The new wave of artisanal French wine and the men behind the sea change.

The origins of champagne are noble and religious, celebratory and decadent. A historic region and style of wine that bears the same name, it is a drink, as legend would have it, that was ushered into accidental existence by Benedictine monk Mr Dom Pérignon in 1693, and led to fame by the kings and poets whose lips it has graced for centuries.

Established houses, such as Moët & Chandon, Lanson and Ruinart have flown the flag in the region for decades. Yet Grower Champagne, or just “growers”, defined as single producers who own and tend to their own vineyards, have become the new custodians of craft-led wines in the region. We highlight three growers – Messrs Charles Dufour, Olivier Collin and Raphaël and Vincent Bérèche – who are starting a fresh conversation around an age-old tipple.

Landreville, Aube

Dubbed the “wild child” of Champagne, Mr Charles Dufour is quietly making tiny amounts of some of the most exciting wines in the region. There are no grand cru or premier cru designated vineyards in the Aube – a department that sits 100 miles south of Reims – so growers are less confined by the traditional winemaking shackles of their northerly neighbours.

Mr Dufour has been farming his six hectares of vines organically since 2010, a practice that can be challenging in a region plagued by rain and humidity. His gentle approach in the vineyard is mirrored in his work in the winery, where he works as naturally as possible. Here, he makes blends from pinot blanc, pinot noir and chardonnay under his label Bulles de Comptoir.

Fun, honest, and affordable, the wines are designed to be enjoyed in the moment. They hark back to a time when champagne was seen more as a thirst-quenching and downright delicious aperitif than a serious food wine. “I could never make a wine that I didn’t have a special feeling for. It has to be simple and obvious,” says Mr Dufour.

**Our pick: **Dufour Rosé Extra Brut NV If anyone can make a rosé interesting, it is Mr Dufour. Made, unusually, with 100 per cent pinot noir (rosé is often made with white grapes, with just a touch of red for colour), this wine is one to be reckoned with – intense and spicy with a savoury edge. £44.50 thesampler.co.uk

Ludes, Montagne de Reims

Nestled in Montagne de Reims, a stone’s throw from the village and premier cru vineyards of Ludes, Bérèche et Fils has been a respected grower since 1847. A family affair, sons Messrs Raphaël and Vincent Bérèche took the reins from their parents Jean-Pierre and Catherine in the early 2000s.

The Bérèche family has always worked in a way that is respectful of nature, both in the vineyards and the winery. The brothers favour a long, initial fermentation in barrel, and for the second part of this process in bottle, to happen under “tirer à liege” – cork, instead of cap. Mr Raphaël Bérèche describes this as the difference between buying white bread and sourdough, the latter lasting for longer and having more complexity, creating the perfect equilibrium between the texture of the wine and the seamless nature of the bubbles. It is this refined style and slow, subtle approach to crafting fizz, that has defined the house since it began. “The real luxury of champagne is not simply in the wine but in the time it takes to make it: the amount of people, and slow, precise work that is involved,” says Mr Bérèche.

Our pick: Bérèche et Fils, Champagne AC Extra-Brut Rive Gauche (2014) Only 4,000 bottles of this wine were made in 2014, making it a rare beast. Crafted from very old pinot meunier vines, this fizz has a richness and decadence to it – smoky and creamy with layers of citrus and stone fruit. £102 _levanlondon.co.uk_

Congy, Coteaux du Morin

Mr Olivier Collin has not always worked in the world of wine but after a short stint working under one of Champagne’s most iconic and respected growers – Mr Anselme Selosse – he was inspired. In 2003, he decided to take back five hectares of his family’s vineyards, on lease to Pommery, one of Champagne’s biggest houses. His domaine is located in Congy in the Coteaux du Morin region, just south of the Côte des Blancs, the homeland of the chardonnay grape.

Mr Collin, produces wines from four different vineyards – Pierrieres, Les Roises, Les Enfers and Maillons – which share the same vibrancy and thoughtful nature of the man who makes them.

Like some of the more experimental growers in Champagne (but unlike the majority), Mr Collin makes wines from a single vineyard and with one grape variety, a gentle nod to his love of the Burgundian way of doing things.

He is philosophical about the future of champagne and the challenges around it. ‘‘For us [growers], we need to be honest about the role bigger champagne houses have played in putting the region on the map, and in people’s hearts and minds. But, as growers, in the face of mass produced, supermarket-led champagnes, we need to make the conversation about quality again,” Mr Collin says.

Our pick: Ulysse Collin, Les Pierrieres, Blanc de Blancs, Extra Brut NV (2014) Made entirely from the Pierrieres vineyard with 100 per cent chardonnay, this Champagne has a beautiful freshness and purity to it. Full of citrus, with a lick of salt from the chalky soils, this wine is more like a white Burgundy than Champagne. £118 noblerot.co.uk

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