9 Producers You Should Know to Get Into Grower Champagne

Champagne as a region has largely operated as an ecosystem of large houses and growers. But starting in the 1990s, buzz built around a new category: grower Champagne. Known as Récoltant-Manipulant (RM), these small producers not only farmed grapes but made their own Champagne. Many championed organic farming and low-intervention practices, which dovetailed with the natural wine zeitgeist that has dominated the U.S. wine landscape over the past couple of decades. While Champagne is lauded for its blending practices, incorporating multiple sites and vintages into the cuvées, some RMs turned their attention to cru-specific bottlings. Instead of the consistency sought by houses, grower-producers embraced the fluctuations of the vintage.

Today, the U.S. remains the top export market for Champagne, and while the Comité Champagne, the official marketing body for Champagne, doesn’t track exact numbers of grower Champagnes, importer Terry Theise, who was one of the first importers to promote grower Champagne back in the ‘90s, noted that 480 RM Champagne growers exported to the United States in 2024 — 69 more than the previous year.

It’s an exciting and dynamic time for grower Champagne, so if you’re looking to break into the category, here are nine producers to know. Most played an essential part in forming the grower Champagne movement and many can still be found for (relatively) approachable prices, making them a great entryway to the category.

Pascal Agrapart

Winegrowers for five generations, Agrapart owns about 30 acres across seven Grand Cru villages. Since its inception, the family has been bottling estate wines, but it was with the fourth generation, Pascal, that the wines came on the international radar. The focus is on terroir through a Chardonnay lens, and many of their cuvées are meant to highlight the various soils of Avize. In 2018, Pascal’s son, Ambroise, joined the family business and continued his father’s ethos of experimentation. The “Les 7 Crus” bottling, typically available for around $75, is a composite of the seven different villages and shows bright fruit plus a racy acidity and minerality.

Bérèche et Fils

Brothers Raphaël and Vincent Bérèche organically farm their 28 acres of vines, which are spread across several sites in the Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne. They are advocates of old vines, and all work is done by hand in order to preserve the life of the vineyard. The brothers’ signature style stems from their preference to age wines under cork, rather than a crown cap, before disgorgement, which they believe adds complexity to their cuvées. They continue to pioneer the region; in partnership with their cousin, Juliette Alips, they have been slowly taking ownership of a 23-acre site in Ludes and plan to release a new label, Domaine Les Monts Fournois, in 2027. The Bérèche et Fils NV Brut Réserve ($79) uses 30 percent reserve wines and equal parts Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier. It’s simultaneously rich yet fresh, with sophisticated bubbles.

Laherte-Frères

In 2009, Aurélien Laherte founded “Terres et Vins,” a group of progressive young winemakers that includes Raphael Bérèche, Vincent Laval, Agrapart, and others. With common philosophies about low-intervention viticulture and winemaking, they represent the new dynamism taking place in the region. But change comes from the foundation: The Laherte family has been growing grapes since 1889. For a small producer, Laherte makes a wide range of wines. Some are meant to show off single vineyards, while others display single varieties, or terroir through biodynamic farming. The wonderfully approachable Ultradition Extra Brut ($70) leans heavily on Pinot Meunier, plus some Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, from select parcels across seven villages.

Georges Laval

This tiny estate, just a little over six acres, has been certified organic since 1971, the same year that Georges Laval started estate bottling Champagne. Today, Georges’s son, Vincent, oversees the estate in Cumières. It’s planted with Champagne’s three major grape varieties; half the vineyard is over 30 years old, and the other over 80 years old. Winemaking is meticulous; Laval uses a traditional Coquard vertical press. It holds only 4,409 pounds of grapes, which is the minimum size allowed in Champagne, but it offers precision and care. Only indigenous yeast is used for fermentation, and he minimizes sulfur additions. The results are highly sought-after Champagnes with complexity and depth. The Cumières Premier Cru Brut Nature ($150) is a study in balance, with taut acidity balanced by ripe fruit.

Pierre Gimonnet & Fils

The Gimonnet family has been growing grapes in Champagne since 1750, but when negociants stopped buying grapes during the economic Depression in the 1930s, Pierre began producing and bottling wine under the estate label. Today, the family owns vineyards mostly in Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites, and 99 percent of production is Chardonnay. The family is the steward of two lieux-dits with vines over 100 years old: Le Fond du Bateau, planted in 1911, and Buisson, planted in 1913, both in the Grand Cru village of Cramant. Fruit from these vineyards goes into Gimonnet’s Special Club, one of its top bottlings. For an introduction to the house style, try the Cuis 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut. Widely available for around $70, it features notes of brioche, apple, ginger, and saline, along with fine, mousse-like bubbles.

Savart

Frédéric Savart aspired to be a footballer, but life and love brought him back to the family property, which was first established by his grandfather in 1947. In 2005, he took over the 10-acre estate, with vineyards in Ecueil and Villers-aux-Noeuds. Predominantly planted with Pinot Noir, everything is farmed organically. While Savart historically used stainless steel, over the past couple of decades, he’s incorporated more oak into the fermentation program. His wines, like “L’Ouverture” ($100) are opulent and fruit-expressive.

Eric Taillet

As a fourth-generation grower and producer, Eric Taillet’s roots go deep in Champagne. The focus for the house is Pinot Meunier, the often overlooked third grape in Champagne’s core Chardonnay-Pinot Noir-Pinot Meunier trio. He’s such an advocate of the grape that, 10 years ago, he founded the Meunier Institute, an organization of producers who want to elevate this variety’s profile. Old vines are another passion of Taillet’s; The Exclusiv’T ($75) is produced from the oldest vines on the property, planted in 1902. Lots of red fruit notes and a robust structure show how impactful Pinot Meunier can be as a varietal wine.

Ulysse Collin

According to Peter Liem’s “Champagne,” Olivier Collin’s life took a different trajectory after meeting Anselme Selosse of Champagne Jacques Selosse. Inspired by the Champagnes his friend created, Collin took back some of the vineyards his family had been renting out. He started producing wine in 2004 from just one parcel; he wanted to rehabilitate the rest of the soils before putting them into production. This single parcel is now the signature “Les Pierrières,” an esteemed wine on the market for about $400. Like Selosse, Collin counts Burgundy as an influence; he was an early proponent of site-specific, terroir-driven Champagnes, and all of his Champagnes are single-vineyard expressions.

Vilmart et Cie.

Now with the fifth generation of the family at the helm, Vilmart is renowned for its precise but voluptuous style. To achieve this perfect calibration, wines are fermented and aged in oak barrels of various sizes and ages, which offers a rich texture. However, they never go through malolactic fermentation, which provides a crisp acidity. The Grand Cellier ($80) is a great introduction to the house style; very fine, mousse-y bubbles give way to a Champagne that spreads broadly on the palate. The house is a member of Ampelos, an organization that promotes organic and biodynamic practices among its members. Thanks to Vilmart’s diligent practices, ungrafted Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines, located on the south side of its prized Blanches Voies, still provide fruit for the prestige Coeur de Cuvée and the vintage Grand Cellier d’Or bottlings.

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