Marie Courtin & Dame Jeanne - Mother and daughter making waves in Champagne and Burgundy

Dominique Moreau crafts cult wine in Champagne. Her daughter Jeanne Piollot creates according to her own vision in Burgundy. Two strong women whose sought-after wines are available in Sweden through Vintedge.

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Find Dame Jeanne and Marie Courtin wines in Sweden through our national partner Vintedge.

The wineries Marie Courtin and Domaine Dame Jeanne, run by mother and daughter, are just twenty kilometers apart but located in different regions. Marie Courtin's cellar is in Polisot, a small village in Côtes de Bar in the southernmost parts of Champagne; Dame Jeanne is found in the equally small Molesme in Châtillonnais, seventy kilometers northwest of Dijon.

Dame Jeanne is the life’s work of Jeanne Piollot, who studied communication in London but realized she missed the vineyard. She craved working with her hands. Having grown up with her mother Dominique’s earthy philosophy at Marie Courtin, she wanted to create something of her own in the same spirit. The opportunity arose to purchase a few hectares in Molesme, in Châtillonnais in northern Burgundy.

"I attended a wine school in Beaune to gain basic knowledge. Then I mostly learned by doing the practical work myself, with the support of my fantastic parents. I tried, made mistakes, tried again. I wanted to understand how I wanted to make wine," says Jeanne Piollot during a short break this labor-intensive early summer when the showers never seemed to take a vacation.

The year was 2017, and Jeanne started with just her hands. Exactly as she wanted. She had acquired 2.3 hectares of pinot noir, chardonnay, and gamay. Buying land in Burgundy is almost impossible with today’s prices, but it can happen on the outskirts. Working outside the appellation system also offers freedom – precisely the creative space Jeanne sought.

"Making my own wine is a great joy. I had to start from scratch, with the wine style, the design of the labels... everything. I could express myself freely, and Molesme is the perfect place for that because it lies outside the appellation. Fewer restrictions. And affordable."

Reminds her of Côtes de Bar a few years ago

The area is mainly known for Crémant, sparkling wine made in the traditional method; unsurprising given its proximity to Champagne. Jeanne also says that Châtillonnais reminds her of Côtes des Bar a few years ago; forgotten but with potential.

"The terroir is very interesting, and more and more people are making wine here. A few years ago, most sold their grapes to large producers or cooperatives in southern Burgundy, so there was no chance to understand how interesting the terroir is since the grapes were blended."

She bottles her wine as Vin de France, not Crémant.

"I want to be completely free to make the wines I want without any restrictions or rules about which grapes I can plant."

She’s not alone in this approach. More and more choose Vin de France, partly to be able to experiment and partly to more easily adapt to the whims of the weather.

But one thing Jeanne is adamant about – the DNA of the vineyard must follow all the way into the bottle. She adheres to the family’s philosophy with natural farming methods and respect for what grows. For her, there is no other way, even if it’s tough.

"Some years can be challenging, like 2021, but I would never change my way of working. The previous owners had used chemicals and herbicides, and when I took over, I saw life returning to the soil and around the vineyard – different kinds of grass, butterflies, flowers, rabbits, ladybugs... There is no more valuable gift than seeing that."

The hard work in the field means she gets healthy grapes and can vinify without additives.

"I am just there, present, and taste often to see that everything is okay. Though I can add a little sulfur in certain cuvées if needed, especially the whites, but only a minimal amount at pressing to protect against oxidation. The reds are strong enough with their tannins to manage completely without sulfur."

Despite the small production, three cuvées have made their way to Sweden: the still Alchemille from chardonnay and the sparkling Premices and Premices Rosé. All an extension of Jeanne’s personality – lively, energetic, and with a clear sense of origin.

Just a 20-minute drive north, we are in Champagne, in the village of Polisot, where Jeanne has her roots at her mother Dominique’s estate, Marie Courtin. The name is taken from Dominique’s grandmother. Despite starting in 2005, the wines have already achieved cult status; demand far exceeds the up to 15,000 bottles produced each year. The great interest is a combination of location, soil, work methods, and a style that is anything but traditional. Dominique bottles vineyards and vintages separately, with natural yeast and zero dosage. Additionally, she works biodynamically.

"Our 'house style' is to take care of grapes with organic and Demeter certification and use natural materials for vinification, like vessels of wood, stone, and clay. This allows the wine to develop in a natural environment," says Dominique, adding:

"Though initially, the neighbors made fun of us."

Biodynamic producers are still uncommon in Champagne, but more are taking a natural direction in Côtes de Bar. Here in the Aube region, it’s slightly warmer, and the soil consists partly of limestone (Kimmeridgian) instead of the chalky belemnite clay common further north. Pinot noir thrives, and thanks to the soil, the wines retain a sharpness that is more reminiscent of Chablis than classic Champagne. Not surprising given that Polisot is closer to Chablis than both Epernay and Reims.

Marie Courtin owns six hectares. The majority lies on a slope with east/southeast exposure where the vines are between 45 and 50 years old. This, combined with low yields, gives wines with both power and precision, with a refreshing salinity and minerality. In the cellar, Dominique collaborates with her husband Roland, who has his own production. Confusing? Welcome to the reality of the wine world.

"We have two estates due to history," explains Dominique.

"Roland is a fifth-generation winegrower, while my brand was born in the early 2000s."

Dominique makes six different cuvées, five of which are available in Sweden. Résonance 2020 and Efflorescence 2017 are both 100% pinot noir, with the difference that the former ferments in stainless steel and ages on lees for 24 months, while Efflorescence ferments and ages in used 225-liter oak barrels, with 36 months on lees. Concordance 2017 is something of the estate’s flagship and proof of Dominique’s skill; a blanc de noir without any added sulfur.

In addition to these three blanc de noirs, there are also Cuvée Eloquence 2018 and Cuvée Présence 2019, both made in even smaller quantities. Eloquence is an oak-aged chardonnay, while Présence includes pinot blanc in the blend.

"Pinot Blanc adds personality, it gives volume and aroma," explains Dominique, thus clarifying what craftsmanship is all about – taking care of what you have, and nature rewards its guide in the glass.

Find Dame Jeanne and Marie Courtin wines in Sweden through our national partner Vintedge.