will be able to... to discover the pineapple, the vanilla, the coconut, the kiwi, the little jasmine flowers. Always. According to the year and the weather we had that year, the pineapple can be cooked, the pineapple can be fresh, but you will always have these tropical fruits, these tropical nuts, this perfect balance between flower, fruits, and the spicy nuts. And sometimes the cellar master and his team are not able to have this exact style that can last more than 10, 15, 20 years. This is very important. With climate change, we will have more vintages year after year because it's not good for humans, but it's good for the wine. For the champagne, actually, because champagne loves the sun. the vineyards love the sun so we will have more vintages in the coming years but when it's very cold or when we cannot have these specific notes we don't vintage so there is no vintage and the rosé, the first one arrived in 2007 and we only have 4 rosés so Regis Camus created 4 rare rosés 2007, 2008, 2012 2014 team. that we will discover soon. And I don't know the next one. It's Emilien Boutilla, who joined the company in 2018, who will decide if he's going to launch the Rosé because even at the last minute, the year we're supposed to launch the vintage, we're not sure if it's not what we wanted.
Speaker #0
No.
Speaker #1
So it's only the best. We have a quest for excellence. It's very important because we are driven by value, not by volume. We are a family-owned company. Monsieur Descours is only one person. He's very young. He's in love with wine, with the champagne, with Italian wine as well. And for him, it's very important and he will be intransigent on the quality.
Speaker #0
Where can people discover rare champagne?
Speaker #1
Rare champagne, the wine stores. So the wine, I mean...
Speaker #0
Only the good wine stores. That's a good definition.
Speaker #1
The wine who have good taste. A Michelin restaurant, but also Palas. You can have some trendy places as well. Rarchampagne, we target some cities rather than the countries because we are in under allocation. So it's not so easy. But we have a team in London. We have a team of three people in the U.S. So we will have one in Miami, one in Las Vegas and one based in California. But you can do, you know, the whole the U.S. and Marie. in New York. We have someone in Paris as well. So even if we work with distribution, there are team behind. We identify hard birds that we call the rare birds. And they are, you know, the one who perfectly embodies the brand, understand the brand and are able to list hard champagne in wonderful places by relationship, by concept we can imagine, like the afternoon tea Marie-Antoinette at Le Crayon that we launched last year in October. And it was such a success that Le Crayon asked us to be back for this year. This is the history of our champagne. It's only vintages under allocation. So we create concepts according to places we are. But it's relatively places where you can enjoy. beautifully the life even if it's a simple restaurant the the people who run the the restaurant the family are very very nice very kind and they are very very aware of what is going on in the world they know perfectly the the wine universe they are in love with the wine universe yeah maybe you're also in love with uh it's maybe dumb to say when we talk about uh restaurants and But...
Speaker #0
in love with details, with gastronomy, with doing good things and interesting things in that way. Do you still serve royalty today?
Speaker #1
No, with rare champagne, I don't think so. It's a good question because two years ago when Versailles, they organized the first exhibition in the history of Versailles in China at the Forbidden City. They made a beautiful exhibition. and it was directly linked to the Queen Marie Antoinette because they allow the public to discover the China, the piece of art that Marie Antoinette purchased at that time from China. And they asked us to be there. So they asked Rarchampagne to be with them. So it was a way to be linked to the history and to Versailles. But maybe it is, maybe not, I don't know. I know that someone offered. Rare Champagne, the Rare 2013 to the King of England. I don't know if he was able to discover it. We know that Rare Champagne is at the Elysée. So every dinner, which is very important, they open a bottle of Rare Champagne. But voilà. We can be, you know, very surprised. It's really, you know, by chance. completely that we can discover that kind of beautiful moments.
Speaker #0
It's amazing that someone 200 years ago just decided to make the best product in the world. And today, it's still like by chance opened in some crazy places like that.
Speaker #1
Absolutely.
Speaker #0
What is the relationship? So today, we are recording this in the Salon Marie-Antoinette. I saw that we are in the Piper IT HQ, I guess. What is the relationship that you kept with them?
Speaker #1
Here you are in the headquarters of the three houses, actually, because it's written Piper Heightsick, but there is Charlotte Seek as well and Rarchampagne. Charlotte Seek has their own pavilion, Les Crayères, in the city center. We also have one Crayères at Rarchampagne, but we have decided to have a little space here as well because it's more convenient. I love this headquarters. It's very beautiful. and it was made by a... Jacques Ferrier was the architect of the French pavilion at the big exhibition in China in 2008, l'Expo Universelle, Universal Exhibition. And it was just awarded last year or two years ago, most beautiful headquarter in France. So it's like a piece of art. And I imagine, you know, Marie-Antoinette, she would love that place because it's very modern in a way. And she was modern. And so usually, you know, we love to create our experiences at Eisenhower Residence in the city of France. It's a place, it's a magnificent hotel particulier, which was transformed into kind of a gem, a boutique hotel by the family Descours. But we play with the two places. So either we organize some beautiful experiences at Eisenhower Residence or... we organized some beautiful ones here as well. And we will revisit the garden as well, the little court, to explore more and to live more intensively the experience of Marie Antoinette here.
Speaker #0
Just behind you, there is a painting of someone serving champagne to a lady. I guess it's Marie Antoinette.
Speaker #1
Oui.
Speaker #0
Is this an original painting? Does it describe a specific scene or did you do it on purpose?
Speaker #1
It was done really before the company bought the champagne. Because this was, I think it was done by Le Marquis de Lens. Because Florent Louis XVI, he asked a painter. This is not the first one. The first one was a small piece. But they reproduced it in 10 or 20 frames. This is hilarious. But the thing is, he was so honored, happy. that he really wanted to, because at the time there were no pictures, no cell phone, nothing. So the way was he asked someone to draw the moment he had and he introduced the moment this way, which is clearly impossible. She could not meet with Florent Louis-Haitzik that way because we imagine here that it's a bedroom. She never received and welcomed any person in a bedroom.
Speaker #0
You know, the bed in the mirror.
Speaker #1
Exactly. So this scene is what he probably lived, but not in this area. But the magic is he really wanted to recreate the moment, to make it, you know, to embellish this moment and to explain that it was true, you know. So Le Marquis d'Olonne decided to reproduce this mini beautiful painting, which is in the safe. in 20, 25 and different dimensions. But this is the one.
Speaker #0
Taking the time to admire this must have been a crazy moment for him.
Speaker #1
And since it's incredible, you know, the power she had, the influence and the inspiration. She was inspiring so many people. We owe a lot. to the Queen Marie Antoinette. We owe a lot to François I, Marie de' Medici, to Marie Antoinette and to Imperatrice Eugénie, who was completely in love with Marie Antoinette. But for, and thanks to l'Imperatrice Eugénie, it was a revival of Marie Antoinette because imagine at that time, I'm not sure she was well seen, you know, because we all know the end. the life of Louise XVI and Marie Antoinette. But l'imperatrice Eugénie completely understood the queen, completely understood what really happened, which was completely unfair. And she decided to reintroduce the true Marie Antoinette. And that's how everything happens again around the queen. And that's how she was a little bit more rehabilitated. And in the beginning of the 20s, There was some movie about the Queen, some beautiful books. And Antonia Fraser completely rehabilitated Marie-Antoinette.
Speaker #0
Do you have a book recommendation about Marie-Antoinette?
Speaker #1
For me, the best one... It's a biography of Stefan Zweig.
Speaker #0
Okay. It's very nice to read.
Speaker #1
He completely understood the Queen. For me, it's the best one. Antonia is absolutely brilliant as well, Fraser. But Stefan Zweig, it's something...
Speaker #0
Yeah, plus easy to read. You can see how...
Speaker #1
Different inside. Yeah,
Speaker #0
how it's incarnated. It's interesting. I must say that I'm not super familiar with her history. by herself. Like, I know the end and like everyone in France, but I think we don't talk about it.
Speaker #1
No, but even, you know, in Japan, they know more the history of France rather than us because they all watched the manga La Rose de Versailles. And La Rose de Versailles is Histoire de France through the history of Marie-Antoinette Quinn. So this is completely crazy. And me, I was completely passionate about La Rose de Versailles when I was young. I watched all the manga. It was my Wednesday morning. and when I had the chance to visit my team in Japan two years ago and I had an interview like the one we have today with a wonderful woman and she asked me did you watch manga and I said yes La Rose de Versailles silence what? we're going to relaunch the manga in a movie in two months worldwide I said what? I don't know. I didn't know. And they launched the movie January 6th, the year after, the 2025th, the Ryoko Ikeda. So the queen is still alive. And last year at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, you had a Marie Antoinette exhibition. I couldn't even attend. It was sold out in two weeks for the six months.
Speaker #0
You should have provided champagne. You would have access it.
Speaker #1
In the coming months, you will be able to discover the new exhibition at Trianon, which will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola, the movie, which is her view of the personality of Marie Antoinette, which is not the way we see her. But everybody, you know, is a perception of the queen. and thanks to Sofia Coppola Marie Antoinette was seen as a pop and very sparkling and brilliant woman as well. It's not the true Marie Antoinette because Marie Antoinette, actually, she didn't drink a lot. It was only little bubbles, but once a day, not so much. She was vegan. She was obliged to meet... to eat meat, but she completely disliked that. So she was okay to...
Speaker #0
That's what all vegans say.
Speaker #1
To eat a little bit of chicken, but that's it. She was really in advance on her time because she wanted an old garden with the strawberries, with the potatoes. She invented... I don't know what it is, with the potato. She was...
Speaker #0
she invented the croissant as well so it was a lot you know in every kind of universe she inspired and elevates the either you know the product or the moment i know it's not her i was about to say a mistake i was about to talk about the glass but this is a pompadour i think she really used it as well because she was um she
Speaker #1
was like a kid you know so she has a I heard of a kid, so she wanted to play. She wanted to have fun. And the pompadour glass for her was something a bit crazy because it was a form of the boobs, but it was also used because you could not put some portions because the glass was this way. So the portion at that time, it was too complicated. So it had a double use as well. Indeed. Um...
Speaker #0
Going back to the champagne by itself, do you, so how does, like, in terms of production, where does the vines come from? Is it your own estate or do you have, like, partners through which you buy grapes or juice? And what is it inside? Mainly Chardonnay, I guess?
Speaker #1
We are Chardonnay-driven. Okay. We are the only one. We think, we don't really know because, you know, there are so many, plenty, plenty. But at Rarchampagne, we have a little bit, but not so much. We have a lot of partners since years and years and contracts of decades. Even Emilien, his father was already, you know, someone who gives the grapes for 30 years already. So it's a really family. relationship and today we even have some new producers who say we would love to sell some grapes to Har Champagne. Are we able to do that? The thing is we are sourcing our Chardonnay in the kingdom of Pinot Noir and we use 70% of Chardonnay, 30% of Pinot Noir and it's a blending of between 9 and 11 villages but 80% of the time is the same villages. So I know that Régis Camus was in love with Villers Marmerie, but we have a lot from Avis, Aïe, Boussy, Verzi, Verzenay. Sometimes it's Pinot Noir, sometimes it's Chardonnay. But we are mainly Chardonnay.
Speaker #0
And so it's your head winemaker who basically decides? Ah oui,
Speaker #1
it's a cellar master with a team of eight people. They all know how to do paper. how to make pepper, how to make chard, how to make rare champagne. But we have one person who decides the style, if we will launch it or if we will not. And that's why, for example, Emilia, in 2023, it was end of 2022, decided to launch the vintage 2013 and not the 2012. Because the 2012 were not ready at all. So he said, no, it's impossible. It's too young. Even if it's already 11 years, we are not able to launch it. So we will reveal first the 2013 and then the 12. Can we do that more than a Ciba? You decide. I mean, if the wine is not ready, it's not ready. So let's start with the 2013. And the magic is when we do some masterclasses with the 13 and the 12 side by side, you understand why Emilien decided this. Because the 13 is much more mature rather than the 12, which is so fresh. The fresh pineapple with a lime, bergamot, citrus notes, rather than the 2013, it's much more about the apricots, the cooked pineapple, the notes of brioche, honey. It's the opposite. So we can perfectly understand why.
Speaker #0
Why you switched.
Speaker #1
This is a magic thing, you know. This is magical. And nobody else is doing this. In other houses, you know, they release year by year. And they have another speech and they have another, you know, and it's not Chardonnay driven either. It's more Pinot Noir. But here at Rarchampagne, it's what we do.
Speaker #0
Is there anything we didn't mention that is very important to you?
Speaker #1
The main thing is that really, you know, the Marquis de Lens really wanted, you know, to create a jewel. And Regis Camus, when he defined the style of rare champagne, really insisted on this, making the most beautiful wine he could even imagine making. And this is very important because we have to respect this. Rare champagne, we will discover the 12. We are in 2026. Can you imagine? Patience. The know-how. It's the exact opposite of what we are living in the fast fashion, in the fast consumption, mass consumption. It's exactly the opposite. So for me, this is a quiet luxury, but this is a true luxury. Voilà, c'est ça. C'est le luxe du luxe. Mais accessible.
Speaker #0
But more accessible than when it was reserved to the royalty. Behind the camera, do you have any leftover questions? No more questions.
Speaker #1
They want to taste.
Speaker #0
They want to taste. Yeah, we will.
Speaker #1
The bubbles.
Speaker #0
Before finishing this interview, I still have three last questions. The first one. So we talked about book, about Marie-Antoinette. So it's done. I will put the link in description. But do you have a book recommendation about wine?
Speaker #1
Oui, alors, José, I took this one. Alors, I could take many, many books. But that one really, you know, touched me. because Lord Gasparotto, she was in trouble in her life at that moment. And she took this challenge of creating her own wine. But she bought the vineyards. She made everything by herself. And I love one of the sentences in the book, so I don't remember where it is. It's at the beginning. But she said, my first harvest was like my first kiss. And when I read this, you know, I was immersed in my childhood with my grandfather because I know, you know, I know they were so in love with their vineyards, you know. They were more important than us. You know, we could be sick. So you go to the doctor.
Speaker #0
Go to sleep. I will take care of the vines.
Speaker #1
The vines, if they were sick, it was a drama. Absolute drama. Absolute drama. And this is exactly what she explains. And she had at that moment, you know, a daughter. She was only two. So she was living in between Paris. And for me, she's a queen. And she exactly explained what Vigneron here is and the power of love of modern nature. And I didn't find any other books where you can find the love for the vineyards. You can have the love for the wine, but the wine, it's an expression of your vineyards. So if you don't pay attention to your vineyards, the wine, it won't match. And I will make the parallel with Valentin Tardiovitali, with the onologue, the vigneron as well. She loves to say I am a vigneron of Chateau Laverie. And Chateau Laverie is the first domain, wine estate of Monsieur Descours. In the 1980s, his grandfather bought this Bastide, Le Mar, in Luberon. And he created his wine because he wanted like a Grand Bordeaux. So he created the Grand Défense. And Valentin Tardieu-Vitali, who is the owner, the vigneron, but also the CEO of the wine estate, she's working like Laure. And that's why the wine I love is the Chateau Laverie as well. And when you asked me the question, which wine was... wow, something different you discovered not so long ago, I would say Le Grand des Fonds Rosés. Because I didn't know it was a rosé. I thought it was a red wine. And I was completely shocked, surprised. And Le Grand des Fonds Rosés, I hope you will be able to discover it because it's something you cannot find anywhere. You don't know where you are. It's something.
Speaker #0
It happened to me, to us in Bandol two years ago, I think something like that. We're visiting an estate in Bandol and the owner was like, so, you know, we just arrived five hours off train. Before that, we did. I don't even know what we were doing, but like, you know, you're tired, a bit dirty. You just want to take a shower, go to sleep. And so the guy says, you want to drink something tonight? So we're like, yeah, why not? Why not? So we're like, okay. We're French. Yeah, we're still French, plus we're on holidays, so let's go for it. And he was like, okay, let me find a bottle for you. And so he brings a rosé and he doesn't say anything to us. And he just opens it and he goes away. And we're like, we're just going to take like, you know, half a glass each just because it's the holidays. And so we start drinking it and we're like, okay. And so actually, I think we drank almost.
Speaker #1
The bottle?
Speaker #0
The whole bottle. Like the treasure? 75% of the bottle. It was like a name of the... So it was at Domaine de la Baie-Gude. And it's L'Iréductible. Oh, okay.
Speaker #1
I will note.
Speaker #0
And it's like it's really... So L'Iréductible, but 2011, which is older vintage for them.
Speaker #1
Older vintage as well.
Speaker #0
And it's like if I hadn't seen it as a rosé, I think I would have been lost as well. What the hell are we drinking right now? It makes no sense.
Speaker #1
This is crazy.
Speaker #0
I understand your experience.
Speaker #1
Incredible. So this is a wine I would have picked because I had this surprise.
Speaker #0
So you anticipated that question, but it was a perfect link.
Speaker #1
I don't know which book you would recommend me to read.
Speaker #0
From Laure Gasparotto, actually. Les vins d'Orient, non? Non. I love Le jour où il n'y aura plus de vent.
Speaker #1
Ah oui,
Speaker #0
j'ai pas lu encore. So she wrote that with Lilian Berillon. And so it's the story of what's happening before the vines. It's basically the story of the grape varieties and of the cèpes.
Speaker #1
Les cèpes, oui.
Speaker #0
The materiales végétales. it should be very interesting and it's very interesting because you see what's happening behind by the industry that is basically for some part of it sabotaging itself for the future because they destroyed the diversity of this material and it's very interesting to very well return Laurel with those amazing things absolutely she sometimes listens to this podcast so bonjour
Speaker #1
Laurel she came here to taste Piper Hightick and Rare Champagne you three or four years ago now.
Speaker #0
I interviewed her as well three or four years ago. It was an amazing moment. We were in our kitchen. Our kid was in the living room. It was a pretty fun moment. Last question is who is the next person I should interview?
Speaker #1
I don't know if you know that guy who is completely crazy.
Speaker #0
I probably know him.
Speaker #1
It's Nicolas Kennedy.
Speaker #0
I don't know him.
Speaker #1
So he doesn't have any wine estate, but he's a wine and gastronome lover.
Speaker #0
Okay.
Speaker #1
He works with Jean-Maurice Sacré, who is the one who collected more than 30,000 menus. So he had the chance to... to open the Elysee every journée du patrimoine, le président Emmanuel Macron let him showcase some of the menu because he has everything. The most beautiful menu, dinners with the most beautiful wines. It's a very good idea. And when you talk with them, and specifically Nicolas Kennedy, he's completely crazy. He's even fucked up. But he's so much in love with French gastronomy. He's a patriot. So... French gastronomy, French wine, and all the recognition we should have all over the world. And he's brilliant. He's very agile, but he's a good guy. He loves to cook. And he knows every wine, actually. It's crazy. But there are so many people you should interview. But that one, I was looking at who you interview and I said, ah. Maybe another profile, someone who is not making any wine, but is able to say, you should taste this wine because he perfectly understood who you are and what you're going to love. And he will organize this in a certain way that you will never, never forget in your life.
Speaker #0
Can't wait to have this experience. So we will definitely reach out to Nicolas after this. Thank you very much, Maud.
Speaker #1
Thank you so much.
Speaker #0
It was an amazing moment to share. I hope you guys loved this interview. If you're still watching, it's that it's the case. So go try to discover the story of Marie-Antoinette and Rare Champagne. Don't forget to like, subscribe, share this episode. Thanks again, Maud.
Speaker #1
Merci beaucoup.
Speaker #0
And see you soon.
Speaker #1
Yeah, see you soon.
Speaker #0
Perfect. Ah, c'était très chouette. Merci beaucoup.
Speaker #1
Merci à vous.
Speaker #0
J'étais pas très familier.

About Wine Makers Show: the wine podcast

What to Expect

In-Depth Interviews: Hear from top figures in the wine world, from renowned vintners to unsung heroes, as they share their experiences, challenges, and secrets to success.
Club Episodes: Explore specific wine topics, from production techniques to tasting tips, in focused, occasional deep dives.
A Journey of Discovery: Whether you're a novice or a connoisseur, we break down the complexities of wine to make it accessible and engaging.

Why Listen?

Connect with Us

Visit winemakersshow.com to get in touch or suggest a guest.
Email Antoine directly at winemakersshow@gmail.com.
Follow the journey on Instagram: @winemakersshow
Join the Academy and learn everything about wine

Tune in to Wine Makers Show and sip on the stories behind every bottle!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Wine Makers Show: the wine podcast

What to Expect

In-Depth Interviews: Hear from top figures in the wine world, from renowned vintners to unsung heroes, as they share their experiences, challenges, and secrets to success.
Club Episodes: Explore specific wine topics, from production techniques to tasting tips, in focused, occasional deep dives.
A Journey of Discovery: Whether you're a novice or a connoisseur, we break down the complexities of wine to make it accessible and engaging.

Why Listen?

Connect with Us

Visit winemakersshow.com to get in touch or suggest a guest.
Email Antoine directly at winemakersshow@gmail.com.
Follow the journey on Instagram: @winemakersshow
Join the Academy and learn everything about wine

Tune in to Wine Makers Show and sip on the stories behind every bottle!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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Description

Pour a glass and hold onto your tiara: this episode drops us straight into the gilded world of Rare Champagne, the vintage-only prestige cuvée born at the court of Versailles.

Expect royal history, Chardonnay obsession, and a glass of Rare 1988 paired with Comte. Tune in!

▬▬ 🎁 GIFTS 🎁 ▬▬

📚 Marie-Antoinette, by Stefan Zweig

📚 La Rose de Versailles (Lady Oscar), by Riyoko Ikeda (French History through the story of Marie-Antoinette, in a manga)

📚 Vigneronne, by Laure Gasparotto

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Transcription

Speaker #0
All right. Hi, everyone. Hi, Maud.
Speaker #1
Hi.
Speaker #0
Thank you very much for welcoming me here at Rare Champagne. My pleasure. Just in the, we're in the south of France, right? So in Champagne region. I see that Rare Champagne is the jewel of Champagne. So we'll have plenty of opportunity to talk about that. But first, can you start by introducing yourself?
Speaker #1
Thank you so much for being with us. It's always a pleasure, you know, to welcome Beautiful soul who love, you know, what we do. A bit of context, I'm Maud Rabin. I'm a mother of two beautiful daughters. And I started, you know, in the fashion industry. And I knew that my family was, because my family, they were wine dealers. So since day one, I grew up in the middle of the vineyards. not in Champagne because I was in the Loire Valley. So it's not so noble because you were the Muscadet. But my grandfather would have loved, you know, seeing me here in the Champagne because for him, it was the most beautiful wine in the world. And I remember that even at the age of 10, Christmas, we all had a glass of Champagne. I don't know, for the kids, you know, the family was just one drop. But we had this like a routine, the Christmas routine. So I don't know why, but maybe this stays in my mind or in my spirit. But I spent 10 years in the fashion industry and this was really important. Why? Because in a fashion, you have to pay attention to details. You have to go fast. So it's the exact opposite of Mother Nature because Mother Nature, you have to take your time, etc. But the contrast is very interesting. you um you understand and you build a brand like Art de Vivre. So you are building, you know, an art of style, art of living, but not specifically a product. And then I joined the company Rémi Cointreau. I was in charge of the image of the spirit division, mainly Cointreau. It was 99% of my time. And I grew up in Angers, in Loire Valley. So I knew I had Cointreau in my blood. honestly so complete different industry as well because you are in the spirit industry so not so far from fashion because it's very quick to make a spirit but I imagine Cointreau had a perfume of cocktail because it was at the heart of every beautiful cocktail such as Margarita Cointreau etc and at Rémy Cointreau we had the champagne division at that time and there was Piper Heitzik He was part of Cointreau with the Charles Heitzik. And Rare Champagne was a prestigious cuvee of Piper Heitzik. And Rémi Cointreau sold the champagne company to Monsieur Descours in 2011. And in 2015, he decided to hire the number two of Rémi Cointreau, Damien Laforie, to ask him to run the company. And in 2017, Damien Laforie called me. telling me that we have a beautiful project. I was thinking of you. If you are interested, we would love you to meet with the family, with Regis Camus, who was a cellar master at that time of Piper Heitzik and Raar Champagne. And I spent three hours with Regis Camus that I knew, but not really, you know, I knew who he was. I was a certain admiration for the character, but I did not know him personally. But we spent three hours. together and he told me Maud, even if you grew up in the Loire Valley, you grew up with the vines and this is the most important because wherever you could come from, you know, South Africa or Napa Valley or even Beijing, you know they do some beautiful wines now the most important is to understand that Mother Nature is the most important you have to respect You have to live with the mother nature. You have to wait. You have to learn. You have to understand. And you have to transform into jewels. And I say, yes, I will take the challenge. So I was hired in 2018 to split and to separate Rare Champagne from Piper Heitzik to create a standalone brand. And my first question was, can I meet with the family? Because even if I knew Rare Champagne, I didn't know why the name Rare. Why the tiara? Why the vintages? Why Chateau de Versailles? I had some pieces of the puzzle, but it was not a complete puzzle. And me, I need to work for an authentic and sincere brand. Otherwise, I'm not able to do... what I want and I'm not able to make any success, you know, with the team because everything has to make sense. And my boss told me, we don't have any relationship with them, you know, they cut many years ago. So no chance. And three weeks after, believe me, I believe in God and universe. I went to London with Regis Camus. We had our first C'est la fin. first master class sorry at paul mall 67 so kind of big one you know very important we cannot fail and the purpose was to explain to that client and their team and all you know the best client they had with them at that time for this specific moment that we wanted to separate our champagne from the paper high tick and they all said but it's meant to be there was no question And at the end. of the masterclass, someone came to me and said, Madame, I heard about rare champagne. I was not aware of this masterclass, but I felt frustrated because it's my father who launched rare champagne. And I said, what? He knows that, what? And we spent three hours with Patrick Dolan, so the son of Marquis Dolan, who launched rare champagne. And I had the chance to be able to ask all the questions I had to the Marquis Dolan. And he explained to me the whole thing. So my puzzle, one month after, was almost 100%, you know, done. And then the whole, you know, life of rare champagne since then is just a wonderful journey. Voilà.
Speaker #0
So let's dig into the different parts of this story. First, so... You say that you come from Loire, so it's far from Champagne, but it's still the country of castles. Yes,
Speaker #1
a history of France.
Speaker #0
A history of France, and I think pretty close to the royalty. That being said, so you start your career in the fashion industry. It's true that fashion spirits are very different to wine, even though for fashion, it's still interesting because you launch collections potentially every year. and maybe you have the same alignment here of launching a new product every year. But what are the lessons that you keep from this fashion industry that you apply here in the champagne space?
Speaker #1
Good question. The main thing I would say is the spirit of agility because we don't have a vintage to be launched every year, but we can do other things. You know, we are not obliged to wait for vintage to speak, you know, the history to, I would say, to tell, you know, people how beautiful we are. So the main lesson is to be agile, to take the opportunity to talk about the brand beautifully. So it can be to the chef, to the sommelier, to the pride collectors and organizing some incredible experiences. And the fashion, what was magical at that time, because today it's a little bit different, but you had this big, you know, fashion show from Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld. You remember, you know, it was like a one catwalk was a window for six months. So I imagine the hard experiences exactly that way. Creating something extraordinary, money can't buy experiences that you cannot purchase. So it can be... discovering rare champagne on the top floor of the Arc de Triomphe. It can be opening the Versailles Palace for a group of six people only at midnight with a rare champagne, you know, 2012. We have to organize things like this. And this makes me think of the fashion industry, because in fashion, you have to be agile. You have to be creative. And this is the two lessons I kept. Maybe others as well. you That one is very important. We have to be creative. And it's not a question of money. It's a question of idea. And the fashion you are obliged to create always, you know. And even Chanel said, you can copy me. I will always be more creative than you. And this is not my motto every day. But I think, I often think to this sentence because it's exactly where we have to be. The energy, the vibe, we had this discussion yesterday with my team in the US. We need to work as we were in a startup. This is the vibe of working at RAR Champagne every day. So the positivity, the agility and the creativity.
Speaker #0
Yeah, it's pretty interesting because what you did in the fashion industry brings you the ability to do things the other can't think of. Like opening Versailles, it's an amazing idea, but no one did it before. But not this way.
Speaker #1
It's a big dinner for, you know, a kid or whatever, but not for six or eight people. Way true. Exactly. and the thing is um um It's all about emotion and the fashion, you know. The media of the fashion is the clothes. So they have to give you the emotion of, wow, this was wonderful. You know, you have to forget even the model behind. And for our champagne, it's exactly the same. The wine is so beautiful. The bottle is so beautiful. I don't want to add a specific packaging or something with two glasses. You know, it's not the thing, you know. What we need to create is... a wonderful moment, even a simple moment, even the moment of today, you know, it's simple, but it's beautiful. I mean, the weather is beautiful. You brought the sun, you brought, you know, the warm temperature. We are in the salon Marie Antoinette. I mean, this is very beautiful.
Speaker #0
So let's talk a little bit about this experience. So you mentioned the tiara on the bottle. It's actually a bottle I'm not sure you will find at the supermarket. No. The bottle of Raphampagne. So maybe you've not seen it that much compared to other brands. But the first thing that is impressive is the shape of the bottle and this decoration around it. Can you give us a bit of background on the story of the house and why you did apply these elements to the bottle?
Speaker #1
This is, I think, one of the most beautiful history. I could have even imagined, you know, in my life, when the Marquis d'Olonne told me, Maude, the thing is in the 18th century. So I am the sixth generation. So my grand, grand, grand, grandfather, the Florent Louis Heitzik, the founder of Piper Heitzik, had one motto in mind. He wanted to become the richest man in Europe. Super simple.
Speaker #0
Very small ambition.
Speaker #1
Small ambition. But the thing is...
Speaker #0
At the time, it was easy.
Speaker #1
So he had to convince one person because the bubbles were only at the royal court. You know, nobody could afford any bubbles. It wasn't, you know, trendy at all. It was only for the royal court of France. So he said, ah, I need to meet with the queen and I want to create a cuvee worthy of a queen. So he made some researches about the queen and he discovered that she was in love with pineapple, in love with tropical fruits. And when you make some research on the pineapple, it arrived in France in 1730. So it was only for the queen and the king. Same. She was so in love with that fruit, which was considered and still today, the king of fruits. You know, with the crown. That if you go to visit the private apartment of the queen, you can see the pineapple everywhere in the pattern. So he created a blending full of tropical notes. This is the recipe, the notes that the Marquis de Lens could find in the little notebook of Florent Louis XVIII. And he met with the queen and the whole team because he was surrounded by 100 people. He met with the queen on May 6th, 1785. And he introduced this elixir, this specific blending. And she loved, they loved, they loved the bubbles. and the other 3,000 bottles. So he sent Piper Heitzig. So not the elixir, but Piper Heitzig. And that's how Piper Heitzig arrived in the royal court of France. With this also blending of very, you know, rich and delicious. And then he was very smart because he knew that if she took the champagne, the royal court of Spain, of Austria, of Netherlands, they all, you know, they all purchased. Piper Heitzig. And still today, you can find Piper Heitzig at the Royal Court of Spain, Netherlands, Belgium. They still have the specific label for them. So he made his dream come true, except that the elixir was like a sleeping beauty. So the next generation, they wanted really, you know, to create something. So they decided to create the bottle, which is a Pint Majeur. So this, we have a pattern on the shape of the bottle. Um. And he asked Pierre Calphaberger to come back with a specific label, very beautiful for the queen. And unfortunately, the drawing is very beautiful, but it's impossible to make, to realize, because it's supposed to blue, you know, to burn a little bit the bottle, because you have to put some lapis lazuli. It's a nightmare. And still today, we cannot do it, because in the bottle, you have the champagne. So in rare champagne, we keep it 10 years, you know, on lease. So we cannot do anything on the bottle. So the project stayed like a shipping beauty for years and years and years. And Le Marquis d'Olonne, he discovered the car who took the queen, who took, you know, Floral Waitsick to meet with the queen, the notebook, etc. And he said, no, but I will do it. I will be the one who will make his dream come true. And I will create the most expensive. and the most beautiful cuvée in the world. So he asked the family Van Cleef & Arpels, because they were close friends, to take as an inspiration the drawing of Pierre Calphabergé and to say, well, voilà, this was, you know, the inspiration. Can you make the decor of the very first prestigious cuvée of Piper Heitzig? Champagne rare at that time. So the first bottle of rare champagne was decorated by Van Cleef & Arpels. And it was 1 million francs at that time in 1985 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first appointment between the Queen and Florian Louis-Haïtique. And he has chosen Versailles Palace. So we are actually, and this is Madame Pégard. So she's the ministre de la culture today, but she was the CEO of Versailles Palace for many years. And one day she called me and said, Thank you. Maud, did you know that you are the only, enfin, you, Rare Champagne, is the only one brand born at Versailles? Do you know that? And she sent me the articles in Paris Match, Jour de France, all the media at that time. It was one of the most important dinners which occurred at Versailles Palace. And when they decided to create the book to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Versailles, They dedicated two pages for her champagne because the dinner was so crazy. 56 meals, 1,200 guests. They put, you know, 12,000 roses. They have a fireworks. It was completely extraordinary. Carole Bouquet, she was the hostess, the master of the ceremony. Why? because she was just... recognized as the most beautiful woman in France. So that's why, you know, he wanted people to understand that Champagne Rare was the most beautiful, prestigious cuvee in the world. And then he left France for three months. And that's how they did at that time. He went to make the tour of the United States with his wife to introduce himself, the prestigious cuvee Champagne Rare. And when he sawed... the champagne to La Famille Herrière du Breuil, Rémi Cointreau. At Rémi Cointreau, the team decided to switch Champagne Rare by Rare Champagne because everyone was easier, specifically in the United States. They say the rare champagne, rare champagne. And in 2007, I would say, they decided to apply a tiara. So they briefed Arthus Bertrand. So one of the most beautiful goldsmiths to create the allegory of the triumph of the vine, because this was a brief of the cellar master in 1976. And 1976 is the first vintage of rare champagne. It was that one once launched at Versailles Palace in 1985. And in the year 2006-2007, they apply the tiara, which is dressed. here in our warehouse by a team of eight women. So once we receive an order, the Franciennes, Anne-Charlotte, Chloé, and all the others, you know, they dress the bottle one by one. You have 48 dots of glue. It's like, you know, a true savoir-faire, a know-how. It's absolutely marvelous. And it's a tiara as a tribute to the Queen Marie-Antoinette, but also a tribute to Reims. because Reims, it's a wonderful city. They crowned 33 kings. Almost all the kings except Napoleon and Henri IV. So it was important for us to have this notion of crown, recognition, triumph, triumph of the vines, triumph of this magical city. Because champagne, I mean, everyone dreams about champagne. You can be completely lost in the desert. If you imagine you drinking a glass of champagne, it's a... It's a full dream. So, voilà. This is a beautiful homage, tribute to French history, French culture. The queen, who is the queen, the most famous in the world still today. From Japan to the US, everyone knows Marie Antoinette. And thanks to Marie Antoinette, we are here today. Absolutely. She's always with us.
Speaker #0
When you talk about that, I realize something is that I'm actually super grateful to live in a moment in which champagne is that much available compared to 200 years ago when it was only for the court and for the majesty. Now I can just go wherever I want and order a bottle of champagne and it can be a bit expensive, but it's still super accessible. so So it's a good demonstration of our quality of life just improving.
Speaker #1
Absolutely. And this is very important because, yeah, actually, we elevate ourselves every day. It is very important.
Speaker #0
I think about that every time I eat Comté as well.
Speaker #1
Oui.
Speaker #0
What's a good time to be alive with Comté? Alors,
Speaker #1
Comté with a rare 1988. It's one of the most beautiful pairing.
Speaker #0
I would love to try it.
Speaker #1
told you, Régis Camus on the Scenario Master who really is a define the style of rare champagne.
Speaker #0
I can imagine if you have like this tropical signature in it, it can make a very good mix with the Conté. Speaking of this, let's talk a little bit about how you create these different cuvées. So rare champagne is only vintage, not every year.
Speaker #1
No.
Speaker #0
And do you have different style? rosé, blanc de blanc? No. Just one champagne?
Speaker #1
We have sometimes. The Brut, le rosé. Sometimes, it's only vintages. This was written by Le Marquis d'Olonne. He only wanted, you know, vintages. Not every year. Why? Because sometimes we are not able to have this style that we want. So the tropical notes. In every vintage of rare champagne, you will be able to... to discover the pineapple, the vanilla, the coconut, the kiwi, the little jasmine flowers. Always. According to the year and the weather we had that year, the pineapple can be cooked, the pineapple can be fresh, but you will always have these tropical fruits, these tropical nuts, this perfect balance between flower, fruits, and the spicy nuts. And sometimes the cellar master and his team are not able to have this exact style that can last more than 10, 15, 20 years. This is very important. With climate change, we will have more vintages year after year because it's not good for humans, but it's good for the wine. For the champagne, actually, because champagne loves the sun. the vineyards love the sun so we will have more vintages in the coming years but when it's very cold or when we cannot have these specific notes we don't vintage so there is no vintage and the rosé, the first one arrived in 2007 and we only have 4 rosés so Regis Camus created 4 rare rosés 2007, 2008, 2012 2014 team. that we will discover soon. And I don't know the next one. It's Emilien Boutilla, who joined the company in 2018, who will decide if he's going to launch the Rosé because even at the last minute, the year we're supposed to launch the vintage, we're not sure if it's not what we wanted.
Speaker #0
No.
Speaker #1
So it's only the best. We have a quest for excellence. It's very important because we are driven by value, not by volume. We are a family-owned company. Monsieur Descours is only one person. He's very young. He's in love with wine, with the champagne, with Italian wine as well. And for him, it's very important and he will be intransigent on the quality.
Speaker #0
Where can people discover rare champagne?
Speaker #1
Rare champagne, the wine stores. So the wine, I mean...
Speaker #0
Only the good wine stores. That's a good definition.
Speaker #1
The wine who have good taste. A Michelin restaurant, but also Palas. You can have some trendy places as well. Rarchampagne, we target some cities rather than the countries because we are in under allocation. So it's not so easy. But we have a team in London. We have a team of three people in the U.S. So we will have one in Miami, one in Las Vegas and one based in California. But you can do, you know, the whole the U.S. and Marie. in New York. We have someone in Paris as well. So even if we work with distribution, there are team behind. We identify hard birds that we call the rare birds. And they are, you know, the one who perfectly embodies the brand, understand the brand and are able to list hard champagne in wonderful places by relationship, by concept we can imagine, like the afternoon tea Marie-Antoinette at Le Crayon that we launched last year in October. And it was such a success that Le Crayon asked us to be back for this year. This is the history of our champagne. It's only vintages under allocation. So we create concepts according to places we are. But it's relatively places where you can enjoy. beautifully the life even if it's a simple restaurant the the people who run the the restaurant the family are very very nice very kind and they are very very aware of what is going on in the world they know perfectly the the wine universe they are in love with the wine universe yeah maybe you're also in love with uh it's maybe dumb to say when we talk about uh restaurants and But...
Speaker #0
in love with details, with gastronomy, with doing good things and interesting things in that way. Do you still serve royalty today?
Speaker #1
No, with rare champagne, I don't think so. It's a good question because two years ago when Versailles, they organized the first exhibition in the history of Versailles in China at the Forbidden City. They made a beautiful exhibition. and it was directly linked to the Queen Marie Antoinette because they allow the public to discover the China, the piece of art that Marie Antoinette purchased at that time from China. And they asked us to be there. So they asked Rarchampagne to be with them. So it was a way to be linked to the history and to Versailles. But maybe it is, maybe not, I don't know. I know that someone offered. Rare Champagne, the Rare 2013 to the King of England. I don't know if he was able to discover it. We know that Rare Champagne is at the Elysée. So every dinner, which is very important, they open a bottle of Rare Champagne. But voilà. We can be, you know, very surprised. It's really, you know, by chance. completely that we can discover that kind of beautiful moments.
Speaker #0
It's amazing that someone 200 years ago just decided to make the best product in the world. And today, it's still like by chance opened in some crazy places like that.
Speaker #1
Absolutely.
Speaker #0
What is the relationship? So today, we are recording this in the Salon Marie-Antoinette. I saw that we are in the Piper IT HQ, I guess. What is the relationship that you kept with them?
Speaker #1
Here you are in the headquarters of the three houses, actually, because it's written Piper Heightsick, but there is Charlotte Seek as well and Rarchampagne. Charlotte Seek has their own pavilion, Les Crayères, in the city center. We also have one Crayères at Rarchampagne, but we have decided to have a little space here as well because it's more convenient. I love this headquarters. It's very beautiful. and it was made by a... Jacques Ferrier was the architect of the French pavilion at the big exhibition in China in 2008, l'Expo Universelle, Universal Exhibition. And it was just awarded last year or two years ago, most beautiful headquarter in France. So it's like a piece of art. And I imagine, you know, Marie-Antoinette, she would love that place because it's very modern in a way. And she was modern. And so usually, you know, we love to create our experiences at Eisenhower Residence in the city of France. It's a place, it's a magnificent hotel particulier, which was transformed into kind of a gem, a boutique hotel by the family Descours. But we play with the two places. So either we organize some beautiful experiences at Eisenhower Residence or... we organized some beautiful ones here as well. And we will revisit the garden as well, the little court, to explore more and to live more intensively the experience of Marie Antoinette here.
Speaker #0
Just behind you, there is a painting of someone serving champagne to a lady. I guess it's Marie Antoinette.
Speaker #1
Oui.
Speaker #0
Is this an original painting? Does it describe a specific scene or did you do it on purpose?
Speaker #1
It was done really before the company bought the champagne. Because this was, I think it was done by Le Marquis de Lens. Because Florent Louis XVI, he asked a painter. This is not the first one. The first one was a small piece. But they reproduced it in 10 or 20 frames. This is hilarious. But the thing is, he was so honored, happy. that he really wanted to, because at the time there were no pictures, no cell phone, nothing. So the way was he asked someone to draw the moment he had and he introduced the moment this way, which is clearly impossible. She could not meet with Florent Louis-Haitzik that way because we imagine here that it's a bedroom. She never received and welcomed any person in a bedroom.
Speaker #0
You know, the bed in the mirror.
Speaker #1
Exactly. So this scene is what he probably lived, but not in this area. But the magic is he really wanted to recreate the moment, to make it, you know, to embellish this moment and to explain that it was true, you know. So Le Marquis d'Olonne decided to reproduce this mini beautiful painting, which is in the safe. in 20, 25 and different dimensions. But this is the one.
Speaker #0
Taking the time to admire this must have been a crazy moment for him.
Speaker #1
And since it's incredible, you know, the power she had, the influence and the inspiration. She was inspiring so many people. We owe a lot. to the Queen Marie Antoinette. We owe a lot to François I, Marie de' Medici, to Marie Antoinette and to Imperatrice Eugénie, who was completely in love with Marie Antoinette. But for, and thanks to l'Imperatrice Eugénie, it was a revival of Marie Antoinette because imagine at that time, I'm not sure she was well seen, you know, because we all know the end. the life of Louise XVI and Marie Antoinette. But l'imperatrice Eugénie completely understood the queen, completely understood what really happened, which was completely unfair. And she decided to reintroduce the true Marie Antoinette. And that's how everything happens again around the queen. And that's how she was a little bit more rehabilitated. And in the beginning of the 20s, There was some movie about the Queen, some beautiful books. And Antonia Fraser completely rehabilitated Marie-Antoinette.
Speaker #0
Do you have a book recommendation about Marie-Antoinette?
Speaker #1
For me, the best one... It's a biography of Stefan Zweig.
Speaker #0
Okay. It's very nice to read.
Speaker #1
He completely understood the Queen. For me, it's the best one. Antonia is absolutely brilliant as well, Fraser. But Stefan Zweig, it's something...
Speaker #0
Yeah, plus easy to read. You can see how...
Speaker #1
Different inside. Yeah,
Speaker #0
how it's incarnated. It's interesting. I must say that I'm not super familiar with her history. by herself. Like, I know the end and like everyone in France, but I think we don't talk about it.
Speaker #1
No, but even, you know, in Japan, they know more the history of France rather than us because they all watched the manga La Rose de Versailles. And La Rose de Versailles is Histoire de France through the history of Marie-Antoinette Quinn. So this is completely crazy. And me, I was completely passionate about La Rose de Versailles when I was young. I watched all the manga. It was my Wednesday morning. and when I had the chance to visit my team in Japan two years ago and I had an interview like the one we have today with a wonderful woman and she asked me did you watch manga and I said yes La Rose de Versailles silence what? we're going to relaunch the manga in a movie in two months worldwide I said what? I don't know. I didn't know. And they launched the movie January 6th, the year after, the 2025th, the Ryoko Ikeda. So the queen is still alive. And last year at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, you had a Marie Antoinette exhibition. I couldn't even attend. It was sold out in two weeks for the six months.
Speaker #0
You should have provided champagne. You would have access it.
Speaker #1
In the coming months, you will be able to discover the new exhibition at Trianon, which will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola, the movie, which is her view of the personality of Marie Antoinette, which is not the way we see her. But everybody, you know, is a perception of the queen. and thanks to Sofia Coppola Marie Antoinette was seen as a pop and very sparkling and brilliant woman as well. It's not the true Marie Antoinette because Marie Antoinette, actually, she didn't drink a lot. It was only little bubbles, but once a day, not so much. She was vegan. She was obliged to meet... to eat meat, but she completely disliked that. So she was okay to...
Speaker #0
That's what all vegans say.
Speaker #1
To eat a little bit of chicken, but that's it. She was really in advance on her time because she wanted an old garden with the strawberries, with the potatoes. She invented... I don't know what it is, with the potato. She was...
Speaker #0
she invented the croissant as well so it was a lot you know in every kind of universe she inspired and elevates the either you know the product or the moment i know it's not her i was about to say a mistake i was about to talk about the glass but this is a pompadour i think she really used it as well because she was um she
Speaker #1
was like a kid you know so she has a I heard of a kid, so she wanted to play. She wanted to have fun. And the pompadour glass for her was something a bit crazy because it was a form of the boobs, but it was also used because you could not put some portions because the glass was this way. So the portion at that time, it was too complicated. So it had a double use as well. Indeed. Um...
Speaker #0
Going back to the champagne by itself, do you, so how does, like, in terms of production, where does the vines come from? Is it your own estate or do you have, like, partners through which you buy grapes or juice? And what is it inside? Mainly Chardonnay, I guess?
Speaker #1
We are Chardonnay-driven. Okay. We are the only one. We think, we don't really know because, you know, there are so many, plenty, plenty. But at Rarchampagne, we have a little bit, but not so much. We have a lot of partners since years and years and contracts of decades. Even Emilien, his father was already, you know, someone who gives the grapes for 30 years already. So it's a really family. relationship and today we even have some new producers who say we would love to sell some grapes to Har Champagne. Are we able to do that? The thing is we are sourcing our Chardonnay in the kingdom of Pinot Noir and we use 70% of Chardonnay, 30% of Pinot Noir and it's a blending of between 9 and 11 villages but 80% of the time is the same villages. So I know that Régis Camus was in love with Villers Marmerie, but we have a lot from Avis, Aïe, Boussy, Verzi, Verzenay. Sometimes it's Pinot Noir, sometimes it's Chardonnay. But we are mainly Chardonnay.
Speaker #0
And so it's your head winemaker who basically decides? Ah oui,
Speaker #1
it's a cellar master with a team of eight people. They all know how to do paper. how to make pepper, how to make chard, how to make rare champagne. But we have one person who decides the style, if we will launch it or if we will not. And that's why, for example, Emilia, in 2023, it was end of 2022, decided to launch the vintage 2013 and not the 2012. Because the 2012 were not ready at all. So he said, no, it's impossible. It's too young. Even if it's already 11 years, we are not able to launch it. So we will reveal first the 2013 and then the 12. Can we do that more than a Ciba? You decide. I mean, if the wine is not ready, it's not ready. So let's start with the 2013. And the magic is when we do some masterclasses with the 13 and the 12 side by side, you understand why Emilien decided this. Because the 13 is much more mature rather than the 12, which is so fresh. The fresh pineapple with a lime, bergamot, citrus notes, rather than the 2013, it's much more about the apricots, the cooked pineapple, the notes of brioche, honey. It's the opposite. So we can perfectly understand why.
Speaker #0
Why you switched.
Speaker #1
This is a magic thing, you know. This is magical. And nobody else is doing this. In other houses, you know, they release year by year. And they have another speech and they have another, you know, and it's not Chardonnay driven either. It's more Pinot Noir. But here at Rarchampagne, it's what we do.
Speaker #0
Is there anything we didn't mention that is very important to you?
Speaker #1
The main thing is that really, you know, the Marquis de Lens really wanted, you know, to create a jewel. And Regis Camus, when he defined the style of rare champagne, really insisted on this, making the most beautiful wine he could even imagine making. And this is very important because we have to respect this. Rare champagne, we will discover the 12. We are in 2026. Can you imagine? Patience. The know-how. It's the exact opposite of what we are living in the fast fashion, in the fast consumption, mass consumption. It's exactly the opposite. So for me, this is a quiet luxury, but this is a true luxury. Voilà, c'est ça. C'est le luxe du luxe. Mais accessible.
Speaker #0
But more accessible than when it was reserved to the royalty. Behind the camera, do you have any leftover questions? No more questions.
Speaker #1
They want to taste.
Speaker #0
They want to taste. Yeah, we will.
Speaker #1
The bubbles.
Speaker #0
Before finishing this interview, I still have three last questions. The first one. So we talked about book, about Marie-Antoinette. So it's done. I will put the link in description. But do you have a book recommendation about wine?
Speaker #1
Oui, alors, José, I took this one. Alors, I could take many, many books. But that one really, you know, touched me. because Lord Gasparotto, she was in trouble in her life at that moment. And she took this challenge of creating her own wine. But she bought the vineyards. She made everything by herself. And I love one of the sentences in the book, so I don't remember where it is. It's at the beginning. But she said, my first harvest was like my first kiss. And when I read this, you know, I was immersed in my childhood with my grandfather because I know, you know, I know they were so in love with their vineyards, you know. They were more important than us. You know, we could be sick. So you go to the doctor.
Speaker #0
Go to sleep. I will take care of the vines.
Speaker #1
The vines, if they were sick, it was a drama. Absolute drama. Absolute drama. And this is exactly what she explains. And she had at that moment, you know, a daughter. She was only two. So she was living in between Paris. And for me, she's a queen. And she exactly explained what Vigneron here is and the power of love of modern nature. And I didn't find any other books where you can find the love for the vineyards. You can have the love for the wine, but the wine, it's an expression of your vineyards. So if you don't pay attention to your vineyards, the wine, it won't match. And I will make the parallel with Valentin Tardiovitali, with the onologue, the vigneron as well. She loves to say I am a vigneron of Chateau Laverie. And Chateau Laverie is the first domain, wine estate of Monsieur Descours. In the 1980s, his grandfather bought this Bastide, Le Mar, in Luberon. And he created his wine because he wanted like a Grand Bordeaux. So he created the Grand Défense. And Valentin Tardieu-Vitali, who is the owner, the vigneron, but also the CEO of the wine estate, she's working like Laure. And that's why the wine I love is the Chateau Laverie as well. And when you asked me the question, which wine was... wow, something different you discovered not so long ago, I would say Le Grand des Fonds Rosés. Because I didn't know it was a rosé. I thought it was a red wine. And I was completely shocked, surprised. And Le Grand des Fonds Rosés, I hope you will be able to discover it because it's something you cannot find anywhere. You don't know where you are. It's something.
Speaker #0
It happened to me, to us in Bandol two years ago, I think something like that. We're visiting an estate in Bandol and the owner was like, so, you know, we just arrived five hours off train. Before that, we did. I don't even know what we were doing, but like, you know, you're tired, a bit dirty. You just want to take a shower, go to sleep. And so the guy says, you want to drink something tonight? So we're like, yeah, why not? Why not? So we're like, okay. We're French. Yeah, we're still French, plus we're on holidays, so let's go for it. And he was like, okay, let me find a bottle for you. And so he brings a rosé and he doesn't say anything to us. And he just opens it and he goes away. And we're like, we're just going to take like, you know, half a glass each just because it's the holidays. And so we start drinking it and we're like, okay. And so actually, I think we drank almost.
Speaker #1
The bottle?
Speaker #0
The whole bottle. Like the treasure? 75% of the bottle. It was like a name of the... So it was at Domaine de la Baie-Gude. And it's L'Iréductible. Oh, okay.
Speaker #1
I will note.
Speaker #0
And it's like it's really... So L'Iréductible, but 2011, which is older vintage for them.
Speaker #1
Older vintage as well.
Speaker #0
And it's like if I hadn't seen it as a rosé, I think I would have been lost as well. What the hell are we drinking right now? It makes no sense.
Speaker #1
This is crazy.
Speaker #0
I understand your experience.
Speaker #1
Incredible. So this is a wine I would have picked because I had this surprise.
Speaker #0
So you anticipated that question, but it was a perfect link.
Speaker #1
I don't know which book you would recommend me to read.
Speaker #0
From Laure Gasparotto, actually. Les vins d'Orient, non? Non. I love Le jour où il n'y aura plus de vent.
Speaker #1
Ah oui,
Speaker #0
j'ai pas lu encore. So she wrote that with Lilian Berillon. And so it's the story of what's happening before the vines. It's basically the story of the grape varieties and of the cèpes.
Speaker #1
Les cèpes, oui.
Speaker #0
The materiales végétales. it should be very interesting and it's very interesting because you see what's happening behind by the industry that is basically for some part of it sabotaging itself for the future because they destroyed the diversity of this material and it's very interesting to very well return Laurel with those amazing things absolutely she sometimes listens to this podcast so bonjour
Speaker #1
Laurel she came here to taste Piper Hightick and Rare Champagne you three or four years ago now.
Speaker #0
I interviewed her as well three or four years ago. It was an amazing moment. We were in our kitchen. Our kid was in the living room. It was a pretty fun moment. Last question is who is the next person I should interview?
Speaker #1
I don't know if you know that guy who is completely crazy.
Speaker #0
I probably know him.
Speaker #1
It's Nicolas Kennedy.
Speaker #0
I don't know him.
Speaker #1
So he doesn't have any wine estate, but he's a wine and gastronome lover.
Speaker #0
Okay.
Speaker #1
He works with Jean-Maurice Sacré, who is the one who collected more than 30,000 menus. So he had the chance to... to open the Elysee every journée du patrimoine, le président Emmanuel Macron let him showcase some of the menu because he has everything. The most beautiful menu, dinners with the most beautiful wines. It's a very good idea. And when you talk with them, and specifically Nicolas Kennedy, he's completely crazy. He's even fucked up. But he's so much in love with French gastronomy. He's a patriot. So... French gastronomy, French wine, and all the recognition we should have all over the world. And he's brilliant. He's very agile, but he's a good guy. He loves to cook. And he knows every wine, actually. It's crazy. But there are so many people you should interview. But that one, I was looking at who you interview and I said, ah. Maybe another profile, someone who is not making any wine, but is able to say, you should taste this wine because he perfectly understood who you are and what you're going to love. And he will organize this in a certain way that you will never, never forget in your life.
Speaker #0
Can't wait to have this experience. So we will definitely reach out to Nicolas after this. Thank you very much, Maud.
Speaker #1
Thank you so much.
Speaker #0
It was an amazing moment to share. I hope you guys loved this interview. If you're still watching, it's that it's the case. So go try to discover the story of Marie-Antoinette and Rare Champagne. Don't forget to like, subscribe, share this episode. Thanks again, Maud.
Speaker #1
Merci beaucoup.
Speaker #0
And see you soon.
Speaker #1
Yeah, see you soon.
Speaker #0
Perfect. Ah, c'était très chouette. Merci beaucoup.
Speaker #1
Merci à vous.
Speaker #0
J'étais pas très familier.

About Wine Makers Show: the wine podcast

What to Expect

In-Depth Interviews: Hear from top figures in the wine world, from renowned vintners to unsung heroes, as they share their experiences, challenges, and secrets to success.
Club Episodes: Explore specific wine topics, from production techniques to tasting tips, in focused, occasional deep dives.
A Journey of Discovery: Whether you're a novice or a connoisseur, we break down the complexities of wine to make it accessible and engaging.

Why Listen?

Connect with Us

Visit winemakersshow.com to get in touch or suggest a guest.
Email Antoine directly at winemakersshow@gmail.com.
Follow the journey on Instagram: @winemakersshow
Join the Academy and learn everything about wine

Tune in to Wine Makers Show and sip on the stories behind every bottle!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Wine Makers Show: the wine podcast

What to Expect

In-Depth Interviews: Hear from top figures in the wine world, from renowned vintners to unsung heroes, as they share their experiences, challenges, and secrets to success.
Club Episodes: Explore specific wine topics, from production techniques to tasting tips, in focused, occasional deep dives.
A Journey of Discovery: Whether you're a novice or a connoisseur, we break down the complexities of wine to make it accessible and engaging.

Why Listen?

Connect with Us

Visit winemakersshow.com to get in touch or suggest a guest.
Email Antoine directly at winemakersshow@gmail.com.
Follow the journey on Instagram: @winemakersshow
Join the Academy and learn everything about wine

Tune in to Wine Makers Show and sip on the stories behind every bottle!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Description

Pour a glass and hold onto your tiara: this episode drops us straight into the gilded world of Rare Champagne, the vintage-only prestige cuvée born at the court of Versailles.

Expect royal history, Chardonnay obsession, and a glass of Rare 1988 paired with Comte. Tune in!

▬▬ 🎁 GIFTS 🎁 ▬▬

📚 Marie-Antoinette, by Stefan Zweig

📚 La Rose de Versailles (Lady Oscar), by Riyoko Ikeda (French History through the story of Marie-Antoinette, in a manga)

📚 Vigneronne, by Laure Gasparotto

🍾 Learn more about Rare Champagne: https://www.rare-champagne.com/

🎁 Get your wine essentials on our shop: a curated selection of wine accessories, posters and much more

🗺️ Get the best Wine Map of the Champagne region: as information as decorative

▬▬ ⭐️ ABOUT ⭐️ ▬▬

ALCOHOL ABUSE IS DANGEROUS FOUR YOUR HEALTH. CONSUME IN MODERATION.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
All right. Hi, everyone. Hi, Maud.
Speaker #1
Hi.
Speaker #0
Thank you very much for welcoming me here at Rare Champagne. My pleasure. Just in the, we're in the south of France, right? So in Champagne region. I see that Rare Champagne is the jewel of Champagne. So we'll have plenty of opportunity to talk about that. But first, can you start by introducing yourself?
Speaker #1
Thank you so much for being with us. It's always a pleasure, you know, to welcome Beautiful soul who love, you know, what we do. A bit of context, I'm Maud Rabin. I'm a mother of two beautiful daughters. And I started, you know, in the fashion industry. And I knew that my family was, because my family, they were wine dealers. So since day one, I grew up in the middle of the vineyards. not in Champagne because I was in the Loire Valley. So it's not so noble because you were the Muscadet. But my grandfather would have loved, you know, seeing me here in the Champagne because for him, it was the most beautiful wine in the world. And I remember that even at the age of 10, Christmas, we all had a glass of Champagne. I don't know, for the kids, you know, the family was just one drop. But we had this like a routine, the Christmas routine. So I don't know why, but maybe this stays in my mind or in my spirit. But I spent 10 years in the fashion industry and this was really important. Why? Because in a fashion, you have to pay attention to details. You have to go fast. So it's the exact opposite of Mother Nature because Mother Nature, you have to take your time, etc. But the contrast is very interesting. you um you understand and you build a brand like Art de Vivre. So you are building, you know, an art of style, art of living, but not specifically a product. And then I joined the company Rémi Cointreau. I was in charge of the image of the spirit division, mainly Cointreau. It was 99% of my time. And I grew up in Angers, in Loire Valley. So I knew I had Cointreau in my blood. honestly so complete different industry as well because you are in the spirit industry so not so far from fashion because it's very quick to make a spirit but I imagine Cointreau had a perfume of cocktail because it was at the heart of every beautiful cocktail such as Margarita Cointreau etc and at Rémy Cointreau we had the champagne division at that time and there was Piper Heitzik He was part of Cointreau with the Charles Heitzik. And Rare Champagne was a prestigious cuvee of Piper Heitzik. And Rémi Cointreau sold the champagne company to Monsieur Descours in 2011. And in 2015, he decided to hire the number two of Rémi Cointreau, Damien Laforie, to ask him to run the company. And in 2017, Damien Laforie called me. telling me that we have a beautiful project. I was thinking of you. If you are interested, we would love you to meet with the family, with Regis Camus, who was a cellar master at that time of Piper Heitzik and Raar Champagne. And I spent three hours with Regis Camus that I knew, but not really, you know, I knew who he was. I was a certain admiration for the character, but I did not know him personally. But we spent three hours. together and he told me Maud, even if you grew up in the Loire Valley, you grew up with the vines and this is the most important because wherever you could come from, you know, South Africa or Napa Valley or even Beijing, you know they do some beautiful wines now the most important is to understand that Mother Nature is the most important you have to respect You have to live with the mother nature. You have to wait. You have to learn. You have to understand. And you have to transform into jewels. And I say, yes, I will take the challenge. So I was hired in 2018 to split and to separate Rare Champagne from Piper Heitzik to create a standalone brand. And my first question was, can I meet with the family? Because even if I knew Rare Champagne, I didn't know why the name Rare. Why the tiara? Why the vintages? Why Chateau de Versailles? I had some pieces of the puzzle, but it was not a complete puzzle. And me, I need to work for an authentic and sincere brand. Otherwise, I'm not able to do... what I want and I'm not able to make any success, you know, with the team because everything has to make sense. And my boss told me, we don't have any relationship with them, you know, they cut many years ago. So no chance. And three weeks after, believe me, I believe in God and universe. I went to London with Regis Camus. We had our first C'est la fin. first master class sorry at paul mall 67 so kind of big one you know very important we cannot fail and the purpose was to explain to that client and their team and all you know the best client they had with them at that time for this specific moment that we wanted to separate our champagne from the paper high tick and they all said but it's meant to be there was no question And at the end. of the masterclass, someone came to me and said, Madame, I heard about rare champagne. I was not aware of this masterclass, but I felt frustrated because it's my father who launched rare champagne. And I said, what? He knows that, what? And we spent three hours with Patrick Dolan, so the son of Marquis Dolan, who launched rare champagne. And I had the chance to be able to ask all the questions I had to the Marquis Dolan. And he explained to me the whole thing. So my puzzle, one month after, was almost 100%, you know, done. And then the whole, you know, life of rare champagne since then is just a wonderful journey. Voilà.
Speaker #0
So let's dig into the different parts of this story. First, so... You say that you come from Loire, so it's far from Champagne, but it's still the country of castles. Yes,
Speaker #1
a history of France.
Speaker #0
A history of France, and I think pretty close to the royalty. That being said, so you start your career in the fashion industry. It's true that fashion spirits are very different to wine, even though for fashion, it's still interesting because you launch collections potentially every year. and maybe you have the same alignment here of launching a new product every year. But what are the lessons that you keep from this fashion industry that you apply here in the champagne space?
Speaker #1
Good question. The main thing I would say is the spirit of agility because we don't have a vintage to be launched every year, but we can do other things. You know, we are not obliged to wait for vintage to speak, you know, the history to, I would say, to tell, you know, people how beautiful we are. So the main lesson is to be agile, to take the opportunity to talk about the brand beautifully. So it can be to the chef, to the sommelier, to the pride collectors and organizing some incredible experiences. And the fashion, what was magical at that time, because today it's a little bit different, but you had this big, you know, fashion show from Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld. You remember, you know, it was like a one catwalk was a window for six months. So I imagine the hard experiences exactly that way. Creating something extraordinary, money can't buy experiences that you cannot purchase. So it can be... discovering rare champagne on the top floor of the Arc de Triomphe. It can be opening the Versailles Palace for a group of six people only at midnight with a rare champagne, you know, 2012. We have to organize things like this. And this makes me think of the fashion industry, because in fashion, you have to be agile. You have to be creative. And this is the two lessons I kept. Maybe others as well. you That one is very important. We have to be creative. And it's not a question of money. It's a question of idea. And the fashion you are obliged to create always, you know. And even Chanel said, you can copy me. I will always be more creative than you. And this is not my motto every day. But I think, I often think to this sentence because it's exactly where we have to be. The energy, the vibe, we had this discussion yesterday with my team in the US. We need to work as we were in a startup. This is the vibe of working at RAR Champagne every day. So the positivity, the agility and the creativity.
Speaker #0
Yeah, it's pretty interesting because what you did in the fashion industry brings you the ability to do things the other can't think of. Like opening Versailles, it's an amazing idea, but no one did it before. But not this way.
Speaker #1
It's a big dinner for, you know, a kid or whatever, but not for six or eight people. Way true. Exactly. and the thing is um um It's all about emotion and the fashion, you know. The media of the fashion is the clothes. So they have to give you the emotion of, wow, this was wonderful. You know, you have to forget even the model behind. And for our champagne, it's exactly the same. The wine is so beautiful. The bottle is so beautiful. I don't want to add a specific packaging or something with two glasses. You know, it's not the thing, you know. What we need to create is... a wonderful moment, even a simple moment, even the moment of today, you know, it's simple, but it's beautiful. I mean, the weather is beautiful. You brought the sun, you brought, you know, the warm temperature. We are in the salon Marie Antoinette. I mean, this is very beautiful.
Speaker #0
So let's talk a little bit about this experience. So you mentioned the tiara on the bottle. It's actually a bottle I'm not sure you will find at the supermarket. No. The bottle of Raphampagne. So maybe you've not seen it that much compared to other brands. But the first thing that is impressive is the shape of the bottle and this decoration around it. Can you give us a bit of background on the story of the house and why you did apply these elements to the bottle?
Speaker #1
This is, I think, one of the most beautiful history. I could have even imagined, you know, in my life, when the Marquis d'Olonne told me, Maude, the thing is in the 18th century. So I am the sixth generation. So my grand, grand, grand, grandfather, the Florent Louis Heitzik, the founder of Piper Heitzik, had one motto in mind. He wanted to become the richest man in Europe. Super simple.
Speaker #0
Very small ambition.
Speaker #1
Small ambition. But the thing is...
Speaker #0
At the time, it was easy.
Speaker #1
So he had to convince one person because the bubbles were only at the royal court. You know, nobody could afford any bubbles. It wasn't, you know, trendy at all. It was only for the royal court of France. So he said, ah, I need to meet with the queen and I want to create a cuvee worthy of a queen. So he made some researches about the queen and he discovered that she was in love with pineapple, in love with tropical fruits. And when you make some research on the pineapple, it arrived in France in 1730. So it was only for the queen and the king. Same. She was so in love with that fruit, which was considered and still today, the king of fruits. You know, with the crown. That if you go to visit the private apartment of the queen, you can see the pineapple everywhere in the pattern. So he created a blending full of tropical notes. This is the recipe, the notes that the Marquis de Lens could find in the little notebook of Florent Louis XVIII. And he met with the queen and the whole team because he was surrounded by 100 people. He met with the queen on May 6th, 1785. And he introduced this elixir, this specific blending. And she loved, they loved, they loved the bubbles. and the other 3,000 bottles. So he sent Piper Heitzig. So not the elixir, but Piper Heitzig. And that's how Piper Heitzig arrived in the royal court of France. With this also blending of very, you know, rich and delicious. And then he was very smart because he knew that if she took the champagne, the royal court of Spain, of Austria, of Netherlands, they all, you know, they all purchased. Piper Heitzig. And still today, you can find Piper Heitzig at the Royal Court of Spain, Netherlands, Belgium. They still have the specific label for them. So he made his dream come true, except that the elixir was like a sleeping beauty. So the next generation, they wanted really, you know, to create something. So they decided to create the bottle, which is a Pint Majeur. So this, we have a pattern on the shape of the bottle. Um. And he asked Pierre Calphaberger to come back with a specific label, very beautiful for the queen. And unfortunately, the drawing is very beautiful, but it's impossible to make, to realize, because it's supposed to blue, you know, to burn a little bit the bottle, because you have to put some lapis lazuli. It's a nightmare. And still today, we cannot do it, because in the bottle, you have the champagne. So in rare champagne, we keep it 10 years, you know, on lease. So we cannot do anything on the bottle. So the project stayed like a shipping beauty for years and years and years. And Le Marquis d'Olonne, he discovered the car who took the queen, who took, you know, Floral Waitsick to meet with the queen, the notebook, etc. And he said, no, but I will do it. I will be the one who will make his dream come true. And I will create the most expensive. and the most beautiful cuvée in the world. So he asked the family Van Cleef & Arpels, because they were close friends, to take as an inspiration the drawing of Pierre Calphabergé and to say, well, voilà, this was, you know, the inspiration. Can you make the decor of the very first prestigious cuvée of Piper Heitzig? Champagne rare at that time. So the first bottle of rare champagne was decorated by Van Cleef & Arpels. And it was 1 million francs at that time in 1985 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first appointment between the Queen and Florian Louis-Haïtique. And he has chosen Versailles Palace. So we are actually, and this is Madame Pégard. So she's the ministre de la culture today, but she was the CEO of Versailles Palace for many years. And one day she called me and said, Thank you. Maud, did you know that you are the only, enfin, you, Rare Champagne, is the only one brand born at Versailles? Do you know that? And she sent me the articles in Paris Match, Jour de France, all the media at that time. It was one of the most important dinners which occurred at Versailles Palace. And when they decided to create the book to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Versailles, They dedicated two pages for her champagne because the dinner was so crazy. 56 meals, 1,200 guests. They put, you know, 12,000 roses. They have a fireworks. It was completely extraordinary. Carole Bouquet, she was the hostess, the master of the ceremony. Why? because she was just... recognized as the most beautiful woman in France. So that's why, you know, he wanted people to understand that Champagne Rare was the most beautiful, prestigious cuvee in the world. And then he left France for three months. And that's how they did at that time. He went to make the tour of the United States with his wife to introduce himself, the prestigious cuvee Champagne Rare. And when he sawed... the champagne to La Famille Herrière du Breuil, Rémi Cointreau. At Rémi Cointreau, the team decided to switch Champagne Rare by Rare Champagne because everyone was easier, specifically in the United States. They say the rare champagne, rare champagne. And in 2007, I would say, they decided to apply a tiara. So they briefed Arthus Bertrand. So one of the most beautiful goldsmiths to create the allegory of the triumph of the vine, because this was a brief of the cellar master in 1976. And 1976 is the first vintage of rare champagne. It was that one once launched at Versailles Palace in 1985. And in the year 2006-2007, they apply the tiara, which is dressed. here in our warehouse by a team of eight women. So once we receive an order, the Franciennes, Anne-Charlotte, Chloé, and all the others, you know, they dress the bottle one by one. You have 48 dots of glue. It's like, you know, a true savoir-faire, a know-how. It's absolutely marvelous. And it's a tiara as a tribute to the Queen Marie-Antoinette, but also a tribute to Reims. because Reims, it's a wonderful city. They crowned 33 kings. Almost all the kings except Napoleon and Henri IV. So it was important for us to have this notion of crown, recognition, triumph, triumph of the vines, triumph of this magical city. Because champagne, I mean, everyone dreams about champagne. You can be completely lost in the desert. If you imagine you drinking a glass of champagne, it's a... It's a full dream. So, voilà. This is a beautiful homage, tribute to French history, French culture. The queen, who is the queen, the most famous in the world still today. From Japan to the US, everyone knows Marie Antoinette. And thanks to Marie Antoinette, we are here today. Absolutely. She's always with us.
Speaker #0
When you talk about that, I realize something is that I'm actually super grateful to live in a moment in which champagne is that much available compared to 200 years ago when it was only for the court and for the majesty. Now I can just go wherever I want and order a bottle of champagne and it can be a bit expensive, but it's still super accessible. so So it's a good demonstration of our quality of life just improving.
Speaker #1
Absolutely. And this is very important because, yeah, actually, we elevate ourselves every day. It is very important.
Speaker #0
I think about that every time I eat Comté as well.
Speaker #1
Oui.
Speaker #0
What's a good time to be alive with Comté? Alors,
Speaker #1
Comté with a rare 1988. It's one of the most beautiful pairing.
Speaker #0
I would love to try it.
Speaker #1
told you, Régis Camus on the Scenario Master who really is a define the style of rare champagne.
Speaker #0
I can imagine if you have like this tropical signature in it, it can make a very good mix with the Conté. Speaking of this, let's talk a little bit about how you create these different cuvées. So rare champagne is only vintage, not every year.
Speaker #1
No.
Speaker #0
And do you have different style? rosé, blanc de blanc? No. Just one champagne?
Speaker #1
We have sometimes. The Brut, le rosé. Sometimes, it's only vintages. This was written by Le Marquis d'Olonne. He only wanted, you know, vintages. Not every year. Why? Because sometimes we are not able to have this style that we want. So the tropical notes. In every vintage of rare champagne, you will be able to... to discover the pineapple, the vanilla, the coconut, the kiwi, the little jasmine flowers. Always. According to the year and the weather we had that year, the pineapple can be cooked, the pineapple can be fresh, but you will always have these tropical fruits, these tropical nuts, this perfect balance between flower, fruits, and the spicy nuts. And sometimes the cellar master and his team are not able to have this exact style that can last more than 10, 15, 20 years. This is very important. With climate change, we will have more vintages year after year because it's not good for humans, but it's good for the wine. For the champagne, actually, because champagne loves the sun. the vineyards love the sun so we will have more vintages in the coming years but when it's very cold or when we cannot have these specific notes we don't vintage so there is no vintage and the rosé, the first one arrived in 2007 and we only have 4 rosés so Regis Camus created 4 rare rosés 2007, 2008, 2012 2014 team. that we will discover soon. And I don't know the next one. It's Emilien Boutilla, who joined the company in 2018, who will decide if he's going to launch the Rosé because even at the last minute, the year we're supposed to launch the vintage, we're not sure if it's not what we wanted.
Speaker #0
No.
Speaker #1
So it's only the best. We have a quest for excellence. It's very important because we are driven by value, not by volume. We are a family-owned company. Monsieur Descours is only one person. He's very young. He's in love with wine, with the champagne, with Italian wine as well. And for him, it's very important and he will be intransigent on the quality.
Speaker #0
Where can people discover rare champagne?
Speaker #1
Rare champagne, the wine stores. So the wine, I mean...
Speaker #0
Only the good wine stores. That's a good definition.
Speaker #1
The wine who have good taste. A Michelin restaurant, but also Palas. You can have some trendy places as well. Rarchampagne, we target some cities rather than the countries because we are in under allocation. So it's not so easy. But we have a team in London. We have a team of three people in the U.S. So we will have one in Miami, one in Las Vegas and one based in California. But you can do, you know, the whole the U.S. and Marie. in New York. We have someone in Paris as well. So even if we work with distribution, there are team behind. We identify hard birds that we call the rare birds. And they are, you know, the one who perfectly embodies the brand, understand the brand and are able to list hard champagne in wonderful places by relationship, by concept we can imagine, like the afternoon tea Marie-Antoinette at Le Crayon that we launched last year in October. And it was such a success that Le Crayon asked us to be back for this year. This is the history of our champagne. It's only vintages under allocation. So we create concepts according to places we are. But it's relatively places where you can enjoy. beautifully the life even if it's a simple restaurant the the people who run the the restaurant the family are very very nice very kind and they are very very aware of what is going on in the world they know perfectly the the wine universe they are in love with the wine universe yeah maybe you're also in love with uh it's maybe dumb to say when we talk about uh restaurants and But...
Speaker #0
in love with details, with gastronomy, with doing good things and interesting things in that way. Do you still serve royalty today?
Speaker #1
No, with rare champagne, I don't think so. It's a good question because two years ago when Versailles, they organized the first exhibition in the history of Versailles in China at the Forbidden City. They made a beautiful exhibition. and it was directly linked to the Queen Marie Antoinette because they allow the public to discover the China, the piece of art that Marie Antoinette purchased at that time from China. And they asked us to be there. So they asked Rarchampagne to be with them. So it was a way to be linked to the history and to Versailles. But maybe it is, maybe not, I don't know. I know that someone offered. Rare Champagne, the Rare 2013 to the King of England. I don't know if he was able to discover it. We know that Rare Champagne is at the Elysée. So every dinner, which is very important, they open a bottle of Rare Champagne. But voilà. We can be, you know, very surprised. It's really, you know, by chance. completely that we can discover that kind of beautiful moments.
Speaker #0
It's amazing that someone 200 years ago just decided to make the best product in the world. And today, it's still like by chance opened in some crazy places like that.
Speaker #1
Absolutely.
Speaker #0
What is the relationship? So today, we are recording this in the Salon Marie-Antoinette. I saw that we are in the Piper IT HQ, I guess. What is the relationship that you kept with them?
Speaker #1
Here you are in the headquarters of the three houses, actually, because it's written Piper Heightsick, but there is Charlotte Seek as well and Rarchampagne. Charlotte Seek has their own pavilion, Les Crayères, in the city center. We also have one Crayères at Rarchampagne, but we have decided to have a little space here as well because it's more convenient. I love this headquarters. It's very beautiful. and it was made by a... Jacques Ferrier was the architect of the French pavilion at the big exhibition in China in 2008, l'Expo Universelle, Universal Exhibition. And it was just awarded last year or two years ago, most beautiful headquarter in France. So it's like a piece of art. And I imagine, you know, Marie-Antoinette, she would love that place because it's very modern in a way. And she was modern. And so usually, you know, we love to create our experiences at Eisenhower Residence in the city of France. It's a place, it's a magnificent hotel particulier, which was transformed into kind of a gem, a boutique hotel by the family Descours. But we play with the two places. So either we organize some beautiful experiences at Eisenhower Residence or... we organized some beautiful ones here as well. And we will revisit the garden as well, the little court, to explore more and to live more intensively the experience of Marie Antoinette here.
Speaker #0
Just behind you, there is a painting of someone serving champagne to a lady. I guess it's Marie Antoinette.
Speaker #1
Oui.
Speaker #0
Is this an original painting? Does it describe a specific scene or did you do it on purpose?
Speaker #1
It was done really before the company bought the champagne. Because this was, I think it was done by Le Marquis de Lens. Because Florent Louis XVI, he asked a painter. This is not the first one. The first one was a small piece. But they reproduced it in 10 or 20 frames. This is hilarious. But the thing is, he was so honored, happy. that he really wanted to, because at the time there were no pictures, no cell phone, nothing. So the way was he asked someone to draw the moment he had and he introduced the moment this way, which is clearly impossible. She could not meet with Florent Louis-Haitzik that way because we imagine here that it's a bedroom. She never received and welcomed any person in a bedroom.
Speaker #0
You know, the bed in the mirror.
Speaker #1
Exactly. So this scene is what he probably lived, but not in this area. But the magic is he really wanted to recreate the moment, to make it, you know, to embellish this moment and to explain that it was true, you know. So Le Marquis d'Olonne decided to reproduce this mini beautiful painting, which is in the safe. in 20, 25 and different dimensions. But this is the one.
Speaker #0
Taking the time to admire this must have been a crazy moment for him.
Speaker #1
And since it's incredible, you know, the power she had, the influence and the inspiration. She was inspiring so many people. We owe a lot. to the Queen Marie Antoinette. We owe a lot to François I, Marie de' Medici, to Marie Antoinette and to Imperatrice Eugénie, who was completely in love with Marie Antoinette. But for, and thanks to l'Imperatrice Eugénie, it was a revival of Marie Antoinette because imagine at that time, I'm not sure she was well seen, you know, because we all know the end. the life of Louise XVI and Marie Antoinette. But l'imperatrice Eugénie completely understood the queen, completely understood what really happened, which was completely unfair. And she decided to reintroduce the true Marie Antoinette. And that's how everything happens again around the queen. And that's how she was a little bit more rehabilitated. And in the beginning of the 20s, There was some movie about the Queen, some beautiful books. And Antonia Fraser completely rehabilitated Marie-Antoinette.
Speaker #0
Do you have a book recommendation about Marie-Antoinette?
Speaker #1
For me, the best one... It's a biography of Stefan Zweig.
Speaker #0
Okay. It's very nice to read.
Speaker #1
He completely understood the Queen. For me, it's the best one. Antonia is absolutely brilliant as well, Fraser. But Stefan Zweig, it's something...
Speaker #0
Yeah, plus easy to read. You can see how...
Speaker #1
Different inside. Yeah,
Speaker #0
how it's incarnated. It's interesting. I must say that I'm not super familiar with her history. by herself. Like, I know the end and like everyone in France, but I think we don't talk about it.
Speaker #1
No, but even, you know, in Japan, they know more the history of France rather than us because they all watched the manga La Rose de Versailles. And La Rose de Versailles is Histoire de France through the history of Marie-Antoinette Quinn. So this is completely crazy. And me, I was completely passionate about La Rose de Versailles when I was young. I watched all the manga. It was my Wednesday morning. and when I had the chance to visit my team in Japan two years ago and I had an interview like the one we have today with a wonderful woman and she asked me did you watch manga and I said yes La Rose de Versailles silence what? we're going to relaunch the manga in a movie in two months worldwide I said what? I don't know. I didn't know. And they launched the movie January 6th, the year after, the 2025th, the Ryoko Ikeda. So the queen is still alive. And last year at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, you had a Marie Antoinette exhibition. I couldn't even attend. It was sold out in two weeks for the six months.
Speaker #0
You should have provided champagne. You would have access it.
Speaker #1
In the coming months, you will be able to discover the new exhibition at Trianon, which will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola, the movie, which is her view of the personality of Marie Antoinette, which is not the way we see her. But everybody, you know, is a perception of the queen. and thanks to Sofia Coppola Marie Antoinette was seen as a pop and very sparkling and brilliant woman as well. It's not the true Marie Antoinette because Marie Antoinette, actually, she didn't drink a lot. It was only little bubbles, but once a day, not so much. She was vegan. She was obliged to meet... to eat meat, but she completely disliked that. So she was okay to...
Speaker #0
That's what all vegans say.
Speaker #1
To eat a little bit of chicken, but that's it. She was really in advance on her time because she wanted an old garden with the strawberries, with the potatoes. She invented... I don't know what it is, with the potato. She was...
Speaker #0
she invented the croissant as well so it was a lot you know in every kind of universe she inspired and elevates the either you know the product or the moment i know it's not her i was about to say a mistake i was about to talk about the glass but this is a pompadour i think she really used it as well because she was um she
Speaker #1
was like a kid you know so she has a I heard of a kid, so she wanted to play. She wanted to have fun. And the pompadour glass for her was something a bit crazy because it was a form of the boobs, but it was also used because you could not put some portions because the glass was this way. So the portion at that time, it was too complicated. So it had a double use as well. Indeed. Um...
Speaker #0
Going back to the champagne by itself, do you, so how does, like, in terms of production, where does the vines come from? Is it your own estate or do you have, like, partners through which you buy grapes or juice? And what is it inside? Mainly Chardonnay, I guess?
Speaker #1
We are Chardonnay-driven. Okay. We are the only one. We think, we don't really know because, you know, there are so many, plenty, plenty. But at Rarchampagne, we have a little bit, but not so much. We have a lot of partners since years and years and contracts of decades. Even Emilien, his father was already, you know, someone who gives the grapes for 30 years already. So it's a really family. relationship and today we even have some new producers who say we would love to sell some grapes to Har Champagne. Are we able to do that? The thing is we are sourcing our Chardonnay in the kingdom of Pinot Noir and we use 70% of Chardonnay, 30% of Pinot Noir and it's a blending of between 9 and 11 villages but 80% of the time is the same villages. So I know that Régis Camus was in love with Villers Marmerie, but we have a lot from Avis, Aïe, Boussy, Verzi, Verzenay. Sometimes it's Pinot Noir, sometimes it's Chardonnay. But we are mainly Chardonnay.
Speaker #0
And so it's your head winemaker who basically decides? Ah oui,
Speaker #1
it's a cellar master with a team of eight people. They all know how to do paper. how to make pepper, how to make chard, how to make rare champagne. But we have one person who decides the style, if we will launch it or if we will not. And that's why, for example, Emilia, in 2023, it was end of 2022, decided to launch the vintage 2013 and not the 2012. Because the 2012 were not ready at all. So he said, no, it's impossible. It's too young. Even if it's already 11 years, we are not able to launch it. So we will reveal first the 2013 and then the 12. Can we do that more than a Ciba? You decide. I mean, if the wine is not ready, it's not ready. So let's start with the 2013. And the magic is when we do some masterclasses with the 13 and the 12 side by side, you understand why Emilien decided this. Because the 13 is much more mature rather than the 12, which is so fresh. The fresh pineapple with a lime, bergamot, citrus notes, rather than the 2013, it's much more about the apricots, the cooked pineapple, the notes of brioche, honey. It's the opposite. So we can perfectly understand why.
Speaker #0
Why you switched.
Speaker #1
This is a magic thing, you know. This is magical. And nobody else is doing this. In other houses, you know, they release year by year. And they have another speech and they have another, you know, and it's not Chardonnay driven either. It's more Pinot Noir. But here at Rarchampagne, it's what we do.
Speaker #0
Is there anything we didn't mention that is very important to you?
Speaker #1
The main thing is that really, you know, the Marquis de Lens really wanted, you know, to create a jewel. And Regis Camus, when he defined the style of rare champagne, really insisted on this, making the most beautiful wine he could even imagine making. And this is very important because we have to respect this. Rare champagne, we will discover the 12. We are in 2026. Can you imagine? Patience. The know-how. It's the exact opposite of what we are living in the fast fashion, in the fast consumption, mass consumption. It's exactly the opposite. So for me, this is a quiet luxury, but this is a true luxury. Voilà, c'est ça. C'est le luxe du luxe. Mais accessible.
Speaker #0
But more accessible than when it was reserved to the royalty. Behind the camera, do you have any leftover questions? No more questions.
Speaker #1
They want to taste.
Speaker #0
They want to taste. Yeah, we will.
Speaker #1
The bubbles.
Speaker #0
Before finishing this interview, I still have three last questions. The first one. So we talked about book, about Marie-Antoinette. So it's done. I will put the link in description. But do you have a book recommendation about wine?
Speaker #1
Oui, alors, José, I took this one. Alors, I could take many, many books. But that one really, you know, touched me. because Lord Gasparotto, she was in trouble in her life at that moment. And she took this challenge of creating her own wine. But she bought the vineyards. She made everything by herself. And I love one of the sentences in the book, so I don't remember where it is. It's at the beginning. But she said, my first harvest was like my first kiss. And when I read this, you know, I was immersed in my childhood with my grandfather because I know, you know, I know they were so in love with their vineyards, you know. They were more important than us. You know, we could be sick. So you go to the doctor.
Speaker #0
Go to sleep. I will take care of the vines.
Speaker #1
The vines, if they were sick, it was a drama. Absolute drama. Absolute drama. And this is exactly what she explains. And she had at that moment, you know, a daughter. She was only two. So she was living in between Paris. And for me, she's a queen. And she exactly explained what Vigneron here is and the power of love of modern nature. And I didn't find any other books where you can find the love for the vineyards. You can have the love for the wine, but the wine, it's an expression of your vineyards. So if you don't pay attention to your vineyards, the wine, it won't match. And I will make the parallel with Valentin Tardiovitali, with the onologue, the vigneron as well. She loves to say I am a vigneron of Chateau Laverie. And Chateau Laverie is the first domain, wine estate of Monsieur Descours. In the 1980s, his grandfather bought this Bastide, Le Mar, in Luberon. And he created his wine because he wanted like a Grand Bordeaux. So he created the Grand Défense. And Valentin Tardieu-Vitali, who is the owner, the vigneron, but also the CEO of the wine estate, she's working like Laure. And that's why the wine I love is the Chateau Laverie as well. And when you asked me the question, which wine was... wow, something different you discovered not so long ago, I would say Le Grand des Fonds Rosés. Because I didn't know it was a rosé. I thought it was a red wine. And I was completely shocked, surprised. And Le Grand des Fonds Rosés, I hope you will be able to discover it because it's something you cannot find anywhere. You don't know where you are. It's something.
Speaker #0
It happened to me, to us in Bandol two years ago, I think something like that. We're visiting an estate in Bandol and the owner was like, so, you know, we just arrived five hours off train. Before that, we did. I don't even know what we were doing, but like, you know, you're tired, a bit dirty. You just want to take a shower, go to sleep. And so the guy says, you want to drink something tonight? So we're like, yeah, why not? Why not? So we're like, okay. We're French. Yeah, we're still French, plus we're on holidays, so let's go for it. And he was like, okay, let me find a bottle for you. And so he brings a rosé and he doesn't say anything to us. And he just opens it and he goes away. And we're like, we're just going to take like, you know, half a glass each just because it's the holidays. And so we start drinking it and we're like, okay. And so actually, I think we drank almost.
Speaker #1
The bottle?
Speaker #0
The whole bottle. Like the treasure? 75% of the bottle. It was like a name of the... So it was at Domaine de la Baie-Gude. And it's L'Iréductible. Oh, okay.
Speaker #1
I will note.
Speaker #0
And it's like it's really... So L'Iréductible, but 2011, which is older vintage for them.
Speaker #1
Older vintage as well.
Speaker #0
And it's like if I hadn't seen it as a rosé, I think I would have been lost as well. What the hell are we drinking right now? It makes no sense.
Speaker #1
This is crazy.
Speaker #0
I understand your experience.
Speaker #1
Incredible. So this is a wine I would have picked because I had this surprise.
Speaker #0
So you anticipated that question, but it was a perfect link.
Speaker #1
I don't know which book you would recommend me to read.
Speaker #0
From Laure Gasparotto, actually. Les vins d'Orient, non? Non. I love Le jour où il n'y aura plus de vent.
Speaker #1
Ah oui,
Speaker #0
j'ai pas lu encore. So she wrote that with Lilian Berillon. And so it's the story of what's happening before the vines. It's basically the story of the grape varieties and of the cèpes.
Speaker #1
Les cèpes, oui.
Speaker #0
The materiales végétales. it should be very interesting and it's very interesting because you see what's happening behind by the industry that is basically for some part of it sabotaging itself for the future because they destroyed the diversity of this material and it's very interesting to very well return Laurel with those amazing things absolutely she sometimes listens to this podcast so bonjour
Speaker #1
Laurel she came here to taste Piper Hightick and Rare Champagne you three or four years ago now.
Speaker #0
I interviewed her as well three or four years ago. It was an amazing moment. We were in our kitchen. Our kid was in the living room. It was a pretty fun moment. Last question is who is the next person I should interview?
Speaker #1
I don't know if you know that guy who is completely crazy.
Speaker #0
I probably know him.
Speaker #1
It's Nicolas Kennedy.
Speaker #0
I don't know him.
Speaker #1
So he doesn't have any wine estate, but he's a wine and gastronome lover.
Speaker #0
Okay.
Speaker #1
He works with Jean-Maurice Sacré, who is the one who collected more than 30,000 menus. So he had the chance to... to open the Elysee every journée du patrimoine, le président Emmanuel Macron let him showcase some of the menu because he has everything. The most beautiful menu, dinners with the most beautiful wines. It's a very good idea. And when you talk with them, and specifically Nicolas Kennedy, he's completely crazy. He's even fucked up. But he's so much in love with French gastronomy. He's a patriot. So... French gastronomy, French wine, and all the recognition we should have all over the world. And he's brilliant. He's very agile, but he's a good guy. He loves to cook. And he knows every wine, actually. It's crazy. But there are so many people you should interview. But that one, I was looking at who you interview and I said, ah. Maybe another profile, someone who is not making any wine, but is able to say, you should taste this wine because he perfectly understood who you are and what you're going to love. And he will organize this in a certain way that you will never, never forget in your life.
Speaker #0
Can't wait to have this experience. So we will definitely reach out to Nicolas after this. Thank you very much, Maud.
Speaker #1
Thank you so much.
Speaker #0
It was an amazing moment to share. I hope you guys loved this interview. If you're still watching, it's that it's the case. So go try to discover the story of Marie-Antoinette and Rare Champagne. Don't forget to like, subscribe, share this episode. Thanks again, Maud.
Speaker #1
Merci beaucoup.
Speaker #0
And see you soon.
Speaker #1
Yeah, see you soon.
Speaker #0
Perfect. Ah, c'était très chouette. Merci beaucoup.
Speaker #1
Merci à vous.
Speaker #0
J'étais pas très familier.

About Wine Makers Show: the wine podcast

What to Expect

In-Depth Interviews: Hear from top figures in the wine world, from renowned vintners to unsung heroes, as they share their experiences, challenges, and secrets to success.
Club Episodes: Explore specific wine topics, from production techniques to tasting tips, in focused, occasional deep dives.
A Journey of Discovery: Whether you're a novice or a connoisseur, we break down the complexities of wine to make it accessible and engaging.

Why Listen?

Connect with Us

Visit winemakersshow.com to get in touch or suggest a guest.
Email Antoine directly at winemakersshow@gmail.com.
Follow the journey on Instagram: @winemakersshow
Join the Academy and learn everything about wine

Tune in to Wine Makers Show and sip on the stories behind every bottle!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Wine Makers Show: the wine podcast

What to Expect

In-Depth Interviews: Hear from top figures in the wine world, from renowned vintners to unsung heroes, as they share their experiences, challenges, and secrets to success.
Club Episodes: Explore specific wine topics, from production techniques to tasting tips, in focused, occasional deep dives.
A Journey of Discovery: Whether you're a novice or a connoisseur, we break down the complexities of wine to make it accessible and engaging.

Why Listen?

Connect with Us

Visit winemakersshow.com to get in touch or suggest a guest.
Email Antoine directly at winemakersshow@gmail.com.
Follow the journey on Instagram: @winemakersshow
Join the Academy and learn everything about wine

Tune in to Wine Makers Show and sip on the stories behind every bottle!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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