Boizel

History

1. 1834

   Two confectioners

   Auguste Boizel and Julie Martin, a young married couple from the Côte des Blancs and confectioners by trade, founded the house in Épernay and named it after both of their surnames: Boizel-Martin. Julie's ancestors had grown vines in Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ since the 16th century, and her dowry included a contract for a vineyard in Mareuil. Eleven bottles from 1834 are still kept in the family vault today.

2. 1872

   Less sugar

   From 1851 Boizel shipped wine to London, where for more than a century it was represented by the same family of importers, Hedges-Butler. At a time when Champagnes were very sweet, the founders' son Édouard and his wife Adèle began making wines with a lower dosage. The house dates its first brut cuvée to 1872.

3. 1917

   War and Maxim's

   During the bombardments of 1917, the wounded and refugees sheltered in the Boizel cellars. After the war Jules Boizel and his wife Louise rebuilt the house and won customers such as Fouquet's, Maxim's and the Royal Monceau. In 1923 he sent the first bottles to Australia, and in 1929 he created the house's first Blanc de Blancs.

4. 1945

   The rower

   After the Second World War the house was taken over by René Boizel, the 1931 French junior rowing champion, who travelled around Europe with a boat on the roof of his car. With his wife Erica he opened up the markets of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. In 1961 he created the prestige cuvée Joyau de France. In the 1950s Boizel was reportedly drunk by Alfred Hitchcock and Rita Hayworth.

5. 1972

   Evelyne and Christophe

   After René's sudden death and the illness of his son Eric, the house was taken over by his daughter Evelyne and her husband Christophe Roques, an engineer from Clermont-Ferrand. They were taught by Marcel Carré, chef de cave from 1922, who worked at the house for 51 years. Evelyne ran Boizel for more than 40 years; in 1990 came Cuvée Sous Bois, made from wines fermented in old barrels, and in 2008 Ultime, with no dosage.

6. 1991

   A family house in a large group

   In 1991 the Boizel heirs bought the houses Chanoine Frères and Champenoise des Grands Vins, and in 1994, with Bruno Paillard and Philippe Baijot, they formed the Boizel Chanoine Champagne group. The group later bought Philipponnat, De Venoge and, in 2006, Lanson, and in 2010 took the name Lanson-BCC. Boizel became a family house within the group.

7. 2018

   The sixth generation

   Florent and Lionel Roques-Boizel joined the house in 2010 and took it over from their parents in 2018. Florent had previously worked for an importer in New Zealand and as export manager at Chapoutier in the Rhône. For the 2017 harvest the house opened a renovated winery with barrels, foudres and small vats, and on the avenue de Champagne the Atelier 1834 tasting centre.

People

Curiosities

1. The house vault holds 11 bottles from 1834, Boizel's first vintage, as well as wines from 1870 and 1893. source
2. anecdote René Boizel was French junior rowing champion in 1931 and won the Coupe de Paris in the single sculls. He travelled around Europe with a boat tied to the roof of his car. source
3. rumour Prince Aly Khan ordered dozens of cases of rosé Boizel, and his wife Rita Hayworth was a fan too. Alfred Hitchcock is said to have “often sipped” this Champagne. source
4. Marcel Carré joined Boizel in 1922 and worked here for 51 years as chef de cave. source
5. Since 2023 Joyau has been sold through La Place de Bordeaux, like the great Bordeaux wines: it is distributed by nine Bordeaux négociants. source
6. For more than a hundred years Boizel was sold in London by the same family of importers, Hedges-Butler. source
7. In 1917 the house's cellars served as a shelter for the wounded and refugees from bombarded Épernay. source
8. The house has always been run by couples: Auguste and Julie, Édouard and Adèle, Jules and Louise, René and Erica, Evelyne and Christophe. source