Stéphane Coquillette

Editorial profile

Champagne Stéphane Coquillette is a family grower based in Chouilly Grand Cru, at the northern end of the Côte des Blancs. Stéphane represents the fourth generation of the family; his father remains active, while Diane and Louis are identified by the estate as the fifth generation.

The domaine works a little over six hectares across the Côte des Blancs, Grande Vallée de la Marne and Montagne de Reims. Chardonnay comes principally from Chouilly Grand Cru and Cuis Premier Cru, while Pinot Noir comes from Aÿ Grand Cru and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ Premier Cru. The producer says all of its Champagnes are made exclusively from estate-grown fruit and are pressed, vinified, aged and bottled at the property.

Why this producer matters

Stéphane Coquillette brings together two of Champagne's most recognisable grape-and-place combinations under one small estate: Chardonnay from Chouilly and Cuis, and Pinot Noir from Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. That gives the range a clear internal logic without relying on purchased fruit.

The estate also remains compact enough for individual parcels to matter. Current first-party material names sites including Le Chemin d'Avize, Les Clés, Les Carelles, La Mutry, Les Sorsous and La Pouplot, among more than ten parcels used for the house's wines.

Vineyards and farming

The estate's current first-party pages describe shallow topsoil over chalk bedrock, with a mix of ploughing, light vegetation cover and bark mulch used according to slope and parcel. The goal is to limit erosion and reduce herbicide use. Certified-organic fertilisers are used, but the estate's current formal environmental certification is Haute Valeur Environnementale rather than organic certification.

This geography gives the domaine two strong axes. Chouilly and Cuis define the Chardonnay side of the range; Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ define the Pinot Noir side. Wines such as Diane and Les Clés make that contrast especially easy to read.

Cellar and range approach

The estate presses, vinifies, ages and bottles its own fruit. Current cellar material points to stainless-steel ageing for the core wines, with oak used selectively for some longer-aged projects.

The live range contains six Champagnes: L'Entrecœur, Diane, Les Clés, Millésime, Marie-Aimer and By Louis. Exact vintage, dosage and release data can vary by bottle, so those details are most useful when read from the current release rather than treated as permanent specifications.

Current and meaningful cuvées

• L'Entrecœur Brut — the core blend, combining Pinot Noir from Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ with Chardonnay from Chouilly and Cuis on the producer's current English page.
• Diane Brut Blanc de Blancs — 100% Chardonnay from Chouilly and Cuis, giving the clearest Côte des Blancs expression in the range.
• Les Clés Brut Blanc de Noirs — 100% Pinot Noir from Aÿ Grand Cru and the most direct expression of the estate's black-grape holdings.
• Millésime Brut — the declared-vintage bottling. The exact year is part of the bottle identity.
• Marie-Aimer Brut Rosé — a maceration rosé made through several hours of skin contact.
• By Louis Millésime Extra-Brut — a pure Pinot Noir vintage wine. The house's live material still references the original By Louis 2010 launch and also describes the wine as non-dosé, so exact dosage and vintage should be taken from the current bottle.

Champagne.co analysis

Stéphane Coquillette is best understood through contrast. The domaine is small, but its vineyard holdings span Chardonnay territory in the Côte des Blancs and Pinot Noir territory in Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. The range then turns that geography into a simple set of comparisons: blend versus varietal, white versus rosé, non-vintage versus vintage, and conventional dosage versus a much drier Pinot Noir expression.

Diane and Les Clés are the key pair. One isolates Chardonnay from Chouilly and Cuis; the other isolates Pinot Noir from Aÿ. Because both sit within the same estate-grown system, they show more clearly than a broad regional blend how the domaine's different vineyard sectors shape its portfolio.

Buying guidance

Start with L'Entrecœur for the broadest view of the house, combining its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay sources. Choose Diane for pure Chardonnay or Les Clés for pure Aÿ Pinot Noir.

Marie-Aimer is the rosé route, while the current Millésime is the choice for a declared-vintage expression. By Louis is the specialist option for a drier, vintage, pure-Pinot style; check the exact bottle for current vintage and dosage because the producer's website retains historical launch information alongside the live range.