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.
Focus on Veronique Petit and Richart Bajan
“We were born in champagne. My husband’s family comes from a long tradition of wine-growers. His great grandfather was even a founder of the Syndicat Général de Champagne (General Champagne board). My family comes from the Polish immigration. My paternal grandparents came here in the 1930s and began working for a large Champagne house. Over the years they have bought parcels of vines to form a family vineyard.
We met in 1992 and were married in 1997. From the beginning we worked together on our respective family estates. We take care of the vineyards and the winery, me all the communication part, commercial and relational. Since 2008 we also work for our own champagne house (Ed. Champagne Petit & Bajan). The first thing we did when creating it was a study of the soil and replanting work.
It has a production capacity of 35 / 40.000 bottles but we currently produce 10,000 bottles that fall into three vintages. The other part of the harvested grapes are sold to traders. Eventually we would like to increase our production regularly. Our wines are available in France but most of our Champagne wines sold for export (US, Japan, Poland …) “
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. ”
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.
As a child, the wine should not be rushed. We must give him time to gain expression and maturity. We harvest on average, one week after everyone. The grape is like any fruit that is best mature!
Integrated farming, lower revenues and respect for nature are important to us because this is our land, our products and our heritage. Finally our Champagnes are somewhat our children.
We must not forget that we are the first consumers of our wines from Champagne, we do not want poison ourselves! “(Veronique Bajan-Petit)
Where do the name of various Petit & Bajan Cuvées of Champagne come from ?
“Currently we have three vintages on the market: Ambrosia, Nuit Blanche (100% Chardonnay) and Nymphea (90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir).
The first, Ambrosia, comes from the Greek mythology. It was the nectar of the Gods which was guarded by the nymphs. This liquid had the virtue of making immortal those who drank it.
The name of the wine ‘Nuit Blanche’ was born following a tasting at Epernay. We did share this wine with friends to ask them for help in the name. After tasting they answered that it was so good that they could drink it all night and in French Nuit Blanche it’s when you don’t sleep during a night.
Waterlily, our blended rosé is a wine that is highly appealing to women. So we wanted to find him a feminine name, which also had a mythological source. “(Veronique Bajan-Petit)
If you had to describe what Champagne is to you in a few words what would you say ?
“I would say that for us the Champagne represents conviviality, pleasure and our work. It’s our passion. We are living thanks to it and thanks for it.” (Veronique Bajan-Petit)
Do you have futurs plans ?
“We would like for our brand to continue to take off. At the end of 2016 we will also release a new wine, a Blanc de Noirs. This new Champagne has no name yet but its commercialization is planned for December.
Also next year we should get a Ratafia. We could not get it out earlier for administrative reasons but it should be released in 2017.
In the longer term my husband would also like to try the wine on tap but not for now. “(Veronique Bajan-Petit)
Side anecdote:
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. “(Veronique Bajan-Petit)
Thanks to Veronique Bajan and Richard Petit for their warm welcome.
Choukroun Chicheportiche Jonathan
Champagne Petit et Bajan
10 Rue Oger 51190
51190 Avize
+33(0)3.26.52.79.97
