The youngest cellar master of a champagne house when he joined Piper-Heidsieck three years ago at the age of 31, Emilien Boutillat has had a dazzling career. After a double degree in oenologist and agricultural engineer at Montpellier SupAgro, he travels the world and the fields, from New Zealand to California. Returning to Champagne in 2013, he went through the Cattier estate then in 2018 accepted a position of high responsibility within Piper, a bicentennial house based in Reims, owned by the French luxury group EPI (JM Weston, Bonpoint, etc.). This year, the International Wine Challenge awarded him the title of “best cellar master”. A dazzling course, therefore, but also atypical. Because Emilien Boutillat is also an improviser.
Cellar master and actor, is it possible?
These are two professions of passion. I flourish as a cellar master but I also draw my balance from my activity as an improviser. I absolutely need both. I belong to a Reims troupe, LeMitch Impro, which performs at least once a month and travels regularly to France. I am lucky that Piper-Heidsieck respects this double hat, even encourages me in this direction.
Are there many bridges between the two professions?
Yes. Starting with the team. In improvisation, we arrive on the stage without knowing what we are going to do, nothing is written or prepared. The creation of a scene of life is done on the spot, whether it is funny, dramatic or absurd. This is only possible if the actors listen to each other, respect each other, accept. This is exactly what happens every morning with the oenological committee at Piper-Heidsieck. Take each other’s ideas into consideration, synthesize them to draw a conclusion greater than the sum of individual opinions.
The story created in improvisation thus joins the oenological consensus at the time of the elaboration of the wines. In both cases, intuition, spontaneity and creativity play a determining role. And then, I like captivating an audience as much as taking tasters on board with me, making them travel among their senses and feel emotions.
Does this freedom on stage find an echo in your role as cellar master?
Take the “Hors-Série” collection, which consists of releasing limited editions of champagne every year or every two years with different concepts and messages. Piper-Heidsieck gives me complete carte blanche to express my sensitivity through a cuvée. Even if it means tapping into very old vintages, which I take out of their prolonged aging. It is extremely rare to have such freedom … I can, beyond a wine, express an idea, share our philosophy, our history, even our vision of the future.
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