Independent Champagne producers: Top trends & names to look out for

Champagne doesn’t have much of a reputation for collective-mindedness. Ever since the region’s governing body decided to force growers to lower their yields during the Covid-hit summer of 2020, fearful of an oversupply of bottles and an undersupply of occasions to drink them, growers and houses have been grappling with a series of disagreements. First there was confusion and protest from a group of ecologically minded vignerons unhappy with the region’s quiet retreat from a proposed herbicide ban, with 125 winegrowers signing an indignant letter to French newspaper Le Monde in December 2022. There was grumbling among some growers, too, over proposed changes to rules on vineyard design which some believe benefit large producers eyeing up cheaper, mechanised vineyard work. On paper, there hasn’t been much to agree on. The truth, though, is that Champagne is more collaborative than it seems. [subscriber-content] The origins of Le Printemps des Champagnes Le Printemps des Champagnes started life in 2009 as an effort by one group of independent producers, Terres et Vins de Champagne, to show off their new vin clairs – the still base wines destined to be turned into Champagne. The groups have since multiplied, with 26 on show this year, representing hundreds of estates and thousands of wines. Vins clairs are still on offer, but most people attend to taste the finished product. Many of the groups make use of a (sometimes fairly loose) theme. Grands Crus d’Exception, for example, showcases one representative from each of Champagne’s 17 grand cru villages. ‘It started with a friendship – between Jérôme Groslambert from Champagne François Secondé in Sillery and Tarek Berrada from Champagne Ernest Remy in Mailly’, Jérôme Legras, of Legras & Haas in Chouilly, explains. It didn’t take long to fill up the spots, and the group even made a wine together in 2017, blending all their fruit. ‘It was winemaking by vote, “shall we do this dosage or that dosage, raise your hands!”’, Legras jokes. Les Fa’Bulleuses de Champagne, another of the smaller groups on show, is a celebration of independent female winemakers from all over the region. The Cercle des Createurs focuses on oak-aged wines; Passion Chardonnay on top producers of Blanc de Blancs. There’s even a group of co-operatives, now, as well as groups of some of the most celebrated growers in Champagne. [caption id="attachment_502948" align="aligncenter" width="630"] The female winemakers who form the group Les Fa'Bulleuses de Champagne. Credit: Les Fa'bulleuses de Champagne.[/caption] An overheated market The market for independent Champagne is very different today compared to 2009. In short, the wines are practically selling themselves: ‘It’s very difficult’, explains Fa’Bulleuses member Hélène Beaugrand, who was pouring her wines despite few attendees having any real prospect of buying them. ‘I’ve run out of everything under my own label’. With many of the top, established independent domaines increasingly tied-up, the hunt for new names is almost frantic. It’s easy to sell, and so many wines on offer are very young. One Printemps veteran thought the quality of what was on offer from new faces at the moment is not as high as it should be: ‘Some of the importers I know have been very disappointed’, she says, expressing widely held frustration at the overheated market. Fans of super-clean, pristine and longer-aged Champagnes from well-known houses might find less to enjoy in the current crop of new producers than those who enjoy a more naturally styled, youthful and bone-dry approach. What's the buzz? The march towards dropping both sulphite levels and dosage levels continues, with many wines showing both a more open, early developed profile and invigorating dryness. Oak usage, too, is so prevalent that it is now a bit of a novelty to see independent Champagne made without it. Perhaps the most notable reason for positivity is overall attitudes towards what’s happening in the vineyards; the Bulles Bio tasting was a gigantic, sprawling, buzzing festival of almost 50 producers of organic and biodynamic Champagne, a category that now represents almost 9% of the region's vineyard area. Not all the groups boasted such a strong manifesto (nor the generally high standard seen from groups such as Terres et Vins, Les Mains du Terroir and Passion Chardonnay), and it has to be said that merely being a small, family domaine does not automatically imply ethical credentials. It was rare to find a room, though, without at least one or two names to watch. [breakout] Five current trends in independent Champagne and the key producers to watch: The 2019 vintage It was hot and dry, but somehow this top vintage boasts freshness and delicacy too. One to stock up on. Masters of oak It’s not just the famous names in grower Champagne – Ulysse Collin, Eric Rodez, Suenen and the like – pitching their oak usage pretty perfectly these days. Look out for wines from Benoît Déhu and Champagne Alexis in the Marne Valley. Lacourte-Godbillon, Louis Brochet, Hugues Godmé in and around the Montagne de Reims, Oudiette and Clément & Fils in the Petit Morin, André Jacquart in Vertus and many more. Rosé – big is back Making rosé by maceration – bleeding colour from the skins of the grapes rather than blending with red wine – is well and truly in fashion once again. The results can be deep, fruity, vinous and food-friendly; a far cry from any image of rosé Champagne as a sweet-natured sunshine aperitif. Favourites from the week were from Emile Grados in Les Riceys, Benoît Déhu in Fossoy, Élise Dechannes and Louise Brison in the Côte des Bar, Pierre Deville in Verzy and Ernest Remy in Mailly, not to mention better-known examples from top grower estates such as Larmandier-Bernier, Geoffroy and Emmanuel Brochet. Precision in the Côte des Bar Champagne’s southern reaches have a reputation for broad, fruity Pinot Noir, but an increasing number of vignerons are choosing to coax out impressive focus, working with cooler sites and little (or subtle) oak usage. Look out for Remy Massin, Elise Déchannes, La Borderie, Nathalie Falmet and Salima & Alain Cordeuil. Chardonnay branches out Chardonnay has its stronghold in the Côte des Blancs, but there are plenty of superb Blanc de Blancs from elsewhere too, such as those from Henri Goutorbe and Marc Hebrart in the Grande Vallée de la Marne, Jacques Lassaigne and Heléne Beaugrand in Montgueux, or A Margaine in the Montagne de Reims. 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