Grower Champagnes

By Sharon Kapnick

PRODUCT Designer champagnes from choice, small vineyards, made in limited quantities and lavished with individual attention

HOW IT STARTED With a renaissance of estate bottling in France, helped along by quality-minded importers in the U.S.

JUDGMENT CALL The wines are full of charm, personality and character--sometimes for less than the famous-brand equivalents

Something new has been bubbling up in champagne. Rather than just selling grapes to the big champagne houses like Moet & Chandon or Perrier-Jouet, more and more small growers in the Champagne region of France are making wines of their own. These handcrafted artisan champagnes, which have been arriving on U.S. shores in discernible numbers since the mid-'90s, have caught on with sophisticated champagne lovers, and sales have tripled in the past three years.

Grower champagnes capture the terroir--the unique flavors derived from specific parcels of land--which is often blended away by the big brands in their striving to maintain a consistent house style. The small growers prefer to keep their wines original, and they are often less bound by convention. Chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, for example, are the usual grapes found in champagne; L. Aubry uses the obscure grapes fromenteau, arbanne and petit meslier for some of its champagnes. Fleury Pere & Fils adopts organic and biodynamic growing methods, which it claims open "the soil and vines to cosmic influences."

Fleury is the house champagne at Alice Waters' famed Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., and grower-champagne sections have been appearing on top restaurant wine lists around the country. Paul Grieco, beverage director of New York City's Gramercy Tavern, says, "The public's thirst for uniquely great products allows the smaller estates to flourish. They add luster to the polished sheen the Champagne region already wears."

All this is available at excellent prices, frequently no more (and sometimes less) than famous-label champagnes. Says Robert Rogness, general manager of Wine Expo in Santa Monica, Calif., which sells more than 200 grower champagnes: "The best champagnes often cost much less than the most famous champagnes because the price of fame is so high."

To identify grower champagnes, look for RM (recoltant-manipulant, or grower-producer) on the label. A few recommended bottles for holiday celebrations:

--Egly-Ouriet Brut Rose. Pinot noir (67%) and chardonnay (33%); about $40. Chockablock with fruit flavor--raspberries, strawberries, cherries, lemon--plus some toast and honey, from a pinot noir specialist.

--Fleury Brut Carte Rouge. Pinot noir; $40. Flowery, herbal, with oodles of strawberries.

--Pierre Gimonnet Brut 1995 Cuvee Gastronome. Chardonnay; $35. Lemon, orange and mango; spicy and exotic, with slightly less mousse than usual, which makes it especially good with food.

--Larmandier-Bernier Brut Blanc de Blancs. Chardonnay; $35. Peach, lemon and lime; exotic flowers; persistent fine mousse.

--L. Aubry Brut 1995 Le Nombre d'Or. Fromenteau, arbanne and petit meslier; $40. Orange, lemon, grapefruit, pear and peach, plus exotic perfumes from the rare grapes.

--Vilmart & Cie Brut 1995 Cuvee Creation. Chardonnay (80%) and pinot noir (20%); $80. Toasty, spicy, oaky and quite food friendly.

--By Sharon Kapnick