Françoise Bedel

An 8.4 hectare estate run by Françoise Bedel, and her son Vincent Desaubeau. They’re the second and third generations to run this estate, based in the Vallėe de la Marne. Farmed biodynamically since 1998, making the estate a real trailblazer in the region, Françoise and Vincent work with vines that average between 40 and 60 years of age, with a high percentage of Meunier in the vineyard. They favour long lees ageing for their Champagnes, with some cuvėes undergoing fermentation in oak, and secondary fermentation under cork. These are pure, serious Champagnes made in a slightly oxidative style.

Olivier Horiot

Based in the lesser-known region of the Aube, Olivier Horiot took over from his dad in 1999, and immediately started to convert his 7 hectares to organic and biodynamic viticulture. He makes his own wines from just 2 hectares of the estate: the rest is sold to the local cooperative. These tiny production wines are true expressions of their terroirs, and Olivier’s wines are characterised by a balance of richness and power and vibrant acidity.

R. Pouillon

Founded in 1947, it’s now third generation Fabrice at the helm here. They have small plots in individually named vineyards in the communes of Avenay, Aÿ, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Epernay, Festigny, Mutigny and Tauxières, and are moving to organic and biodynamic farming.  The wines are made and matured in oak barrels, but they’re also experimenting with ceramic eggs and concrete vats. But the real particularity of this house is their use of the natural grape sugars for the secondary fermentation. They’ve done this since 2004, and their bottles bear the initials MFP, standing for “méthode Fabrice Pouillon”. The resulting wines have a richness and power, and are incredibly food friendly.

Jean-Marc Sélèque

Jean-Marc Sélèque joined the family estate in 2008, after years working at wineries abroad. His vision of Champagne is truly artisanal: small production wines from the estate’s numerous plots - 45 different sites across 7 villages in just 9 hectares - that come from old vineyards averaging 40 years old from predominantly massale selections. The estate is based on  the Coteaux Sud d’Epernay, where numerous different soils proliferate, and as such Jean-Marc’s wines are all about balance. Jean-Marc’s work in the vineyard - organic although not certified - allows him to pick riper fruit which retains impressive acidity, and that allows him to forego malolactic fermentation. The results are crystalline, mineral wines with complexity that builds.