June 2026
We love introducing you to new producers and this month, we have something really special for you with this month's producers
Meet Champagne Hélène Beaugrand
Hélène's family is steeped in tradition. Her Great Grandfather Léon Beaugrand was the first to replant vines in Montgueux after phylloxera ravaged the vineyards in 1893. Then, in 1927, he obtained the AOC Champagne appellation for the village.
Montgueux is an outlier in almost every way. The small hill of a village surrounded by vastness of flat expanse gives it the appearance, as some inhabitants have stated, “to take on the proportions of Mont Blanc or Vesuvius.” This isolated hill, primarily planted with vines of a south-south/eastern exposure is the briefest appearance of a chalk outcropping in a region more known for the flat fertile land for growing the region's other well known crop, wheat.
Hélène’s roots are firmly planted in her home village of Montgueux but her winemaking has taken her to work in vineyards and cellars in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, California and Mexico. While she has inherited the knowledge of her ancestors she has decided to make wines in her own style that reflect her unique philosophy and world view. In 2018, she inherited 3 hectares of vines and began her eponymous winery.
This seemingly ‘new’ winery has more history and winemaking knowledge than any of the 20 other wineries in the village. She farms her plots following the ethos of biodynamics and her cuvées show the structure, class and panache of this historical terroir. Each year there is a wonderful difference between wines from the bottom of the hill and those from the top. The wines are decidedly modern with low winemaking intervention, little to no dosage and use of individual plots to craft most bottlings.
Learn more about Champagne Hélène Beaugrand on Cage Imports.
The Wine
Check out other bottles of Champagne Hélène Beaugrand in our Shop.
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The vines for this Coeur des Racines were planted on a sunny hill 150 kms from Reims in 1919 by Hélène’s grandfather. 99 years later, through wars, occupations and disasters Helene made her first wine from the vineyards he planted. Most of her wines are tiny in production, this is minuscule. Only 2,300 bottles were made of this wine, all from the 2018 vintage and made exclusively of Chardonnay. It has been aged 5 years on lee and has no dosage. We got the last few bottles available.
The vibe: Poker night with shrimp cocktail and pretzel bites with Dijon mustard. |
Meet: Champagne Labbe & Fils
Brothers Jérôme and Damien Labbe come from a long line of grape growers, and more recently, winemakers. Their house is a two-hour drive north of Montgueux, in the village of Chamery, nestled in the heart of the Petit Montagne du Reims.
For generations the family simply grew grapes in their small plot in their small village and sold them after each harvest. As the land and region slowly transitioned from agricultural farming to grape growing, the family began to acquire more plots and eventually formed a local co-op. At this point the brothers’ great grandfather, Maurice Bonet, was the head of the house and was also a founding member of the CRVC (Cooperative Regional Wines of Champagne). Maurice had just one daughter, Jeannine, who married Michel Labbe. Together they formed Champagne Labbe.
It was Damien and Jérôme’s father, who in 1974, secretly installed a press in the cellar (so his grandfather wouldn’t find out) who really pushed the winery in the direction it has taken today. The family has handled every aspect of their winemaking ever since. A second press was installed in 1977 and both have been changed and improved since. Also improved upon has been the winemaking practices. In the 1970’s wine was made in the conventional way with synthetic sprays and weeding.
However, over the last ten years the vineyards have all been converted to organic viticulture, gradually eliminating herbicides in favor of natural products and allowing the growth of cover crops for biodiversity and other various benefits.
Today, Labbe & Fils consists of 10 hectares of vines spread over 40 plots in four different villages. Jérôme is a trained oenologiest (a wine scientist) and makes the wine while Damien is the farmer, though they do collaborate in putting together the final blends.
Their wines are complex, tasting them from barrel is a masterclass in terroir and will make you rethink Chardonnay in the best possible way.Great things are coming out of this cellar and will only continue to get better.
Read more about Labbe & Fils on Cage Imports.
The Wine
Try another bottle of Labbe & Fils from our Shop.
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Parthena is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay all from Chamery. It is from the 2019 vintage and is bottled with no dosage, no fining, no filtration and no sulfur used at all in the winemaking. There were less that 200 bottles made, almost an egregiously low number, and we had to beg to get what we did. Why we love it: Far from ‘Natty’ it is natural in the purest form, not because it is cool to do it, but because the wine doesn’t need it. You might notice wild strawberry and berries. The vibe: On a rainy spring evening, get the fireplace going, put on some Miles Davis and order in your favorite smash burger. |