History
De Sousa’s history connects Portugal, Verdun and Avize. Manuel De Sousa, the family grandfather, settled in Avize after serving at Verdun in the First World War. He died in 1929, leaving a widow and four children.
The house’s family account describes the difficulties of the 1930–1935 wine crisis and the imprisonment of Erick De Sousa’s father during the Second World War. These named episodes place the estate’s development within the disruptions of twentieth-century Champagne.
The address at 12 place Léon Bourgeois remains in Avize, in the Côte des Blancs. The published estate account traces the vineyard’s creation to before 1890. It describes eleven hectares divided into forty-two plots, with vines averaging more than forty-five years old.
De Sousa dates the use of small oak barrels for old-vine grapes to 1995. Its production account also records manual riddling and a ten-degree cellar temperature. Cuvée des Caudalies is entirely Chardonnay from vines over fifty years old, vinified in oak.
The Mycorhize name refers to the relationship between fungi and vine roots. The cuvée’s description connects horse ploughing with reduced soil compaction and identifies indigenous yeasts and 225-litre barrels. These named practices explain a bottle name within the modern range.
The initials in 3A identify Avize, Aÿ and Ambonnay. Half the blend is Chardonnay from Avize; the remaining half is divided equally between Pinot Noir from Aÿ and Ambonnay. For Avize, the house selects vines over fifty years old.
The Ambonnay vineyard account describes plantings from the 1950s. The label thus brings together the Côte des Blancs, the Marne slopes and the Montagne de Reims, while the family’s tasting address remains in Avize.
The Avize appointment
De Sousa’s contact page lists appointment-only visits and tastings, with a Monday–Friday contact window of 08:00–12:00 and 14:00–17:00. It does not publish a standard named experience, duration, included cuvées or admission price. Use the house contact form for the actual offer at 12 place Léon Bourgeois, 51190 Avize (checked October 2026).
The Avize range
De Sousa’s Avize address places this family story in the Côte des Blancs, not in the larger-house visitor circuit on Épernay’s Avenue de Champagne. The producer’s range includes Tradition, Extra-Brut Réserve, 3A, Mycorhize, Cuvée des Caudalies, rosés and Umami. These are named wines in the portfolio; the appointment reply determines which bottles are opened on a particular day.
Old vines, chalk and the cellar
The estate’s house page describes 11 hectares divided into 42 plots, with an average vine age above 45 years and a vineyard mix of 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Meunier. It dates the vineyard’s creation to before 1890 and identifies chalk as its geology. These are the producer’s published estate figures, distinct from the grape percentages in each finished cuvée.
For old-vine grapes, De Sousa dates its use of small oak barrels to 1995. Its cellar description gives a temperature of 10°C and manual riddling. The same house page contains historical winemaking references, including Erick’s name, so its technical figures are presented as the published estate account rather than a claim that the staffing text is a newly updated 2026 team list.
Tradition and Extra-Brut Réserve
Tradition is a multi-year blend of 50% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir and 10% Meunier. The producer’s technical sheet identifies clay and chalk soils, vines averaging 25–30 years and organic and biodynamic methods. That blend provides a specific contrast with Extra-Brut Réserve, described in the range as exclusively Chardonnay.
The separate De Sousa rosé bottlings also need their full names: the range page describes one Rosé at 92% Chardonnay, while Brut Rosé is listed as 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir. These are not interchangeable percentages for a single universal house rosé. The label name on the bottle is the reference when comparing the styles.
3A: three Grand Cru villages
The name 3A identifies Avize, Aÿ and Ambonnay. The cuvée is 50% Chardonnay from Avize, 25% Pinot Noir from Aÿ and 25% Pinot Noir from Ambonnay. The producer’s explanation links Avize with Côte des Blancs chalk, Aÿ with south-facing slopes above the Marne and Ambonnay with the Montagne de Reims.
For the Avize component, De Sousa selects vines over 50 years old and vinifies in 225-litre oak barrels. The Ambonnay account describes vineyards planted in the 1950s. In a single bottle, the named blend therefore connects three villages and two grapes; 3A is not a claim that the wine comes only from the village containing the tasting room.
Mycorhize and Cuvée des Caudalies
Mycorhize is 100% Chardonnay with 3 g/L dosage. Its page names 225-litre oak barrels and indigenous yeasts, and explains the use of horse ploughing to limit soil compaction. The wine’s name refers to the association between fungi and roots. These practices are the reason for the cuvée name, not a separate visitor attraction sold under the same title.
Cuvée des Caudalies is a blanc de blancs from vines over 50 years old, vinified entirely in oak. The Caudalies Rosé is a separate blend of 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir, with the Chardonnay spending six months in small barrels. The range also lists dated Caudalies Grand Cru wines, so vintage and non-vintage labels should be recorded separately when buying.
Food and a stay in Avize
For a meal in Avize, the tourist office lists Les Avisés at 59 rue de Cramant, run by chef Stéphane Rossillon and Nathalie Rossillon. It is a 20-cover restaurant in the neoclassical house restored by Anselme and Corinne Selosse. The restaurant’s own reservation route is separate from a De Sousa tasting enquiry.
Access and facilities
The contact page still carries a summer-closure notice explicitly dated 2024. Those July–August dates are not reused as a 2026 or 2027 calendar. Likewise, French Sign Language is a published language option, not evidence that every cellar space is step-free. Access requests belong in the direct enquiry for the Avize appointment.
The same address has a 10-room hotel, with private parking and one room listed for guests with reduced mobility. Its own access page places Avize about 15 minutes from Épernay and offers assistance reserving a station transfer. Our accommodation directory and Find hotels in Avize provide the stay search; no hotel rating or room price is inferred here.
De Sousa welcomes visits and tastings by appointment at 12 place Léon Bourgeois in Avize. The official contact page advertises French, English and French Sign Language; requests go through the form, contact@champagnedesousa.com or +33 3 26 57 53 29.
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