OUR KNOW-HOW

Passion for terroir

we are proud and protective of our vines and our terroir. our soil is our legacy.

Our crafts

Bertrand Lhôpital

Over twenty years ago, in 1998, Bertrand Lhôpital was given the keys to the century-old family house by his father Serge. He has since devoted his life to his legacy with a strong conviction: his viticulture will be green and virtuous, respectful of the environment and its winegrowers. Bertrand Lhôpital is determined to preserve the quality of his champagne rather than focus on the quantity of his production. His attention remains on the vines of the Telmont estate, protecting its soil and respecting the terroir.
His research is directed by his ecological and environmental awareness, which is premature in the Champagne world.

Harvest Assemblage Maturation Dosage

Aurore Guerlesquin

Aurore Guerlesquin was named Assistant Cellar Master of the Telmont champagne house in December 2020. A native of the Champagne region, born in Epernay, Aurore developed a passion for wine early on. Her first internships with renowned regional houses and the numerous tastings she performed there further piqued her interest in champagne. Today, Aurore is an essential member of the Telmont family, and accompanies Bertrand Lhôpital, Head of Viticulture and Cellar Master, daily in his perpetual quest of the unique style of Telmont Champagne.

Assemblage First Fermentaion Tirage Second Fermentation Dosage

Hervé Camus

After spending years maturing in our cellars, our champagne is surfaced for the process of disgorgement. Our disgorgement line manager Hervé, who has been a fundamental part of the Maison Telmont for over thirty years, ensures that our champagne is always clear and sparkling. Before shipment to our client’s doors, Hervé labels each Telmont Champagne. He cares for each bottle, ensuring that only the highest quality product is available around the world.

Tirage Disgorgement Dosage

The Making of Champagne

August - October

Grape Harvest

The grapes are picked by hand, honoring the Champagne tradition. Every year 120,000 pickers harvest only whole, undamaged grape clusters to ensure clear and quality champagne.

Bertrand Lhôpital

Harvest

Pressing

Slow and steady pressure is applied to the fresh grapes, extracting the high quality juice. Grapes must be pressed the day that they are harvested.

Aurore Guerlesquin

6-10 days

First Fermentation

When the grape juice is transformed into wine. Added yeast and sugar react with the natural sugars present in the juice, producing alcohol. The wine clarifies naturally as residual sediments sink to the bottom of the steel vats.

Aurore Guerlesquin

Assemblage

Blending is a paramount stage in Champagne making as it gives each Champagne its identity. It is the process through which the Cellar Master will use their collection of wines - vins clairs - from different grape varieties originating from multiple vineyards and years to produce the perfect wine base for future Champagne.

Bertrand Lhôpital

Tirage

The newly blended cuvée is bottled with the addition of the ”liqueur de tirage,” a blend of still wine, sugar and active yeast strains. Today, most bottles are sealed with a “bidule” held in place by a metal cap.

Aurore Guerlesquin

6-8 weeks

Second Fermentation

Inside each individual bottle the wine will undergo a second fermentation and gain its sparkle. Trapped inside the bottle, the naturally produced carbon dioxide transforms into the fine bubbles we all know to be Champagne's signature effervescence – “prise de mousse”.

Aurore Guerlesquin

Minimum 3 years

Maturation

Deep inside the cellars, the bottles embark on a long period of maturation. The ”lees”, yeast cells left over in the bottles, will define the Champagne’s flavor profile. Telmont non-vintage champagnes age for a minimum of 3 years, twice the AOC requirement and our vintage champagnes spend a minimum of 6 years in our cellars.

Bertrand Lhôpital

4-6 weeks

Riddling

The bottles are rotated successively clockwise and counterclockwise, ushering the sediments from the second fermentation to the bottleneck. Traditionally hand-turned by skilled cellar masters, manual remuage can take 4 to 6 weeks and involves approximately 25 turns per bottle.

Bertrand Lhôpital

Disgorgement

The neck of the bottle is immersed in a bath at approximately -25°C, forming a frozen plug in the neck entrapping the gathered sediment. When the bottle is opened, the internal pressure allows the frozen sediment to be ejected and results in the desired perfectly clear Champagne.

Hervé Camus

Dosage

The Cellar Master choses the nature of the wine to be used as the base for the liqueur as well as the final sugar dose, in turn defining the classification of the Champagne: Brut, Extra Brut etc.

Bertrand Lhôpital

Cork, Wire and Labeling

Finally the bottles are corked, wired and adorned with the house signature and label.

Hervé Camus

Champagne Region

Excellence in its terroir, unique in its alliance of soil, climate and human craft. The Champagne appellation encompasses roughly 34,300 hectares of vineyards in the North East of France

Our Story

Our house is as much at the heart of the vineyard as the vineyard is at the heart of our house.

Guided by our values, and by the eternal pursuit of excellence, ours is an approach that brings together tradition and sustainability.

OUR STORY