Boerl & Kroff
Most Champagne houses are built on underground cellars and a family name handed down over a century or two. Boërl & Kroff was born from a single idea and tremendous patience. The founders sought to craft Champagne as a serious white wine, one aged for years before anyone could taste it, and publicly declared that neither cost nor timing would influence any of their decisions. This pursuit led them beyond Reims and Epernay to Aube, and further to Côte des Bar, where Michel Drappier agreed to craft the wine. Production volumes are low, and most of the wine is shipped in magnum bottles or larger; the winery works with Pinot Noir from Urville.
The history
Boërl & Kroff began when two friends, who loved the bold reds of Burgundy and Bordeaux, wanted that same depth and grip in the Champagne as well. The challenge they set for themselves was clear. They would seek out the finest artisans, invest generously regardless of cost, and create the world's best Champagne.
This search took them through the Aube and the Côte des Bar, ultimately leading them to Michel Drappier, the head of the family of the same name and known locally as the wizard of Urville. He took on this task in 1994, making one condition clear from the very beginning: that this work would require immense patience.
The vineyard he provided was known to have previously produced the Drappier cuvée, a wine that Michel's father had made for a dinner hosted by Charles de Gaulle. This story is widely told in connection with the winery and clearly defined the vision of its founders: they wanted to recreate that very wine.
The first harvest took place in 1995. After aging in the cellar for about 12 years, the first bottles of this wine were released in 2007, followed by the 1998 vintage and Rosé de Saignée. All were produced in extremely limited quantities, which is one of the main reasons its reputation spread so quickly.
Pinot Noir from Urville
Boërl & Kroff does not own vineyards. All the company has is the right to access the Pinot Noir parcel of Urville, located in Côte des Bar, through Michel Drappier, a location quite far from the chalky slopes that come to mind when people hear the name Champagne.
These vineyards are still owned by Champagne Drappier. This is also the birthplace of the old family cuvée that sparked this project, and it is precisely for this reason that the founders wanted these vineyards and nothing else.
Pinot Noir plays a key role in Côte des Bar, providing the color, body, and depth necessary for the wine to age in the cellar for twelve years before release.
Winemaking
The instructions given to Drappier were to treat this wine not as a sparkling aperitif, but as a fine white wine. In other words, this meant allowing it to age for an extended period, not setting a fixed release date, and not rushing to release the wine prematurely to meet commercial deadlines.
The aging plan for the first wine was 12 years, and it was, in fact, aged for approximately 12 years. According to reports, Michel Drappier had already sensed that this wine possessed exceptional potential during the 1995 harvest and selected bottles appropriate for it. These were magnums, jeroboams, and the 30-liter Melchizedecks bottles, formats that slow the aging process and are ideal for wines intended for long-term storage.
For that first vintage, only 2,500 magnums were produced, along with the larger-capacity bottles. This is fully in line with the winery's philosophy, which has prioritized patience as a core principle from the very beginning.
The wines
The product lineup is not extensive. Boërl & Kroff Vintage is the wine that led to the founding of this winery, while the long-aged Champagne is released several years after harvest, primarily in large-format bottles.
B de Boërl & Kroff is the one most commonly found on the market. With a fresher, creamier style, this wine is bottled in standard 750-ml bottles, and approximately 6,000 bottles are produced annually.
A Rosé de Saignée has also been introduced; rather than blending red wines, this wine is made by briefly allowing the juice to come into contact with black grape skins before separating it. With just these three wines, the winery deliberately keeps its production range very narrow, and every bottle is created through the same collaborative process carried out at Urville.
Frequently asked questions
Who actually makes Boërl & Kroff Champagne?
Michel Drappier, at Urville in the Aube. The house was created by two friends, and Drappier has produced the wine since the project started.
Is Boërl & Kroff a grower or a Champagne house?
A house rather than a grower. It does not farm its own vineyards; the Pinot Noir parcels it uses in the Côte des Bar are Drappier property.
Why is it so hard to find?
Volumes are very small, and much of the production is bottled in magnum and larger formats rather than standard bottles. The first vintage was not released until roughly twelve years after harvest.
What sizes does it come in?
Besides regular bottles for B de Boërl & Kroff, the house has used magnums, jeroboams and 30 litre Melchizedecks.
