Deutz

History

1. 1838

   Two men from Aachen

   William Deutz and Pierre-Hubert Geldermann, both born in Aachen, settled in Champagne in 1830. Deutz worked as a sales representative for Bollinger, while Geldermann traded in wine. In 1838 they founded Deutz & Geldermann in Aÿ: first they bought finished wines, then vineyards.

2. 1861

   The house on rue Jeanson

   William Deutz built the headquarters on rue Jeanson in Aÿ, whose character was shaped by the second generation, especially Marie Deutz, with salons in the Napoleon III style. In the courtyard stands the bronze sculpture L'Amour de Deutz, which gave its name to the prestige cuvée. Between 1887 and 1892 the house dug three kilometres of cellars, reaching 65 metres beneath the hill.

3. 1911

   Aÿ in flames

   In April 1911 desperate growers, convinced that the houses were buying cheap grapes from outside Champagne, looted and set fire to Aÿ. At the request of the prefect of the Marne, the government sent in troops. The Deutz headquarters and most of its stock went up in smoke, and the house felt the effects of that loss for half a century.

4. 1931

   A widow saves the firm

   After the fire came the war, then the Great Depression. Sales fell from 600,000 to 80,000 bottles a year. Marie Deutz put a large part of her private fortune into the firm to keep it going. From 1938 Jean Lallier, the fourth generation, expanded the vineyards and modernised production.

5. 1993

   Under Roederer's wing

   After the crisis in Champagne in the early 1990s, the family sold the house to the Rouzauds, owners of Louis Roederer. In 1996 Fabrice Rosset became chief executive; the group invested nearly 30 million euros in equipment, vineyards and the purchase of grand cru and premier cru grapes. Rosset created Amour de Deutz and ran the house for 26 years.

6. 2023

   A new team

   Since 1 January 2023 the house has been run by Marc Hoellinger, previously head of Glenmorangie and sales director at Moët & Chandon. The cellar is in the hands of Caroline Latrive, chef de cave at Ayala for a decade, who took over from Michel Davesne in 2022. The house is releasing single-plot Blanc de Noirs from Aÿ and limited editions such as the Sakura rosé.

People

Curiosities

1. The riots in Aÿ in 1911 were so violent that the government sent over 40,000 soldiers to Champagne and billeted them in every village. source
2. rumour Newspapers in the years before the riots wrote that some houses made “Champagne” from English rhubarb. It was a rumour, but it shows how little the growers trusted the houses. source
3. The Deutz cellars have 20 galleries on two levels and hold up to 10 million bottles. The far end of the longest gallery lies 65 metres beneath the hill of Aÿ. source
4. In 1882 Deutz was one of the founders of the Syndicat des Grandes Marques, the association of the great Champagne brands. source
5. In the 19th century Deutz was one of the most popular Champagnes in Great Britain, shipping almost 600,000 bottles there at its peak. source
6. Deutz also made wine outside France: from 1982 in California with Beringer, and from 1988 with Montana in New Zealand. The Californian Maison Deutz was sold in 1997 and renamed Laetitia. source
7. The La Côte Glacière plot adjoins the house, faces south and has a 25% slope. The old vines here give wines that the house calls sunny. source
8. anecdote Caroline Latrive met Michel Davesne, later chef de cave at Deutz, during an internship at Palmer when she was still a student. Years later it was he who introduced her to the house style before handing over the post. source