Our Heritage

The pioneer of the Champagne Vieille France house is Leon Lebrun where he started in 1860, in the Village of Avize, which later will be classified as a Grand Cru Village (Côte des Blancs). He wanted to create the exception with this cuvee, and the primarily succcess was his blend of grand cru vineyards. His son Albert came later to succeed and perpetuate the exception of 135 years of “savoir-faire” thanks to his father.

The Rapeneau Family took over the House in 2003 and decided to offer the Vieille France Cuvée in the Origin Champagne Shape bottle from the 18th Century. The idea is to combine elegance and exception. Elegance of the Bottle, unique and historical, exceptional due to the selection of the best vineyards (Family Reserve).

The original shape of our champagne bottle adds an original touch: let’s take a look at how it came about…
The bottle was originally used only for serving at the table; it replaced the jug for holding the wine drawn from the barrel in the larder or cellar. Its name and shape changed over time. With regard to shape, in the 18th Century, the most widespread model was a round bottle with a very broad, thick base: our “Vieille France” bottle. It was known as the “apple-bottle”. As time went by, the famous “Champenoise” bottle, or “pear-bottle” became well-known. It was easier to work with for stacking and shipping.

In 1715, before it took on the name of “champagne bottle”, it was known as the “sparkling wine bottle”. This change of name came about through the simple observation that the bottle was closed by a screw-thread, while ordinary bottles were sealed with a cork. Bottles also varied in capacity. In 1735, a declaration by the king stated that all bottles should have the capacity of a Paris pint, i.e. 0.93L, with the sole aim of eliminating foreign competition… We now sell this famous “Cuvée Vieille France” out of respect for the value and history of champagne and the Champagne region.