Grower Champagne

Most of the people that own vines in Champagne sell their fruit to the big name champagne houses who blend it to create a house style. Very few grow their grapes to  vinify their own champagne. The product of this process is referred to as  “grower champagne” or “farmer’s fizz”.   By Amit





















I recently went to a tasting that showcased some of the best grower champagnes available. Amongst this exciting selection was the champagnes produced by Bertrand Gautherot. His wines were among my favourites of the day, all of which had a complex, multi-dimensional, constantly developing wine like character, that I’ve never experienced in champagne before. 

Ulysse Collin’s Extra Brut 2004 also caught my attention for delivering all the seriousness and complexity of aged white burgundy.  Champagne like this delivers all that I love in still wine, with the added dimension of bubbles, which turbo-charge and mystify the entire experience.

Once you try some of these grower champagnes, I’m sure you’ll never look back. Here is a list of the producers I tasted:
Jacques Lassaigne
Libert & Fils
Larmandier-Bernier
Ulysse Collin
Bertrand Gautherot
Cedric Bouchard
Jerome Prevost
Chartogne-Taillet
Benoit Lahaye
Gosset-Brabant
Bereche & Fils
Georges Laval