The Crow’s Vineyard in Champagne

The Story of a Family and a Walled Half-Hectare Vineyard

A Family Grower in Avize

Waris-Hubert is based in Avize, in the Côte des Blancs. Avize is one of 17 villages entitled to the Grand Cru designation across Champagne.

Olivier Waris and Stéphanie Hubert have worked their family vineyards since 1997. According to Gault & Millau, they began with 0.9 hectares.

Clos de la Corneille is a walled, half-hectare Chardonnay plot in Avize. Its French name means “the crow’s enclosure”.

The 2012 Vintage

The plot gave its name to a cuvée with a 2012 vintage. Frost, rain and hail were among the weather events that reduced the harvest in Champagne that year.

Accounts of the regional weather do not establish exactly how those conditions affected this individual walled vineyard.

In that 2012 vintage, Waris-Hubert made a single-vineyard cuvée from the Chardonnay grown on this plot.

Ageing on the Lees

The Chardonnay was vinified partly in barrels and partly in tanks. After extended ageing on the lees in bottle, it was disgorged in early 2022, according to the Guide Hachette des Vins.

The cuvée is classified as Brut Nature, with no sugar added at dosage after disgorgement.

Gault & Millau records that Waris-Hubert obtained organic certification in 2023. According to its distributor, the growers use horses to work the soils in their Grand Cru vineyards.

The 2012 Vintage in the Guides

The 2026 edition of Gault & Millau records a score of 93 out of 100 for the 2012 Clos de la Corneille.

The grapes for this cuvée come from a single vineyard in Avize. The half-hectare figure refers to that plot.

Waris-Hubert makes Champagne from grapes it grows. In Champagne, the designation Récoltant-Manipulant, or RM, refers to a grower who makes and sells Champagne under their own label using only grapes from their own vineyards.

The name Clos de la Corneille links a walled plot in Avize to the work of the family that tends it. (Mr. Bacchus)

This article explores the winemaking and cultural background of Waris-Hubert and its Clos de la Corneille cuvée. It is intended for readers aged 20 and over and does not promote alcoholic beverages or encourage their consumption. Please drink responsibly.

Related Product(s)

WARIS HUBERT Clos de la Corneille Grand Cru 2012 / Lilyale Grand Cru Blanc de Blanc Zero dosage N.V / Albescent Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra-Brut Bio N.V. / Sophos Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra-Brut Bio Millésime 2016 / Blanche Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra-Brut Bio 2017 / Succulente Rosé Premier Cru Brut Bio / Estence Premier Cru Extra-Brut Bio / Armorial Blanc de Noirs Brut Bio