Romain Hénin, a new-generation winemaker

It was in 2021 that Romain Hénin embarked on his winegrowing adventure after taking over the family estate: " Today it covers 7.5 hectares and there are four of us working on it. "From the outset, the 33-year-old winemaker disapproved of his parents' practices and transformed everything when he took over the estate: " We changed everything about the way we worked the vines and the soil, and we integrated vitiforestry. We planted 100 trees per hectare in the middle of the vines. We treat the vines with copper and sulfur. We also collect horsetail, yarrow, nettles and dandelion flowers to make infusions. "We take the same approach to winemaking. Romain Hénin was inspired by a number of winegrowers, and in particular Patrick Bouju, a leading figure in natural winegrowing in Auvergne: " In Champagne, the big challenge is to produce flawless natural wines while complying with the Champagne specifications. when tasting, the most important thing is not to be able to tell whether the wine is natural or not, but to notice the depth, energy and drinkability of my champagnes. "

Romain Hénin is a fervent advocate of non-dosed champagnes, whose mantra is to make wines that reflect the vintage and terroir: " I've always used to say that champagne is like coffee. We add sugar when the balance isn't right. It's the same for champagne. It has to be as low-dosed as possible, because if I harvest at the right ripeness and do the right thing in the cellar, I don't need to dose anything. "This is particularly true of one of his new cuvées, Entre les Gouttes , born of an extremely rainy 2021 vintage, with a low harvest: " I've never worked so hard for so little harvest. It was a trying year. I made between 2,000 and 2,200 bottles of this cuvée instead of the usual 6,000. "

In recent years, Champagne has been spared the vagaries of the weather, and winemakers are even seeing the positive impact of rising temperatures: " My parents used to harvest grapes at around 9° alcohol; today, I harvest grapes at 11° to 13°. What's more, our grapes are riper, even if this creates other problems, with higher pH levels and a lack of acidity. I'm not sure I would have gone into organic viticulture in my parents' day. You have to be aware of that. "Romain Hénin creates his cuvées without cheating or artifice. i make my champagnes as I would have liked to buy or drink them," he likes to say. I want all the information to be on the label, and I want my wines to reflect each vintage. That's why I only make vintage champagnes. I make fermented grape juice while respecting the Champagne specifications. "