CHAMPAGNE PETIT & BAJAN

A young and promising Champagne House

Champagne Petit & Bajan is a young and promising small family-owned property located in Avize. It was created in December 2008 by Richard and Veronique Bajan following a tasting of champagnes from their homesteads. This evening will have born the idea, the desire and the belief that their land could rise to the great wines of Champagne.

The Petit & Bajan vineyard covers 3 ½ hectares divided between Verzenais and Avize. It was formed by the purchase of a plot of 18 acres by Richard Petit, the contribution of part of the family vineyards of Véronique Petit and the latest aquisistion is the repurchase of a small plot. The wines of Champagne Petit & Bajan are bottled in an old twisted bottle model. «We were looking for a bottle shape for our wines. We didn’t want to use a common bottle. One day going in the family cellar my husband Richard found an old bottle from the 18th century. It immediatley pleased us. It was brought to our glass manufacturer and was redone to measure. Today this bottle is a symbol of our house.

For the anecdote you need to know that the family winery was founded in 1702 by Maison Perrier Jouet. It was bought in 1959 by the great grandfather of my husband who was chief winemaker for this famous Champagne house. It may be that this is a bottle inherited from the early years of Perrier-Jouet.»

VertdeVin: Where does the name «Petit & Bajan» come from ? This brand was born of our two respective families (Richard Petit and Veronique Bajan) so we chose to juxtapose the two surnames. It’s a nice

symbol of our union.

V.d.V.:What is the signature of the Champagne Petit & Bajan house ?

We do not try to make Champagne but Wines from Champagne! We want to produce wines without defects. We don’t want any oxidation therefore working to avoid that. Our wines must remain full of freshness, fruit and be low dosed with sugar. They should reflect the characteristics of their terroir (Avize and Verzenay). We want a chardonnay that looks like a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir as it should be.We must take pleasure in savoring. Enjoyment comes first!

Our motto is ‘in small details a great wine is born’. This constant search for improvement, quality and zero defect leads to harvest by hand, to sustainable agriculture practices and to producing our own liquor from our selected wines and cane sugar.