When Francis Boulard decided to continue his family's champagne production, in 2009, working biodynamically was a natural choice. His grandfather had done the same thing, ploughing the vineyards with the help of a horse.
The family vineyards can be found around Cormicy, northwest of Reims, in what is often called 'La Petite Montagne de Reims'. They are certified organic or biodynamic, and father and daughter Delphine use the lunar calendar to decide on which days to do vineyard work like pruning, ploughing and picking.
The family domain contains three hectares of vineyard, planted with meunier, chardonnay and pinot noir almost evenly.
In cellar the champagne makers allow natural fermentation by using indigenous yeasts; fermentation takes place in old wooden vats in different sizes. Batonnage, the stirring of lees in the wine for a softer, more complex mouthfeel, also happens according to the lunar calendar.
The Boulard champagnes are lively, exciting and very dry: quite a few in the range are brut nature, the others contain just small quantities of sugar.
