Champagne NAPOLEON

The history of the house - Since 1825…

Everything started in 1825, when Jean-Louis Prieur, from Mailly, now known as Mailly-le-Camp, moved to Vertus with his wife Marie-Reine. Like his forebears, his father was a labourer, but over the course of his life he became a landowner. For his part, Jean-Louis Prieur set up as a wine-merchant in Vertus and founded the family house of Prieur-Pageot in 1825, when he was only 26 years old. Later, he gave the House the corporate name it still bears today, Ch. & A. Prieur, the “Ch. and A.” referring to his sons Charles and Alphrède. With his sons and his daughter Elisabeth, Jean-Louis Prieur developed the family business. He stayed in Vertus, where he made the precious beverage with the help of his son-in-law, while his sons moved to Paris to be closer to their customers and to build up a solid network of relations, setting up a local branch of the family House in the process. The business developed, and over the years the distinctive characteristics of CHAMPAGNE CH. ET A. PRIEUR gradually became established. Today, Vincent Prieur, born to the fifth generation of the family, ensures the continuity of the House style.

From the Vine To the Glass

Champagne-making is a long and delicate process. It all starts in the vines, cared for day after day so that when harvest-time comes they give the best of themselves. CHAMPAGNE NAPOLÉON owes the richness of its bouquet to the blend of vintages with distinctive characteristics. From the vine to the press, from the press to the fermenting rooms, from the fermenting rooms to the cellars, from the cellars to the disgorging, from the disgorging to the period of rest before labelling and boxing, during the whole wine-making process the champagne changes and evolves, it is shaped, the bubbles are born under the attentive supervision of Vincent Prieur. Between the pressing of the grapes, which takes place on the very same day they are harvested, and the moment when you taste a bottle of CHAMPAGNE NAPOLÉON, 5 years have passed. Years of care and attention so that we can offer you the very best.

Tradition

The techniques of champagne wine production have developed considerably since the HOUSE OF CH. & A. PRIEUR was founded in 1825. Today, Vincent Prieur combines the know-how inherited from his forebears with the most up-to-date processes, while keeping his sights fixed on perpetuating the House style. From one generation to another, the family has handed down the culture and savoir-faire while preserving the tradition. CHAMPAGNE NAPOLÉON is still made at 2, rue de Villers-aux-Bois, in the original premises of the House. Each bottle rests, as they have done for the last 120 years, in the stone cellars dug out in 1880. A magic place, redolent with history and memories, a calm and dark place in which the effervescence is born.

Each Detail is Primordial

At each stage in the champagne-making process, from the selection of the grapes to the pressing, from the blending to the ageing of the wines, importance is attached to every detail. This is the guarantee of the House style, it is what makes the difference, that differentiates CHAMPAGNE NAPOLÉON. There is no detail more important than another, it’s only the attention we pay to every detail that enables us to offer a range of truly great champagnes.