> Artisan Champagnes

Artisan Champagnes

Artisan champagnes are the life and soul of champagne. These are the champagnes made by families and Houses who date back generations and have the knowledge and experience to produce the finest quality champagnes year after year. That knowledge is handed down generation by generation and ensures the traditions and unique practices are preserved. Sometimes referred to as "grower champagnes", the products are often made using grapes from Grand Cru villages where vines can be up to 90 years old. Many Artisan champagne producers sell around 75-80% of their crop to the leading brands, the remainder they keep to produce their own champagnes. If they didn't do this we would only ever see the "mass produced" main brands and much of the art that lies behind crafting a beautiful champagne would be lost. Production is in much lower volumes, but is usually of a much richer quality, so when you buy a champagne from this range, you are buying the best. All our Artisan champagnes are personally selected by us, and we spend time in the region tasting and discovering the history behind the champagne producers. Support these smaller higher quality Houses and enjoy their champagnes, they really are the heart that makes champagne tick.

Subcategories

  • Francois Lavergne
    Francois Lavergne
    François Lavergne’s love affair with wine began 20 years ago. Having trained to become an oenologist, he went to Tokyo to open Le Cordon Bleu’s third international cooking school. It was there he fell in love with sake and Japanese culture. Whilst in Japan he became our Umami specialist having done the first Umami events in Tokyo with Tim Hanni (first American Master of Wine and Umami authority). He also organised wine events and French food weeks in Tokyo, and following the success of this he travelled across Asia with the same concept and became a real aficionada.  Now back in Europe, Francois moves between Paris and London where he works as international food and drink advisor, training sommeliers, and developing his unique Champagne House.  Francois offer 4 cuvées which include the Brut Classic and Light, and the Rosé Classic and Light.  We are delighted to be working with Francois and offering his champagnes.
  • Napoléon
    Napoléon
    Champagne Napoléon is a specific brand from the House of Ch. & A. Prieur which was originally founded in 1825 by Jean-Louis Prieur, a native from Champagne. Today, the House is named after his two sons - Charles and Alphrede. In 1907, following advice from his Russian importer, the then head of the House, Jean-Louis's Grandson, Alfred-Marie registered the brand name "Napoléon" and began selling Champagne under this prestigious name. Today the House of CH & A Prieur still produces the Napoléon brand and remains dedicated to the rules of traditional champagne making. The champagnes are all beautiful, varied, and under the direction of head wine-maker Jean Philippe Moulin, are as good as ever.
  • Sanger
    Sanger

    Champagne Sanger is a very unique Champagne House. The House is in fact, the wine making school in Avize, and since 1952, students, professionals and the cellar master have been producing the Sanger range. The wine growers learning their trade at the school are taught the techniques and know how required to produce Champagne, and innovation is very much encouraged. The House has access to much of the terroir of Champagne and can call upon countless vineyards to select their grapes from. The grapes they use are often from Grand Cru villages and enable stunning Champagnes to be produced. Generations of students have started their champagne lives producing Sanger under the direction the cellar master but also learning from their peers. The school was officially set up in 1927 by the Government and today has a significant place in Champenois, training more than 80% of the winegrowers-to-be .

  • Jean Milan
    Jean Milan
    Champagne Jean Milan is nestled between Avize and Mesnil-sur-Oger in the heart of the Côtes des Blancs, and run by Caroline and her brother Jean-Charles. The family estate is located in Oger, a Grand Cru village with a prestigious vineyard of Chardonnay. Caroline and Jean-Charles have inherited all the skills and knowledge from their parents, skills and knowledge handed down generation to generation for over 150 years. Whilst respecting the craftsmanship they have inherited, they continue to develop new techniques. With that skill and knowledge comes an amazing creativity to develop unique Champagnes, and a range which has many different qualities, but shining through each is a delicacy and elegance. The vineyards produce Chardonnay grapes with a unique quality thanks to terroir. Coveted for the composition of prestigious wines, it gives the wine its elegance, finesse, freshness and length. At the heart of this prestigious vineyard, 5 generations of winemakers have followed since 1864. Today, the name "Jean Milan" owes its international reputation for the quality of its vineyards and its champagnes.
  • Cuchet Cez
    Cuchet Cez
    Champagne Cuchet Cez are the very example of artisan champagne making, stretching back over generations of winegrowers and retaining a family tradition of producing smaller volumes of the highest quality Champagne. It took us ages to find François Cuchet - he does almost zero marketing, he's certainly not flashy and he lives way off the beaten track - but we're thrilled that we did and we think you will be too François is a man of the old school - one of the pioneers of the green movement in Champagne and an international wine judge too, so he knows about making wine. His special gift is patience; he has some of the oldest vines in Champagne, planted well over 70 years ago. Most people would have dug them out by now, but not François; he knows that the quality more than makes up for the small yield. He lets his Champagnes mature far longer than most other makers, even though the bean counters wouldn't approve, because that's what his wife, Nadia, prefers. For you that means wonderful aromas, deep complex flavours and the knowledge that you have found something very special indeed Located in Montvoisin Oeuilly and Boursault in the heart of the Vallee de la Marne, the vineyards cover 5 hectares and are part of a grower co-operative with all three main grape varieties grown. The priority of the House is the respect for the land, the terroir, and producing a style of Champagne which reflects the local environment. The co-operative follow a strategy of viticulture “sensible” to ensure optimal control of the yields in order to offer a range of quality Champagnes.
  • Soutiran
    Soutiran

    Since 1969, the Soutiran Champagne House's ambition has been to reveal, through its wines, all the wealth of their exceptional vineyards. Thanks to the quality of the selected grapes, and to the skilled blendings, wonderful champagnes, complex wines with a strong personality, are produced.

    The heritage of the family know-how, combined with a love of gastronomy, leads to originality without betraying the characteristics of the vineyards. Like a famous chef who selects his ingredients judiciously and transforms them with talent, Patrick and Valerie produce their champagnes with the same passion, selecting the best vineyards to create unique champagnes such as the Perle Noire vintage or the "de Saignèe" pink champagne.

    The consumers' enthusiasm, the confidence of the professionals and the recognition of the press are so many incentives for the future that motivate us to continue on the path of originality.