Living La Vida Ludo: An Organic Conversation with Ludovic du Plessis, President of Champagne Telmont
image courtesy of Champagne Telmont
The best wine tastings don't just leave me excited about what's in my glass but about life. The people that I meet along the way add so much flavor and joy to my world. My recent tasting with Ludovic "Ludo" du Plessis, president of Champagne Telmont, was a ray of sunshine on a stressful day.
Ludo doesn't just make Champagne; he embodies its best qualities: He is ebullient, elegant, and easy-going. But his charm is coupled with substance; Ludo is a man on a mission "In the name of Mother Nature," which is Telmont's mantra that conveys its commitment to sustainability.
In 2024, Telmont released its first certified organic cuvée: Réserve de la Terre (about $114). "It's very important that you help me to spread the good word about what organic means," said Ludo. "Organic means just one thing. It means that when you make the grapes, you don't use herbicides and chemical fertilizers. Simple as that." According to Ludo, only about 5% of Champagne’s vineyards are currently certified organic, but he's optimistic that a new generation of winegrowers will boost the ranks: "There's a movement, there is a wave." And Champagne Telmont has embraced its role as a leader in the movement: "It's our role as a Maison, as a Champagne house to help the small winegrowers to move to organic." In addition to protecting the soil and the health of the vineyard workers, Ludo also believes that being organic positively impacts the taste of the wine: "To me, it brings a wine which is full of life. It brings radiance, it brings the energy, it brings the soleil (sunshine), the freshness, the crispness. I call it the happy wine." The Telmont portfolio also includes a rosé, Blanc de Blancs, and a Réserve Brut.
Beyond the vineyard, Telmont is making other bold moves that may inspire other Champagne producers. Ludo explained to me that bottle manufacturing accounts for 30% of a Champagne house's carbon footprint. This year, Telmont debuted the world's first ultra-lightweight standard champagne bottle to the U.S. market. By reducing the bottle weight from 835 grams to 800 grams (1.76 pounds), carbon emissions are reduced by 4% per bottle. "We believe that it's going to become the new standard bottle for every Champagne house because there is no exclusivity. Because you do not have to change the equipment, that's going to be the new standard." It will be a relatively easy change to make because the lightweight bottle works with existing production equipment in the winery.
Ludo also has strong opinions about wasteful packaging: "We make Champagne, we don't make gift boxes. Just by removing the gift box, you reduce by 8% the carbon footprint of each bottle produced. If you have a good champagne, you don't need the gift box. The lifetime of a gift box is less than one minute," says Ludo. And Champagne Telmont is never shipped via airplane: "No air freight. Only from the sea, trucks, or the road. And we are trying to get, as much as we can, all electric."
Telmont's sustainability efforts are admirable, but consumers will also have one non-negotiable demand: The bubbly better be good! Well, I can say that Champagne Telmont is superb; it is crisp, balanced, and full of life. I also appreciate the transparent labeling, which lists the dosage, blend, disgorgement year, number of bottles produced, and other relevant information that is often not readily available on a bottle of Champagne.
image courtesy of Champagne TelmontAlthough Telmont was founded in 1912, it's only been widely available in the United States in the past few years, thanks to Ludo joining the House as an investor in 2020. Also, in 2020, the French family-owned spirits group Rèmy Cointreau became Telmont's majority shareholder. In 2022, Telmont's profile expanded when award-winning actor and Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio became a minority investor.
Image courtesy of Champagne Telmont
Despite this growth, Telmont retains a strong connection to its roots: 4th-generation vintner Bertrand Lhôpital remains the cellar master and head of viticulture at the Champagne house founded by his great-grandfather, Henri Lhôpital. Ludo describes Bertrand as "the winemaker and the grapefather." There's a very cinematic quality to the Telmont story: Henri, the founder, composed the song "Gloire au Champagne" during the Champagne Riots of 1911 to urge winemakers to uphold high standards of quality. About a century later, Ludo, a Parisian with previous experience working for Dom Pérignon, rode his bicycle through Champagne in search of a family-owned winery with an amazing history, fantastic wines, and already on the path to organic certification that he could buy. Ludo found his match in Champagne Telmont, which he describes as a "Sleeping Beauty" who is finally in the spotlight. (Leonardo DiCaprio, if you're looking for your next great film project, Champagne Telmont is a tantalizing tale, and you'd make a fantastic Ludo!)
And if you want to "discover Champagne in one day," Ludo has some great advice: "By the way, the most sustainable way to go to Champagne is to go by bicycle." He suggests following his lead and getting a nifty Brompton foldable bike that you can easily transport on the train from Paris: Tell the Brompton boutique on Rue de Rivoli, near the Louvre, that you want "The Telmont Experience," and they will rent you a bike. The train ride from Paris to Épernay is about an hour, followed by a picturesque 30-minute bike ride to Telmont. Before you know it, you'll be Living La Vida Ludo.