Vineyard

The Story

Located in Leuvrigny, about 7 miles West of Epernay, Champagne Francis Orban origins dates back to 1929. Back then, young Léopold Orban decided to install a press (the first one in the area!) and started making Champagne : his son Gaëtan continued developping the activity and reaching 40 000 bottles produced. Gaëtan also built the winery, still used today, and was active in both the vineyard and the customer tasting until the age of 90! Today, his grandson Francis, 4th generation is in charge of the 7,5 hectares vineyard : he settled in 2007, carrying on his family's legacy. The vineyard is ideally exposed South, with 29 parcels planted in Leuvrigny and Sainte-Gemme : Pinot Meunier is the most planted grape in Francis's vineyard, occupying more than 90% of the surface area. It is explained by the composition of the soil : mainly composed of limestone and sandy formations, with a few layers of clay, it is perfect terroir for Pinot Meunier. The cuvées produced by Francis are varied, and four of them are 100% Pinot Meunier : they benefit from a minimum ageing period on lees of 24 months, some of them going up to 92 months! His Champagnes distinguishing themselves by their complexity, structure and roundness.