Grower Champagne

Most Champagne is blended by large houses that buy fruit from hundreds of growers across the region, then blend to a consistent house style. Grower Champagne is different: the same family that farms the vines makes the wine, which means what’s in the bottle reflects a specific place, a specific approach, and a specific harvest. The tradeoff for the buyer is more personality and less predictability. Every producer here was visited in the cellar before we imported them.

Our growers work in four distinct areas: Verzy Grand Cru on the Montagne de Reims, where chalk soils and a cooler climate give Pinot Noir unusual mineral tension; the Premier Cru villages of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Bisseuil, and Avenay Val d’Or in the Vallée de la Marne, where old parcels farmed biodynamically produce wines aged years before release; and the Coteaux Sud d’Épernay, where clay, silt, and marl limestone produce wines with a different texture entirely. Most farm organically or biodynamically. Most use little or no dosage. None of them make wine in large quantities.