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Grandes Marques & Growers

There is a curious divide in Champagne, one upon which I have already touched in this guide, whenever I have highlighted the lack of correlation between the wines of the region and their origins. This dissociation between the two reflects a peculiar characteristic of this unique wine region. In contrast to the norm in many other wine regions of France, many of the leading names of Champagne do not own much in the way of vineyards, and thus they rely heavily on purchased fruit. It is of course accepted practice in many wine regions to make wine from purchased fruit or must; the négociant businesses of the Rhône Valley - Delas Frères, Jaboulet, Chapoutier - providing us with perhaps the best examples. But even here the négoce wines are merely one side of the business, providing an income stream often (but by no means exclusively) based on the lesser appellations, and no self-respecting firm would be without a huge swathe of vineyards on the hill of Hermitage, or in Côte-Rôtie perhaps. And looking beyond this handful of négociants it is the norm for most estates to work with a discrete set of vineyards, giving the wines well defined origins and thus a more readily understood authenticity.

Not so in Champagne. No other region relies on the regular purchase of large quantities of fruit as happens here. No other region has such a well-established system for setting the prices of these grapes, here known as the échelle des crus. And no other region has such a well-defined distinction between those that grow the grapes and those that make the wine. This distinction has its origins in history, when the peasants of the region were largely responsible for growing the grapes, whilst the various monastic orders were more concerned with the vinification and marketing of the wine. That is not to say these religious institutions did not own any vineyards, as they most certainly did, but they also vinified huge volumes of fruit grown by others.

Today this distinction continues and is legally defined, and every producer of Champagne in existence will fall into one of the four following categories.

The Négociants-Manipulants

Identifiable by the matriculation number on the label (every producer and every bottle must have one) which will in this case begin with NM, these are perhaps the best known names in the region, following the accepted practice of buying in fruit (hence négociant) and then taking it through the process of vinification, élevage and eventual sale (hence manipulant). Today most of these houses do also own some vineyards, in some cases a tiny area, in some cases enough to meet almost their entire needs. Those that own only a few vineyards thus rely heavily on the purchase of fruit, and although this will largely be secured using long-term contracts from trusted growers there is still an element of uncertainty here. Beyond these contracts the houses face fluctuating prices, especially when grape supply is short. They also have less control over how the vines are tended and the harvested fruit handled (although some stipulations can be made in any contract that exists) and with a regularly changing source of supply maintaining a consistent style may be more difficult than when taking fruit from your own vines year after year.

It is within the négociant-manipulant category that the poorly defined group of houses widely regarded as Grandes Marques can be found. The term seems to originate in the mid-20th century essentially as a grand-sounding marketing tool, eventually gaining some meaning with the creation of the Syndicat des Grandes Marques de Champagne in 1964. This body emerged from the old Syndicat du Commerce des Vins de Champagne which had come into being in 1882 and it counted amongst its members many well known and influential houses, including Veuve-Clicquot, Krug, Moët et Chandon, Pol Roger and Pommery. It also included some lesser known names, such as Irroy and Montebello to name just two. As far as syndicats go, though, this one was relatively short-lived, as in 1994 - at which point there were just 28 members - it was absorbed into the Union de Maisons de Champagnes, an organisation which had been busy representing the interests of the Champenois since 1942. As such today the term 'Grandes Marques' has no certain definition, except perhaps in the minds of those who continue to use it, and I suspect that definition differs - perhaps markedly - between individuals. As such it is not, in my opinion, a term with any useful meaning; nevertheless I have included the principal names usually considered to be 'Grandes Marques' in the box, above right.

The Récoltants and Récoltants-Manipulants

Identifiable by a matriculation number beginning with RM, the récoltants-manipulants are the growers, individuals or companies that rely solely on their own fruit (although small purchases are permitted), from their own vineyards, for the production of their wines. Only those who vinify and market their own wines can count themselves true récoltants-manipulants, and not those that make their living by selling their entire crop to the négociants (above) or co-opératives (below); those who sell all their fruit in this fashion are simply récoltants.

Although the vast majority of récoltants were just that and nothing more, over the last six decades more and more are divorcing themselves from their contracts with their buyers and setting up on their own, becoming manipulants as well, producing wines under their own label. The investment required is considerable and the financial return is slow in coming, both these hurdles the result of the lengthy process that is the Méthode Champenoise, but the results are admirable. Not only have many enjoyed new-found success, fiscal reward and thus the joy of independence, but for the consumer it gives increased choice, competition and also a glance into the regionality of Champagne, the growers being much more tied to specific vineyards and terroirs than the big-blend houses. Today, the RM Champagnes are some of the most exciting and innovative sources of wine in the region, their wines usually referred to simply as 'Grower Champagnes'. I have included a hit-list of such 'Growers' in the box, above left.

The Best of the Rest

Although the majority of Champagne you are likely to encounter will fall into the above two categories, there are a number of other possibilities.

As in all French regions Champagne is not without its fair share of co-operatives, which today number far in excess of one hundred. The scope and role of these co-opérative-manipulants will vary from one establishment to the next, some only taking their members' fruit to a certain point in the méthode - perhaps merely pressing the fruit and selling the must, or vinifying and then selling on the vins clairs - and some will provide essential services to local récoltants-manipulants who do not possess all the facilities they need to complete the méthode Champenoise. From the consumer's point of view, however, it is those that take the freshly harvested fruit through the entire process up to the final sale that are of the most interest, and these sometimes good-value wines can be identified by a matriculation number beginning with CM.

Alternatively, a member of a co-operative who markets a wine produced by their co-op, but using their own name and label, may be termed a récoltant-co-opérateur, as indicated by an RC number. A group of growers who work together to produce a wine, but who work outside the co-operative system, are described as a société de récoltants and these wines are indicated by an SR number, whereas an ND number signifies a wine being marketed by a négociant-distributeur, in other words a merchant who takes finished wines in bottle, and markets them under their own label which they apply following purchase.

Although co-operative wines are commonly seen the above three classifications are, I think, less common. One final outlet for the sale and distribution of Champagne is increasingly common, however, this being the marque auxiliaire (sometimes referred to as marque d'acheteur). Such wines are denoted by a matriculation number beginning with MA and are essentially own-brand Champagnes, wines bottled for specific retailers under a label (usually owned by the eventual retailer) that is distinct from that of the producer (which is usually a co-operative). These wines are typically distributed by wholesalers to restaurants and hotels, or by specific retailers under their own brands and labels (especially the supermarkets, where the presence of an own-brand Champagne seems to be de rigueur). They can occasionally offer good value; it all depends on the source of the wine.

With this run-down of the different types of Champagne producers, my guide to this wine region is almost complete. It only remains to look more specifically at the wines themselves in my final instalment.

• Part 8: Styles and Tastes