The Abbey of Hautvillers is like a second home to me, inspiring as it is. This is where everything started: the story of Champagne and the story of Dom Pérignon that are so intimately related. Working there is meaningful: it is at the same time lighthearted and solemn, my vision is elevated by the magic of the place.
The Hautvillers Abbey is located on a literally divine setting: according to legend, around the year 650, a dove sent by God led Saint Nivard, who was walking in the hills, to the spot. As it flew around the forest, the story goes, the dove left behind flashes of light so pure and bright that they made the forest glow. After it finally came to rest on a beech tree, Saint Nivard, guided by the bird’s mysterious flight, in which he recognized God’s will, decided to found the Abbey of Hautvillers there. The Abbey is still imbued with its origins and remained a highly spiritual place until 1791. The church, today the town’s proprety, has miraculously escaped unscathed from the perils of history and the vandalism following the French Revolution. It is nearly in the state Dom Pérignon left it, restored and glorified under his impulse and leadership. At the foot of the altar, a slab of black marble covering Dom Pierre Pérignon’s remains bears the inscription of his name and the record, in latin, of his exemplary life.
Leaving the church through the porch, the private part of the Abbey can be found. I vividly remember the first time I set foot there and how moved I was. The majesty is only matched by the tranquility emanating from it. I may say that it still produces the same effect on me: I am ever awed by its amazing beauty. The site is surrounded by an amphitheater of vineyard-covered hills, with the heights of the Côte des Blancs on the other side and the Marne lazily wending its way through the valley below. The park, planted with trees hundreds of years old, is home to the “Clos Sacré” and its vines cultivated in a pre-phylloxeric manner. I like the idea that the serene, austere beauty of the scene and the view from this high point is still as moving as it was in Saint Nivard’s day. The cloister, with only one surviving side, is located in the center of the Abbey. On the first floor was the well-stocked library: a place of knowledge and study that Dom Pérignon visited regularly. Its contemplative and serene aura is best expressed through the caressing light bathing the place. This is now the exclusive location where Dom Pérignon tastings are conducted.
Obviously, the legacy of Hautvillers is of a spiritual nature—we chose to keep it free from the technical. I find inspiration there, wandering through the grounds, and reflecting on how to stay true to the single path Dom Perignon has been following since the origins…
