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This month's pick

Roger Coulon

Long-established Vrigny family grower dating to 1806, now farming organically and producing vinous, terroir-driven Champagne.

Deeply flavoured and textured, with ripe fruit, energetic acidity and a distinctly vinous character.

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Also worth opening

Pierre Péters

Cuvée de Réserve Blanc de Blancs

Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Côte des Blancs

Chardonnay at its most precise. Chalk-driven minerality, green apple, and a finish that holds long. The benchmark for non-vintage blanc de blancs.

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Billecart-Salmon

Blanc de Blancs 2014

Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Vallée de la Marne

A vintage that asked for restraint. Billecart obliges. The 2014 blanc de blancs is taut, focused, and nowhere near its peak. Open it in five years.

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Past picks

Companion's Notes

A Brilliant Little Find

I ordered this Henri Chauvet Brut Réserve online from one of my local suppliers, without ceremony or particularly great expectations.

That is the joy of grower Champagne. The bottle arrives quietly, without a famous name shouting from the label, and then proceeds to make you look rather clever for having found it.

A bottle of Henri Chauvet Brut Réserve Champagne beside a poured glass, cork and stopper on a kitchen counter

From the first glass, it was brilliant. Fresh, generous and full of character, it reminded me why I keep searching beyond the familiar names. Grower Champagne can be a dangerous hobby. Every great find convinces you there must be another one waiting.

Naturally, I have decided to keep looking.

Past stories