[Akyung Wine Cellar] Champagne That Never Fails Anyone... The Greatness of the Average

<39> France's Nicolas Feuillatte (Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte)
French Champagne House Founded in 1976
A Cooperative Brand Created by 5,000 Producers
Excellence Shaped by the Average: Natural Drinkability Over Complex Interpretation

Editor's NoteThere is no such thing as identical wine under the sky. Even if grapes grown on the same land are vinified and aged in the same way every year, the results are always different. Wine is a 'serendipitous drink' created by the harmony of humans and nature. Every wine, which silently disappears after leaving behind only a single vivid memory, carries an intriguing story. 'Akyung Wine Cellar' brings you the stories of wines that are crafted and matured under different circumstances, one by one.

Champagne has long been wary of the idea of 'average.' The prevailing belief was that an average taste lacks character, is unmemorable, and is far from greatness. Thus, the language of Champagne has always been organized around exceptions: family dynasties spanning generations, extremely limited vineyards, and miraculous vintages allowed only once in a lifetime. The value of Champagne increased the further it moved away from the average.

The Champagne house 'Nicolas Feuillatte' does not outright deny this long-standing belief and grammar. Instead, it changes the direction of the question: Is 'average' really just another name for mediocrity? Could 'average' actually be the best result, accumulated from the widest range of choices? The philosophy of Nicolas Feuillatte begins with this very question.

They do not desire to be at the center. Instead, they redefine the center. Rather than relying on a single great winemaker, they choose the hands of thousands; instead of a miraculous vintage, they opt for repeated balance; rather than a memorable single bottle, they choose a bottle that can be opened at any time. As a result, Nicolas Feuillatte sidesteps the oldest grammar of Champagne and has become the most chosen name in Champagne.

A Figure from Outside Champagne, Nicolas Feuillatte

Founder of the Champagne House, Nicolas Feuillatte.
Photo by Nicolas Feuillatte

Nicolas Feuillatte was not a 'Champagne native' in the traditional sense. He did not come from a family of grape growers, nor from a lineage of winemakers who had guarded their cellars for generations. On the contrary, he was a man familiar with finance, distribution, and trade. Born in Paris, France in 1926, he moved to the United States after World War II and entered the trade business. In the 1960s, he succeeded in importing African coffee to the United States.

In the early 1970s, he entered the wine industry by investing in vineyards in the Champagne region. His cool-headed business acumen was evident from the start. He realized that with only his small vineyard, it would be difficult to become a 'Maison'-a house that vinifies, ages, and sells wine under its own brand. Champagne was already a saturated market, and it was too late to insert a new family narrative. His only apparent options were to remain a small, distinctive producer or to invest heavily to build up a Maison.

However, he rejected both options and chose to survive in a way that differed from established conventions. The conclusion Nicolas Feuillatte reached was clear. He did not view Champagne solely as a work of art, nor as a cheap mass-produced commodity. He defined Champagne as a repeatedly chosen consumer experience. This definition led directly to a new strategy: a structure involving multiple growers rather than a single producer making all the decisions, and a system that provides a stable experience every year instead of relying on miraculous vintages. Nicolas Feuillatte decided to design 'thousands of safe experiences' rather than 'one special moment.'

Nicolas Feuillatte, operated mainly by the cooperative 'Centre Vinicole de la Champagne (CVC).'
[Photo by Nicolas Feuillatte]

The CVC Cooperative: Turning Individual Limits into Structure

The solution Nicolas Feuillatte chose was cooperation. Countless growers scattered throughout Champagne. Individually small, but together, they could become a great Maison. This idea led to the creation of the cooperative 'Centre Vinicole de la Champagne (CVC).'

This cooperative institutionalized Nicolas Feuillatte's philosophy. About 5,000 growers participate, and grapes from a vast range of vineyards-from Grand Cru to Premier Cru and beyond-are brought together under a single brand. This allows them to disperse climate risks, reduce quality fluctuations, and design for the average rather than a specific philosophy.

Headquarters view of Nicolas Pouillat. [Photo by Nicolas Pouillat]

The range of raw materials handled by Nicolas Feuillatte is exceptionally diverse, even within Champagne. Grapes from approximately 2,100 hectares of vineyards-including 11 Grand Cru and 26 Premier Cru sites-are used as raw materials. Each vineyard has its own distinct character, with differences in soil density, sun exposure, and the hands of the growers.

However, Nicolas Feuillatte does not showcase these differences at the forefront. Instead, they absorb and balance them through blending. Here, blending is closer to editing than to creation. Sharp acidity is subdued, overripe fruit is blended with freshness. Through this process, the annual variations in climate are reduced to an average. In this process, Nicolas Feuillatte establishes a single principle: the Champagne is about the brand, not the vintage.

The style of Nicolas Feuillatte is clear. Their Champagne does not demand interpretation. Without complex tasting notes or background knowledge, it is naturally accepted by anyone. Rather than demanding admiration from the first sip, it leaves no sense of rejection. The wine is centered on fruit aromas, with balanced acidity and gentle bubbles. Yeast character stays in the background, and the texture remains smooth. This style is intentional-a decision to move Champagne from the language of the few to the experience of the many.

Vineyard landscape of Nicolas Pouillat.
Photo by Nicolas Pouillat

'Reserve Exclusive' and 'Palmes d'Or'

'Reserve Exclusive Brut' is the wine that most directly embodies the philosophy of Nicolas Feuillatte. Rather than being a flagship product, it serves as a standard. This wine demonstrates how consistently Champagne can be repeated.

The wine is made from the three traditional Champagne varieties. Pinot Noir provides structure, Pinot Meunier adds approachable fruitiness, and Chardonnay brings tension. However, this triangular composition is not fixed; the blending ratio is subtly adjusted each year. The one constant is that no single characteristic dominates the wine.

The aroma is intuitive, with clear impressions of apple, pear, and white flowers, while the yeast character remains in the background. The acidity is distinct but not aggressive, and the bubbles are soft. The finish is not long, but it is clean. The true value of this Champagne emerges with the second glass rather than the first. This is why it is also the best-selling wine within the Maison. Being the best-seller means it has safely passed through the greatest number of moments.

'Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Reserve Exclusive Brut'

'Palmes d'Or' is the wine where Nicolas Feuillatte fully demonstrates his capabilities. If he had made wine like a traditional Maison, how far could he have gone? This cuv?e quietly answers that question. In French culture, palm leaves symbolize excellence, and 'Palmes d'Or,' meaning 'Golden Palm,' represents the highest honor. This is why the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival is called the 'Palme d'Or.'

'Palmes d'Or' is not produced every year. It is made only from the finest Grand Cru Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes from years with excellent harvests. The wine currently available on the market is from the 2009 vintage, having undergone over ten years of aging before release. As much care has gone into its creation, it is denser in structure, deeper in aroma, and firmer in texture than other wines. Citrus and white fruit notes are layered with hints of nuts, toast, and subtle oxidative nuances. This wine is made to be waited for and demands focus. 'Palmes d'Or' demonstrates that Nicolas Feuillatte's choice of 'average' was not due to a lack of ability, but the result of deliberate judgment.

'Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Palmes d'Or'

Average as Strategy, Not Compromise

Nicolas Feuillatte is a figure with a narrative rarely seen in Champagne. Because he was not an insider in Champagne, he was able to view the region as a market. And he turned the way to survive in that market into a structure. The founder's judgment gained the engine of a cooperative, and the brand acquired the right to use all of Champagne as its raw material. The standard product repeated the average with precision, while the icon product proved abilities above the average.

Because he was unafraid of the average, he could stand atop the broadest spectrum of tastes. The philosophy of Nicolas Feuillatte began with the judgment of an individual and was completed as the structure of a collective. Nicolas Feuillatte quietly repeats, across millions of glasses today, the fact that average is not a compromise, but a way to take responsibility for the greatest number of moments.

Nicolas Pouilly's Chardonnay.
Photo by Nicolas Pouilly