Julian Gout, the ’new-generation’ cellar master joining Champagnes Ayala

n November 1st, Julian Gout joins Champagne Ayala as cellar master.  Aged just 33, the locally born winemaker has worked for other prestigious Champagne houses (Selosse, Taittinger, Henri Giraud...) and will be tasked with ensuring a seamless transition in the house style while making sure to leave his own personal stamp.

You will be taking up your duties as cellar master on November 1st. Have you already drawn up your roadmap?

Julian Gout: After 4 years as assistant head winemaker, my appointment reflects a desire to ensure continuity for the huge amount of work accomplished by Caroline Latrive and her teams for over ten years. The aim is to ensure continuity in the fresh, elegant Ayala style, in enhancing Chardonnay and our amazing variety of growths. In addition to this are new projects, some of them launched jointly with Caroline, such as the winery extension and winemaking trials in multiple fermenters.

Your mission is to perpetuate a house ‘style’, but can we expect new things?

Champagne Ayala is a young and dynamic team and even if the search for a certain style and continuity are essential, we are a team in constant motion and new things can emerge. The ‘Collection’ vintages are a good example. There are no formulae, they encapsulate the character of the vintage and the cellar master’s choice pick.

You are also managing a project to convert the vineyards over to organic. How far advanced is the project and what are the challenges?

With the help of our partners, we have been conducting trials on organic farming for several years. Encouraging results led us to notify the organic agency this summer, kicking off the three-year conversion programme. We are convinced that we must be the driving force behind new practices that show more respect for the environment and people. We often think of consumers when we talk about organic, but I believe that our employees have even more to gain from the conversion.