Francis Boulard

The history

The roots of the Boulard family are deep into the Champagne, dating at least six generations back. The oldest ancestor confirmed to date was born in 1792, during the time of French Revolution, and since then, the family has been cultivating grapevines in the Reims area.

Francis Boulard's first job in the vineyard was working behind Bijou, the family's Ardennes draught horse. At the age of 14, he was able to take the plow handle and worked alongside his grandfather, Julien, who was one of the few local residents to resist mechanization after the war and kept plowing with horses. Julien supplied the still wine he produced to the Champagne wineries. It was his son, Raymond, who began winemaking and bottling in 1952.

Francis joined the Boulard Frères business in the 1970s and took over winemaking operations in 1975. Champagne Raymond Boulard & Fils was created in 1980, and after their father passed away, the three siblings ran the business together.

Then, around 1996, Francis changed his mind about chemical farming. Like most of his generation, he had been using fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, believing they would be washed away after just a few rains. However, upon learning that residues remained in the soil and eventually found their way into the wine, he decided to switch to organic farming.

In 2009, the three siblings decided to go their separate ways, and the Raymond Boulard House was dissolved. Francis, Jeanne, and Delphine each started over on a smaller scale under their own names. Since 2016, Delphine has been in charge of operations.

Three hectares, five villages

Francis Boulard and Fille cultivate approximately 3 hectares of farmland, which is not concentrated in a single area but is scattered across several villages. Approximately 1.6 hectares are located in Massif de Saint-Thierry (sometimes referred to as Petite Montagne de Reims), with most of that land in Cormicy. Another 0.5 hectares is located in Mailly-Champagne, a village in the Montagne de Reims Grand Cru region. Approximately 1.2 hectares are located in Marne Valley, which forms the historic heart of the family's holdings.

The vineyards face primarily east to northeast, while the Marne Valley parcel faces south.

About two-thirds of the vineyards are planted with massal-selected varieties sourced from this estate, that is, cuttings taken from the winery's own old vines rather than clones purchased from outside sources. Pruning is kept short to control yields. In addition, the vineyard is tilled 4 to 6 times a year: once in the fall after harvest, and again in the spring through to July. This allows for proper management of the natural vegetation cover without killing soil organisms or causing erosion on the slopes.

Three distinct terroirs, three different approaches

The Marne Valley area has heavier, more fertile soil, and that is precisely where Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay are located. Throughout the Massif de Saint-Thierry region, the subsoil consists of siliceous limestone. Mailly-Champagne, located in the highlands of Montagne de Reims, belongs to the Pinot Noir terroir.

Since these vineyards produce wines with very different characteristics, Francis Boulard and Fille manage them separately through fermentation and aging rather than blending all the grapes early on.

Biodynamic farming brings all these elements together. In addition to sulfur and the Bordeaux mixture, the vines are treated with preparations made from horsetail, osier, willow, stinging nettle, valerian, and silica, and the timing of key tasks in the vineyard and wine cellar is determined by the lunar calendar.

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier

All three major varieties of Champagne are cultivated, and each variety is closely associated with a specific region:

• Chardonnay: Cultivated in the siliceous limestone terroirs of Massif de Saint-Thierry, as well as in Marne Valley
• Pinot Noir is produced in the Grand Cru plot Mailly-Champagne and serves as the primary source for rosé wines
• Pinot Meunier is grown in the heavy, clay-rich soils of Marne Valley

Thanks to the vineyard's massal selection from its own vines, a significant portion of these vines come from the estate's own vines rather than clones sourced from a nursery.

The winemaking

In the Champagne region, the standard practice is to harvest early to maintain high acidity. In contrast, Francis Boulard and Fille take the exact opposite approach. As long as the grapes are healthy, they are harvested when their natural sugar content is as high as possible. This approach is based on the philosophy Francis inherited from his father: The best wine comes from fully ripe fruit with a potential alcohol content of 10% or higher.

Immediately after harvest, the grapes are loaded into a 2-metric-ton membrane press. After that, no process is rushed.

Each lot is stored separately by origin and variety, and natural fermentation begins using yeasts already present in the vineyard and cellar. Since Delphine took over management, this process has been carried out in used Burgundy barrels and a few foudres (large wooden vats). Her father used barrels of a wider variety of sizes. The schedule for bâtonnage, the stirring of the sediment in the wine, and bottling is determined according to the lunar calendar.

Dosage, the sugar added during disgorgement, is kept to a minimum or omitted entirely. Some cuvées are released as brut nature, with no sugar added at all. As a result, the wine is dry, retains its natural flavors, and, in terms of texture, is closer to a still white wine than to a typical Champagne. This is precisely the goal set at harvest.

The wines

Les Murgiers —a Brut Nature from Meunier from the Vallée de la Marne.

Blanc de Blancs Vieilles Vignes — Chardonnay, from old vines from Saint-Thierry.

Les Rachais, the flagship. A single parcel of Chardonnay, close to 60 years old and bottled with no dosage. It's released as a vintage wine.

Petraea — a perpetual reserve, solera-style, released in numbered editions (Petraea II, IV, V and so on). 

Grand Cru — from Mailly, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on clay-limestone.

In addition to these, Francis Boulard & Fille also bottle Rosé Les Rachais, Rosé Grande Montagne and Le Murtet. Since all wines are produced from vineyards covering approximately 3 hectares, production volumes are generally low.