Benoît Doussot

Benoît Doussot, the winemaker behind and at the helm of Champagne Clandestin, followed an uncommon path for the region — a rarity in Champagne, as he doesn’t come from a family of vignerons. Originally from Burgundy, Benoît pursued his passion early on, studying at the viticultural school in Beaune. From 2012 to 2016, he cut his teeth at Jean-Philippe Fichet in Meursault, where he learned an ultra-precise, meticulous approach to winemaking. From 2016 onward, he fully embraced Champagne, working until 2020 alongside Hélène and Bertrand Gautherot at Vouette & Sorbée, where he deepened his understanding of the region’s soils. At the same time, he launched his Champagne Clandestin project, “a 21st-century house with Burgundian instinct and Champenois conviction.” Here, he restores true prestige to high-quality négociant Champagne. Grapes are sourced exclusively from organic growers, always in the Côte des Bars. Vintage-dated, single-varietal, sometimes single-parcel cuvées… Clandestin has all the hallmarks of a great Champagne.