Champagne pairs with the holiday season like Frank Sinatra and mistletoe. It’s timeless, compliments a variety of dishes and delivers the effervescent joy we all crave during the season. Although the Grand Maisons like Veuve Clicquot and Perrier-Jouet are familiar on the holiday shelves, I look to Grower Champagnes for the immense quality and their incredible price point for the majesty found in the bottle. So, what are Grower Champagnes exactly?
Grower Champagnes make up only 5% of the Champagne that reaches our shores and are labeled RM on the bottle for Recoltant Manipulant. To have this teensy acronym on the label, the wine must be owned, farmed and produced by the same estate. A Grand Maison sources its grapes from a hundred to even a thousand different farmers. So, what is the benefit of that in the glass? Well, a Grower Champagne is almost always a focused snapshot of a single Champagne appellation and sometimes even a single vineyard, which reveals a focused sense of place or terroir in the glass. Another practice among most Grower Champagnes is their dedication to extended lees aging, which reveals that magical, rising brioche aroma that we all crave from great Champagne. The appellation requirement for a non-vintage Champagne is 15 months. The Grower Champagnes we have on offer at A&B Wine spend a minimum of three years on lees; that’s 21 months or more than double the requirement in Champagne. Lees are the spent yeast that is left over after fermentation; what this equates to in the bottle is a textural richness and beautiful yeasty quality that’s rarely seen outside of expensive vintage, tête du cube bottles from Grand Maisons. It also means that these producers invested almost two additional years of aging these wines in cellar before releasing them to the market. What an investment of time and money!
I like to say that Grower Champagnes are the wine equivalent of a farm-to-table experience. They are also akin to auteur filmmakers where every choice is deeply pondered by the creator. If you have never experienced a Grower Champagne, here are some of our favorite family producers that we currently have on offer.
Domaine Petit & Bajan, ‘Ambrosie,’ Grand Cru, Brut NV 67.75
When Richard Petit and Véronique Bajan married, a legendary Grower Champagne was born. Each from a long line of vignerons, Petit’s Grand Cru parcels in Côte de Blancs (Avize, Oger and Cramant) and Bajan’s Grand Cru vineyards in Montagne de Reims’ Verzanay, made it possible for the couple to craft a lineup that landed on Wine & Spirit’s Top 100 of 2022. Wines are aged sur lie for three years, 21 months longer than appellation requirement, then receive 3 grams of dosage. Ambrosie, French for nectar of the gods, is an apt name for this Grand Cru bottling of effervescent joy. Aromas of red berries, fresh white flowers and herbs unfold with a nuanced golden toast, laced with bright citrus and chalk on the palate for a silky yet concentrated Champagne that is simply dazzling.
Pierre Paillard, ‘Les Parcelles,’ Grand Cru, Bouzy, Extra Brut, NV 73.75
Montagne de Reims’ Grand Cru village of Bouzy’s greatest grower producer is, without a doubt, Pierre Paillard. One of the original Grower Champagnes, they were established in Bouzy in 1768. Four generations have crafted Champagne solely from the family estate. Today, brothers Antoine and Quentin are at the helm and continued to push the envelope for quality. With organic farming of the chalk-laden, southern exposed soils, their lush fruit is fermented by parcel in oak with native yeast and natural malolactic. Les Parcelles is aged sur lie in their 18th century cellars for four years, 33 months longer than appellation requirements! A blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, the blend is predominantly derived from the 2017 vintage. Dosage is 1.8 grams, which is an ideal balance for the plush fruit and large incorporation of the mature vintage. With perfumed notes of cherry blossom, vibrant red berries, sensual peach, honeycomb, pink peppercorn and brioche laced with limestone minerality and immense freshness, this dazzling wine is a beauty now, but will reveal even greater complexity over the next 15 years!
Michel Turgy, Blanc de Blanc, Reserve Selection, Mesnil-sur-Oger, Brut, NV 70.75
The Grand Cru village of Mesnil-sur-Oger rests at the apex of blanc de blanc Champagne where sumptuous, sensual wines of richness are matched with bright acidity and terroir-driven minerality – sheer nirvana in the glass. Jean-Michel Turgy’s wine is a faithful snapshot of the magic Mesnil is capable of. This “reserve selection” delivers 30% more reserve wines in the blend, which results in mature notes of hazelnut, acacia and umami complexity rarely found in a non-vintage wine. The Turgy family has nurtured the estate in Mesnil for over 130 years through lutte raisonée farming practices. Pristine fruit from 20-60 year-old vines are hand-harvested, fermented with indigenous yeast, given 3 grams dosage then are carefully hand disgorged prior to release. Vibrant aromas of lemon curd, honeysuckle and gardenia are woven into flavors of rising brioche, fresh lemon zest, green apple and hazelnut for a finish that spins creamy texture around a whirlwind of chalk minerality and tantalizing freshness.
Robert Moncuit, “Millesime” Blanc de Blancs, Mesnil-sur-Oger, Brut, 2015 119.75
One of the original celebrated Grower Champagnes, Robert Moncuit more than lives up to a lofty reputation. Millesime 2015 hails from a blockbuster vintage and the incomparable Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The family estate dates to 1889 and they began producing in 1928. Derived from some of the family’s oldest parcels, the fruit is organically farmed then fermented with indigenous yeast in a combination of barrel and tank where it goes through malolactic naturally. The wine is never fined or chaptalized and only receives 2.5 grams of dosage. Wine is aged sur lie for 4 years, a full year longer than AOC requirements for a vintage champagne. Aromas of honeysuckle, acacia, hazelnut and lemon curd evolve on the palate to reveal flavors of lemon zest, green apple, fresh croissant and a hint of cream over defined limestone minerality and racy freshness.
Jean Vesselle, “Oeil de Pedrix,” Rosé, Brut, NV 64.75
The family of Domaine Jean Vesselle has been nurturing their vines in Montagne de Reims for 300 years. Husband-and-wife team, Delphine and David Vesselle have crafted this saignée rose to honor those forbearers. The original style of rosé in Champagne’s early history, it’s a rare treat to experience one on our shores. With ample concentration, a kiss of tannin and enchanting complexity, this Champagne can delight as an aperitif or go pound-to-pound with rich red meat, depending on your mood. With lutte raisonée and sustainable farming practices, the hand-harvested fruit is macerated for just under 24 hours then gently pressed. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeast then aged sur lie for two years and receives 5 grams of dosage. Perfumed aromas of red roses, orange zest and red berries give way on the generous palate to include cherry, raspberry, stonefruit, white pepper, fresh herbs and a riveting grip of chalk minerality laced with exotic spice.
Egly-Ouriet, Grand Cru, Montagne de Reims, Brut, NV 159.75
Egly-Ouriet reached cult status long ago and allocations have been meager ever since. Francis Egly was something of a trailblazer when he took the reins in the early 80’s. He farmed organically and severely pruned and controlled yields to push for the ripest, most pristine fruit possible in the northern locale of Champagne. He aged his wines on their lees far longer than appellation requirements called for, capturing significant weight and complexity as a result. The great Grower Champagnes have since followed suit, but he was the first and he’s continued to perfect his craft since. Every bottling of Egly-Ouriet makes the ordinary an occasion. His wines are at the pinnacle of Pinot-based Champagne – textural joy, pure, focused, they reveal everything you could hope for in effervescent nectar. This particular wine hails from the Grand Cru villages of Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay where organically farmed fruit is fermented with indigenous yeast then allowed to age on their lees for three years, 21 months longer than non-vintage appellation requirements. The wine receives low dosage and never undergoes fining or filtration, which reveals a pure snapshot of terroir and varietal complexity. The fragrance of incense, blood orange, brioche, exotic spice and rose petal give way on the palate to red cherry, raspberry, blood orange zest, underlying chalk minerality and a kiss of nuttiness elevated by bright acidity. Each sip reveals another layer of complexity. This is a wine of regal power yet subtle elegance!
Champagne Nicolas Maillart, ‘Platine,’ Extra Brut, Montagne de Reims, NV 67.75
An enchanting blend of 67% Pinot Noir, 26% Chardonnay and 7% Pinot Meunier, Chez Maillart’s ‘Platine’ is predominantly fermented in barrel then aged sur lie for four years, where the appellation requirement is a mere 15 months. The wine receives only 3.5 dosage, making it an extra brut, yet the richness imparted in winemaking makes this Champagne feel infinitely more generous. Blessed with staggering depth and complexity, thanks to extended lees aging and usage of older vintages that date to 2016 in the blend, the concentration of fruit and richness of lees walk the tight rope of perfect balance with riveting limestone minerality and laserbeam freshness in the glass.
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