The Mag

Focus on the job of the Cellar Master

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Canard-Duchêne has always passed down its expertise from one passionate chef to the next. The Cellar Master determines the identity of a Champagne House’s wines. The Canard-Duchêne’s style is defined as “freshness and finesse that combine skill and nature.” Delivery of our bubbles’ secrets!

Nature's craftsman at Canard-Duchêne

The Cellar Master creates the identity of the champagne and its cuvées. They must be consistent in order to preserve the unique aromas and flavors while also leaving the House’s mark.
As a free spirit since 1868, it takes a masterful hand to instill a certain spontaneity while preserving the hallmarks of its heritage.
Laurent Fédou has brilliantly achieved this delicate balance in Ludes since 2003.

Nestled in the heart of the Montagne de Reims natural park, the House wishes to produce with the highest respect for the environment. This is a requirement for the well-known “appellation d’origine contrôlée”, and it has been reinforced with the arrival of Laurent Fédou.
Since then, the company has made significant progress in this approach to sustainable development, with a daily commitment to constant improvement over the years.
The control of inputs, the development of the Champagne terroir, the preservation of biodiversity, etc.
These are all missions that are driven by and incorporated into Laurent Fédou’s many roles every day.

“Today, our commitment is sincere, progressive and imperfect.
Laurent Fédou

 

 

 

The Cellar Master, a real conductor

A Cellar Master is the key figure in a Champagne establishment and the brand’s ambassador! He embodies the House’s values and infuses them into the aromas of its bottles.
Producing a champagne requires meticulous dosage, care and alchemy.

His job is punctuated by skilful manipulations in many stages of the manufacturing process.
He is everywhere! He controls the grapes in the vineyards, he is in his laboratory and then in the vat house and carries out the blending, the vinification as well as continuous tastings during the maturing process.
He communicates about the brand while managing the storage of reserve wines. He makes oenological choices and creates new cuvées that will later find their way to our tables.

laurent fédou

Laurent Fédou's touch

With a certain openness to the world and an expertise of more than 20 years when he arrived, Laurent Fédou has helped to reveal Canard-Duchêne’s signature.

According to him, a Cellar Master is an “assembler of Crus”. His mission is to maintain the quality and the typical taste of the House. He carries this out on a daily basis during his tastings to capture the potential of the wines during the first and second fermentation.

Do the notes of the wine express power, finesse, fruit, freshness or maturity?

 

Blending is an art, a laborious team effort. You have to know the notes and characteristics of the wines perfectly to marry the fruit of one cuvée with the freshness of another. It is like composing music to obtain a harmonious and thrilling symphony.

With enthusiasm and patience, he often experiments and is in constant discovery.

In this way, he reinvents the champagnes without rushing them.

Passionate and exciting, he works by instinct and on the spot.

The magic happens, the inspiration of the Cellar Master and the fabulous terroir of the Champagne region are combined with a 150 year old know-how. The result is the full depth of Canard-Duchêne.

Pinot Noir as a signature

At Canard-Duchêne, we assert our style and claim our freedom!

The blending of our parcels of Champagne terroir is meticulous. Our signature is Pinot Noir, the one from the Montagne de Reims! It is elegant and powerful. Its character and finesse structure the wine and enhance the fruit notes. This grape variety offers a delicate palette of warm, lively, even woody aromas such as red fruits, smoke, spices and others oriented towards yellow fruits such as mirabelles.

It is mysterious and complex because of its nuances. It illustrates the Champagne terroir with excellence thanks to its constant freshness.

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