Pierre Deville is a quietly compelling Champagne grower-producer from Verzy, one of the historic Grand Cru villages of the Montagne de Reims. The house works with a remarkably focused idea: old-vine fruit from a single Grand Cru village, indigenous fermentations, barrel vinification, full malolactic conversion, low Extra Brut dosage, and an emphasis on individual harvests rather than a generic “house style.”
The three Pierre Deville Champagnes now available at Symbolic Wines—Rosé de Macération Grand Cru Extra Brut 2022, Copin Chardonnay Grand Cru Extra Brut 2021, and Copin Pinot Noir Grand Cru Extra Brut 2020—offer three very different perspectives on Verzy. Together, they make an unusually convincing case for why the Montagne de Reims should not be treated as Pinot Noir territory alone.
Verzy: a Grand Cru village beyond the obvious
Verzy sits on the northern slopes of the Montagne de Reims, southeast of Reims, and is classified entirely as a Grand Cru village. Historically, this has made it a natural home for Pinot Noir: the grape can combine red-fruit depth and structural authority with the freshness supplied by Champagne’s chalk-based soils and cool climate.
But Verzy is more nuanced than a simple Pinot Noir formula. Chardonnay can also perform brilliantly here, producing wines with a more textured, savory and mineral identity than the lighter, more linear Chardonnay associated with the Côte des Blancs. That tension—between northern freshness, chalk, structure, and ripeness—is at the center of Pierre Deville’s work.
The Deville family has been growing grapes in Verzy for four generations. Today, Pierre Deville works with old-vine parcels and treats them as individual sources of personality rather than raw material for a broad, standardized blend.
A cellar philosophy built on time
Pierre Deville’s wines are not designed around brightness alone. The fruit is fermented and aged in oak barrels, using indigenous yeasts, with full malolactic fermentation allowed to take place. This gives the wines a wider, more textural frame and a more relaxed relationship with acidity than reductive, stainless-steel-driven Champagne.
The important word is not “oak,” but integration. The barrels used are older, so the aim is not vanilla, toast, or overt wood flavor. Instead, barrel élevage provides oxygen exchange, subtle breadth and a more gastronomic shape.
Every wine undergoes full malolactic conversion and is released as Extra Brut, with very low dosage. The Copin Chardonnay is dosed at approximately 2 g/L, while the Copin Pinot Noir is even drier at around 1 g/L. The Rosé de Macération is also produced in an Extra Brut style.
This combination—ripe Grand Cru fruit, full malolactic fermentation, old oak and minimal dosage—creates Champagne that is neither severe nor sweet. It is built for the table, and it rewards drinkers who prefer texture, savory detail and place over generic sparkle.
The Copin idea: one grape, one vintage, old vines
“Copin” is the heart of the Pierre Deville range. The two Copin wines are single-variety Champagnes made from selections of the family’s oldest parcels and from a single vintage. This makes them less like conventional non-vintage Champagne and more like still wines that happen to be made sparkling.
The Copin Chardonnay 2021 and Copin Pinot Noir 2020 are not competing versions of the same recipe. They are deliberately separate interpretations of Verzy. One focuses on Chardonnay’s mineral breadth and citrus-pith detail; the other on Pinot Noir’s red fruit, spice and depth.
The fact that both wines come from the same Grand Cru village makes the comparison even more interesting. It lets you taste grape variety and parcel selection inside a consistent landscape.
Copin Chardonnay Grand Cru Extra Brut 2021: a Blanc de Blancs with Montagne de Reims shoulders
The 2021 Pierre Deville “Copin” Chardonnay Grand Cru Extra Brut is a 100% Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs from old parcels in Verzy, including Les Épinettes and Les Aloulettes. These are Grand Cru sites on the Montagne de Reims, not the Côte des Blancs—and the wine should be approached accordingly.
This is not designed to be a whisper-light, lemon-and-chalk Champagne. The barrel fermentation, full malolactic conversion and low dosage create a more complete, vinous style. Expect aromas of pear, yellow apple, citrus zest, white flowers, almond and a subtle spice note, with a savory edge that becomes more apparent as the wine warms in the glass.
The palate is broad but focused. The low dosage keeps the wine dry and clear, while the old oak adds texture rather than flavor. There is a gentle creaminess from malolactic fermentation, but the Grand Cru setting keeps the finish fresh, lightly salty and mineral.
This is a Champagne for roast poultry, scallops with brown butter, richer fish dishes, Comté, or anything that needs more than an aperitif wine. It will work beautifully in a large white-wine glass, where the aromatic detail and quietly powerful texture have space to develop.
Copin Pinot Noir Grand Cru Extra Brut 2020: Verzy in a darker register
The 2020 Pierre Deville “Copin” Pinot Noir Grand Cru Extra Brut is a Blanc de Noirs made from 100% Pinot Noir from old Verzy vineyards. The fruit comes from named sites including La Queu des Loges, Les Chemins de Wez, Les Monts de Bruyères and La Porte des Grands Champs, planted across different decades, with some vines dating to 1963.
The wine is fermented entirely in old oak with indigenous yeasts and goes through full malolactic fermentation before receiving an extremely low dosage of around 1 g/L. Production is very limited, with approximately 1,300 bottles made.
This is the more inward and structured of the two Copin wines. Aromatically, it moves through wild strawberry, Morello cherry, redcurrant and small dark berries, with toasted bread, sweet spice, dried herbs and a subtle earthy note behind the fruit. It has the depth expected from Pinot Noir in Verzy, but it is not heavy. The wine is defined by its dry, precise finish and by the way its red-fruit character is held inside a broader, savory frame.
The palate has energy, but also grip. It is a Champagne to serve with duck, quail, roast chicken with mushrooms, tuna, or even pork dishes with a little sweetness or spice. Anyone who thinks Blanc de Noirs must be broad and obvious will find this more thoughtful than expected: it is rich enough to satisfy, but restrained enough to remain serious.
Rosé de Macération Grand Cru Extra Brut 2022: color, texture, and restraint
The 2022 Pierre Deville Rosé de Macération Grand Cru Extra Brut is a 100% Pinot Noir rosé made in the rosé de saignée tradition. The wine spends approximately 12 hours on skins, extracting not only color but also aromatic depth and gentle tannic texture before pressing.
After maceration, it is fermented and aged entirely in old oak with indigenous yeasts and full malolactic fermentation. As with the Copin wines, the Extra Brut dosage keeps the final wine dry and sharply defined.
Rosé de macération can be one of Champagne’s most expressive styles, but it can also become too heavy or overly vinous. Deville’s version is built differently. It has the expected red berry profile—wild strawberry, raspberry, cherry skin—alongside pink grapefruit, rose petal, dried orange peel and a subtle savory spice. But the point is not fruit sweetness. The point is texture.
On the palate, the wine should feel slender for a macerated rosé, but not delicate in the usual sense. The short skin contact provides a faint tannic contour, giving the Champagne grip and length. It finishes dry, mineral and refreshing, with enough structure to carry food that would overwhelm many rosés.
This is not simply a “celebration rosé.” It is a genuinely gastronomic Champagne for salmon, tuna, charcuterie, duck, grilled vegetables, spicy seafood, or even a lightly smoked dish. It will surprise drinkers who expect rosé Champagne to be soft and fruit-led; this is a more adult, more textural interpretation.
Three wines, one village, three directions
The beauty of this Pierre Deville selection is that it offers three highly distinct ways to read Verzy Grand Cru.
-
Copin Chardonnay 2021 shows Verzy as Chardonnay territory: textured, dry, mineral and savory, with orchard fruit, citrus pith and a wide, gastronomic palate.
-
Copin Pinot Noir 2020 shows the classic Grand Cru Pinot Noir side of Verzy: red fruit, spice, depth, dry structure and a more serious, darker register.
-
Rosé de Macération 2022 shows Pinot Noir through color and skin contact: red berries, grapefruit, tactile grip, freshness and food-friendly tension.
All three wines share barrel vinification, indigenous yeast fermentation, complete malolactic conversion and restrained Extra Brut dosage. Yet none of them taste interchangeable. This is not a house that uses technique to create sameness; it uses technique to reveal different aspects of the same village.
A sommelier’s view
Pierre Deville is a producer to look for if you like Champagne that behaves like wine before it behaves like Champagne. The bubbles are important, but they are not the main event. The real story is old-vine Grand Cru fruit from Verzy, a cellar that values texture over cosmetic freshness, and a refusal to use dosage as a shortcut to charm.
The Copin Chardonnay 2021 is the most versatile at the table and perhaps the most surprising for drinkers who only associate Blanc de Blancs with the Côte des Blancs. The Copin Pinot Noir 2020 is the most structured and cellar-minded, with the depth to carry serious dishes. The Rosé de Macération 2022 is the most distinctive: a dry, savory, finely textured rosé that could win over even those who normally avoid rosé Champagne.
For a Symbolic Wines cellar, these bottles offer something increasingly rare: Champagne with a clear identity, limited production, serious farming and enough individuality to remain interesting after the first glass.
Sources: Pierre Deville, Symbolic Wines, Amitié Wines, Wineview, Moestue Grape Selections, Wine-Searcher, La Champagnerie
