July 2026
Meet Champagne J.M. Gandon
Victor Gandon may be the poster boy for all that is new and exciting in Champagne. He is the son and grandson of winemakers and grape growers. He works a day job as director of Vinoforestry for a Grande Marque champagne house and in his 'spare' time he has resurrected his family vineyards to produce wines from them under his own label.
The family's estate is in the Velse River Valley in the norther part of the Champagne appellation. What's interesting is that the Velse is tributary river to the Marne and in decades past the grapes struggled to ripen. They were not particularly suited to make champagne as they were lean, underripe and uninteresting at best. Instead of keeping the grapes, they were sold to the big houses and blended in to massive quantities for multi vintage bottlings.
However, as some of the contracts have expired over the past few years, Victor has decided not to resign but to make his own champagne.
Victor describes his farming as, "thoughful viticulture that listens to nature and is adapted to the climactic constraints of the year." As so there is no tilling, no use of pesticides or any other synthetic product. The use of copper in the vineyard, an organic compound, is limited as well.
In the cellar the wines are made with little intervention to respect the terroir. A Pneumatic press is used to gently press the grapes and all barrels and tanks are filled by gravity. The fermentation is spontaneous using natural yeasts and there is never any chaptalization or must corrections. Malolactic fermentation is neither encouraged or blocked. The wine ages 10 months on full lees and an additional 2 years in bottle before disgorgement. The wine has zero dosage or sulphur added.
All of this to say it's lightning in a bottle. Our first experience with this wine was as vin clair, and every year since. The wines of the successive vintages only continue to get better as Victor becomes more familiar with his plots. There will be more wines in the future and they will all be made with the same precision and respect for nature. There couldn't be a faster rocket ship coming out of Champagne!
Read more about Champagne J.M. Gandon on Cage Imports.
The Wine
Get yourself an extra bottle of Champagne J.M. Gandon from our Shop before they're gone!
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Les Pieces v. 22 is 100% Pinot Noir from two vineyards planted in the 1960's. No fining, no filtering and natural yeats. This wine is made in harmony with nature but is not a natural wine in the hip way people are doing it these days. This is as well made a bottle of champagne that you can find. Why we love it: Victor keeps leveling up and he's making this champagne from grapes on less than an acre of vines. Such a pure, powerful representation of Pinot Noir shows off all the wonderful red fruit, warm summer flowers and dark hard spices. The vibe: Backyard hang with your favorite smashburger. |
Meet Champagne MABE
This is the story of modern Champagne that just arrived in the United States. Bryan Marx was handed the keys to his family winery, Marx-Coutelas in 2017. In 2019 he split off some of his favorite vineyards to create the single-variety, single-vineyard juggernaut that is Domaine des Tuileries. Not to be outdone by himself, he has now partnered with longtime friend Maxime Beaudet into the world of Micro-Negotiants.
Bryan owns vineyards in and around the village of Venteuil in the Marne Valley. This project allows Bryan and Maxime the ability to put their fingerprint on vineyards farmed by some of their good friends from much further afield. Chardonnay from the Grand Cru village of Oger, Meunier from Bonneil are just the start. The project will change where grapes are sourced from year to year, not dependent on the same plots but where mother nature shines in any given year.
We're super excited to share these wines as they're just being released for the first time ever.
Read more about Champagne Mabe on Cage Imports.
The Wine
Champagne Mabe made 2,896 total bottles between their three wines. We have tasted it many times over the years and are so excited to finally share it with you! Grab an extra bottle of Champagne Mabe in our Shop.
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Oger is a the 2023 vintage from Grand Cru Oger made of 100% Chardonnay. While this is a low-intervention wine, it is clean and balanced. Why we love it: Only 634 bottles were made. This is a beautifully complex wine with white flowers, crisp apple and citrus with deep minerality.
The vibe: Fantasy football draft party with prosciutto and aged comte on a charcuterie board. |