The Clos Familial de Boursault.
From the tasting room at Champagne Le Gallais, vines spread across the hillside beneath the turrets of the Château de Boursault. It’s a striking introduction to this small family producer on the left bank of the Marne Valley, a few kilometres from Épernay.
But a walk through the property reveals details just as compelling as the view: bottles dating to the label’s first year, a greenhouse once used for orchids, and a winemaker testing new possibilities within an estate her family has owned for almost a century.
Chateau Boursault.
Charlotte Morgain Le Gallais is the fifth generation of her family to work here. Her ancestor, Hachod Fringhian, acquired the property in 1927, decades after it had passed out of the family of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, better known as Veuve Clicquot. The Le Gallais label came later, established by Charlotte’s father, Hervé, in 1998. Today, Charlotte leads the winemaking.
That distinction between the age of the property and the age of the Champagne label is central to the story.
Champagne with a view.
Le Gallais has inherited a remarkable setting, but Charlotte’s work involves decisions that are very much of the present: how to farm, which vessels to use in the cellar and how to develop the wines within the limits of a small operation.
The château provides a dramatic backdrop. In 1843, Veuve Clicquot commissioned architect Jean-Jacques Arveuf-Fransquin to build the residence, where she entertained clients and hosted lavish gatherings. It later passed through her descendants before leaving the family in 1913.
On our visit, however, it was the less imposing buildings that brought the working estate into focus. Beneath a historic manor, the cellar holds bottles undergoing their second fermentation alongside older wines, including bottles from 1998, the year Hervé launched the label.
The greenhouse.
Nearby, a nineteenth-century greenhouse originally used for orchids now shelters young vines that Charlotte grows before planting them in the vineyard. Its new purpose connects two chapters of the property’s history through the everyday work of tending plants.
Charlotte works with approximately 12 acres of vines, divided into seven parcels within the family’s historic clos, a walled enclosure overlooking the Marne Valley. Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grow in clay-limestone soils, with the press, winery and cellars only a short distance away. At harvest, the compact layout allows grapes to move quickly from vineyard to press.
The vineyard view from the tasting room deck.
Le Gallais operates as a récoltant-manipulant, or grower-producer, making Champagne from its own grapes. For Charlotte, that control connects the choices made in the vineyard with those made in the cellar.
According to the information shared during our visit, the vineyards supplying Le Gallais’s own production gained organic certification in 2025. Grapes grown elsewhere on the wider family property are sold separately and fall outside that certified area.
Stainless steel, oak and this sandstone egg are used in the cellar.
Annual production is around 30,000 bottles, with a core team of four joined by seasonal workers at harvest. At that scale, vineyard work and cellar decisions remain closely linked, with the same small team following the wines through production.
Stainless steel has been Charlotte’s mainstay, but she is expanding her options. In 2025, she introduced used Burgundy barrels, and her trials also include an egg-shaped sandstone vessel. She has been experimenting with Chardonnay aged first in oak and then in sandstone, as well as blends combining wines matured in oak and stainless steel.
The interest lies in how those choices might shape the finished Champagne. Stainless steel, oak and sandstone give Charlotte different ways to work with the same fruit, allowing her to compare the results before deciding what belongs in future blends.
The ‘other’ chateau on the property that houses the cellar.
Time remains another essential part of the process. According to the estate, every bottling, including its non-vintage wines, receives at least three years of ageing before release. For a producer making around 30,000 bottles a year, that means committing cellar space and resources to wines that will not be sold for several years while continuing to fund the next harvest.
Our guide, Justine, was particularly enthusiastic about the 2026 crop, describing it as Charlotte’s best in a decade. Picking had started early, she told us, and the fruit was healthy, with no significant rot or disease and promising volumes.
The wine lineup at Le Gallais.
That assessment concerns the harvest rather than the finished wines, which still have years of development ahead. But it offered an encouraging glimpse of the next chapter at Le Gallais, alongside the organic farming and cellar experiments already under way.
The château is what first draws the eye, but the greenhouse offers an equally revealing image of the estate today. Built to shelter orchids, it now holds vines destined for the clos. Charlotte is working within a property shaped by generations before her, finding practical uses for what they left, and making her own decisions about what comes next.
Tasting Notes
NV Le Gallais “Le Manoir”
This is a blend of 50% Meunier, 35% Pinot Noir and 15% Chardonnay, the same proportions of the plantings at the estate vineyard. Medium gold in colour. The nose is fresh and lively with a distinct mineral note. Flavours of citrus and grapefruit produce a wine that strives for freshness. High acidity adds to the focus. For us this is a classic aperitif Champagne, lovely on its own and would be just right for having with oysters on the half shell. The body is medium, green apple notes hold on the finish. 6 g/l dosage with 30% of wines from their perpetual reserve. Very good
NV Le Gallais “Les Cedres”.
NV Le Gallais “Les Cedres”
This is the same blend as Le Manoir. There are just 3 differences: this wine has zero dosage, spent 4 years in the cellar and 50% of the wines come from their perpetual reserve. We were quite shocked at how those 3 differences created so much difference in the wines. The flavour profile moved from citrus dominated in Le Manoir to more red fruits, such as cherry and apple skins in Les Cedres. The body was fuller and even though it was zero dosage, it came across as less acidic. This was a delicious wine that really belongs at the dinner table. It has the power and heft to pair very well with seafood dishes and even game. Excellent
2021 Le Gallais “La Pavillonne”.
2021 Le Gallais “La Pavillonne”
This wine is a Blanc de Blancs, dosed at 6 g/l. Light gold in colour. Showing its Chardonnay characteristics of green apple and hints of citrus but with a nice brioche and other baked goods note that adds complexity and depth. Very dry with a long, mineral-infused finish. For a young vintage wine, this was very approachable. Excellent
2022 Le Gallais “Le Poet”
This is a beautiful rosé style Champagne made in the saignée method. The blend is 60% Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay. We get notes of apple skin, cherries, and a hint of freshly baked apple pie. This is a powerful wine with medium+ body and medium acidity. Still youthful, this is a very complex wine that would be very at home at the table and among wine connoisseurs. Likely to develop and become even better with a few more years in the cellar. Excellent+
2012 Le Gallais “Ephemere 16.3”.
2012 Le Gallais “Ephemere 16.3”
Wow, what a terrific Champagne! 40% Chardonnay, 30% Meunier and 30% Pinot Noir. This is a powerful, masculine Champagne that was an absolute pleasure to drink. Aged on its lees for 13 years before disgorgement. Fruit from 60 year old vines. Powerful yet well balanced, we got notes of dark rye bread, baked apple, mineral and a touch of spice. Very dry with a nice mineral streak. Definitely a gastronomic Champagne, but was absolutely charming on its own. This will no doubt age further but fully ready to go right now. Excellent+
Champagne Le Gallais
2 rue Maurice Gilbert
51480 Boursault, France
T: +33 (0)7 66 15 56 81
Visits by appointment from Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m to 5 : 00 p.m (Closed on Sundays and Mondays).
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