The best winemaker-produced champagnes of 2026: 26 producers to watch, ranging from €22 to €190
The essentials
A ‘vigneron’ champagne (récoltant-manipulant, or ‘RM’ on the label) is produced by the person who grows the grapes. Our 2026 selection, by region: Côte des Blancs — Agrapart, Larmandier-Bernier, De Sousa, Éléonore, Lancelot, Rutat, Walraet; Montagne de Reims — Egly-Ouriet, Arnaud Moreau, Delavenne, Péhu Simonet, Vignon, Texier, Léclapart, Gounel-Lassalle, Lamiable; Vallée de la Marne — Leclerc Briant, Françoise Bedel, Courtois, Geoffroy, Choppin, Taillet, Néret-Vély, Mignon-Boulard, Jestin, A. Bergère; Côte des Bar — Fleury, De Lozey. From €22 (Courtois Brut) to €210 (Lamiable Hélios).
- What is a ‘vigneron’ champagne?
- A champagne produced by the winegrower who cultivates the grapes: on the label, the initials RM (récoltant-manipulant) appear in small print. This is in contrast to NM (négociant-manipulant, the houses that buy all or part of their grapes) and CM (co-operative). Around 2,000 winegrowers sell their own champagne.
- Is a champagne from a small producer better than one from a major house?
- It is different: more distinctly characterised by its village and vintage, less smoothed out by blending, often lower in sugar content — and, for the same quality, cheaper, because there are no marketing or distribution costs. The finest winemakers (Agrapart, Egly-Ouriet, Léclapart, Larmandier-Bernier) are now just as sought-after as the prestigious vintages from the major houses.
- How much does a good winemaker’s champagne cost?
- Between €22 and €40 for a quality brut (Courtois, Delavenne, Rutat, Taillet, Néret-Vély, Péhu Simonet), €40 to €70 for grands crus and single-vineyard cuvées (Agrapart, De Sousa, Arnaud Moreau, Geoffroy), and between €80 and €200 for cult cuvées (Egly-Ouriet, Léclapart, Larmandier-Bernier, Jestin, Lamiable).
- Who are the best winemakers in Champagne?
- Those whose wines are sold at the same price as, or higher than, the major houses: Egly-Ouriet in Ambonnay, Agrapart in Avize, Larmandier-Bernier in Vertus, David Léclapart in Trépail, Leclerc Briant in Épernay, Jestin, Françoise Bedel. All are in our cellar — but our selection also includes twenty lesser-known winemakers, at half the price, who are the very reason Pépites exists.
- How do you buy a winemaker’s champagne?
- Either directly from the estate, or from a wine merchant who selects them — this has been our speciality from the very beginning: every winegrower on this list has been tasted, visited and monitored vintage after vintage. Our vintners’ champagnes are grouped in the ‘récoltants-manipulants’ category and are delivered throughout France and Europe.
A ‘vintner’s champagne’ is a champagne where the person who pruned the vines has also signed the bottle. There are several thousand of these in Champagne; around thirty have found their way into our cellar, and not by chance. Here is our 2026 selection, region by region, with the cuvée to start with and its price for each one.
5 min read
There are two kinds of Champagne. There is that of the major houses, which buy their grapes from thousands of winegrowers and even out the variations between vintages through blending; and the one made by winegrowers who keep their own grapes, make the wine themselves and put their name on the bottle — RM, récoltant-manipulant, in small print on the label. It is this kind of Champagne that inspired us to create Pépites. Here is our 2026 selection: twenty-six producers, region by region, with for each one the cuvée to start with and its price in our cellar. To understand the difference between this and a ‘house’, read first ‘grand maison’ or ‘vintner’s Champagne ’; to spot the RM on a bottle, read ‘how to read a label’.
Côte des Blancs: Chardonnay on chalk
South of Épernay, a slope of pure chalk and grand cru villages — Avize, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil — where Chardonnay produces the world’s most refined blancs de blancs. Pascal Agrapart, in Avize, is one of Champagne’s most admired winemakers; his Extra Brut 7 Crus (€55.80) is the perfect introduction. Larmandier-Bernier, in Vertus, a global benchmark for biodynamic winemaking: Latitude (€57.50). De Sousa Réserve (€46), in Avize, a biodynamic Chardonnay grand cru. Éléonore Gageure 22 (€38.70), from the Dzieciuck estate in Oger, one of our favourites. Philippe Lancelot Les Hauts d’Épernay 2018 (€60), in Chouilly. And three blancs de blancs for under €30 that defy the prices typically seen on the Côte: René Rutat (€28.50) and Michel Rutat Lignum (€42.30) from Vertus, Walraet (€27.76) from Cramant, and Gonet Sulcova (€23.35). All our blancs de blancs are listed here.
Montagne de Reims: the Pinot Noir of the grands crus
To the north lies the Montagne de Reims and its Pinot Noir grands crus — Ambonnay, Bouzy, Verzenay and Tours-sur-Marne. Egly-Ouriet, in Ambonnay, is the region’s cult winemaker; his Brut Tradition Grand Cru (€99) is every bit as good as many prestigious cuvées. Arnaud Moreau ArraKis (€36.19), from Bouzy, a non-dosage grand cru, is one of the cellar’s best buys. Delavenne Dom Basle (€29.80), from Bouzy, spanning four generations, is a single-vineyard brut réserve for under €30. In Verzenay, on the northern slope: Péhu Simonet Face Nord (€38), Vignon Rochelles-Potences 2020 (€43), Texier Brut Réserve (€32). David Léclapart, in Trépail, a pioneer of biodynamics (Demeter-certified since 1998): L’Amateur LV22 (€77.50). Gounel-Lassalle Esprit Voyageur (€39), in Chigny-les-Roses. And Lamiable Hélios (€210), in Tours-sur-Marne, the age-worthy cuvée of an understated grand cru. Our article on the Champagne classification pinpoints these villages; our ‘blancs de noirs’ section and our guide to ‘blancs de noirs’ delve deeper into Pinot.
The Marne Valley: Meunier and affordable prices
On both sides of the Marne, this is the land of Meunier and of winemakers who still sell their champagnes at the price of a good wine. Leclerc Briant, in Épernay, a pioneer of biodynamics: Réserve Extra Brut (€40.50). Françoise Bedel, in Crouttes-sur-Marne, producing biodynamic Meunier: Origin’elle (€51.95). In the same village, Courtois Brut (€22), our cheapest champagne — and a genuine winemaker’s champagne, including extended ageing. In Cumières, Geoffroy Expression 1er Cru (€39.55); in Damery, Maurice Choppin Les Mi-Côtes (€44.90), seventh generation, vinified in barrels. Éric Taillet Egali’T (€30.50), in Baslieux-sous-Châtillon, and Néret-Vély Ôde à la Vie (€32.05), two Meunier wines full of character; Mignon-Boulard Cuvée Élise (€34.56), in Venteuil. At the premium end of the range, Jestin Extra Brut 2010 (€139.95), a signature cuvée from Hervé Jestin, former cellar master at Leclerc Briant, and A. Bergère Prestige Millésime (€46), produced from 45 hectares in the Petit Morin valley since 1848. Many feature in our selection of fine champagnes under €40.
Côte des Bar: the south of Champagne
Two hours to the south lies the Aube department and its Côte des Bar, long regarded as the ‘suburbs’ of Champagne, but now its experimental ground. Fleury Boléro 2008 Extra Brut (€98), Champagne’s first biodynamic house, established in 1989; and De Lozey Cuvée 50-50 (€68.40), in Celles-sur-Ource, since 1881.
How to choose from twenty-six winemakers
To try: Courtois Brut, Delavenne Dom Basle, René Rutat Blanc de Blancs — three bottles, three regions, all under €30 each. For a blanc de blancs: Walraet, Éléonore, De Sousa, then Agrapart. For a Pinot Noir: Arnaud Moreau, Péhu Simonet, then Egly-Ouriet. For organic: Leclerc Briant, Bedel, Larmandier-Bernier, Léclapart — see our top organic champagnes. For your cellar: Lamiable Hélios, Jestin 2010, Fleury Boléro 2008. All are featured in our ‘récoltants-manipulants’ category, and this season’s favourites in our ‘hidden gems’ section. To understand what happens between the vineyard and the bottle, read our article on the Champagne method.
Serving and storage
Winemakers’ champagnes are often less sweetened and more wine-like than house bruts: serve them at 9–10 °C in a white wine glass rather than a flute. Bruts are best enjoyed within three years; grands crus and single-vineyard cuvées will improve over five to ten years, stored horizontally in the dark at 10–12 °C. The prices quoted are those recorded in our cellar on the date of publication; as these winemakers produce small quantities, several cuvées are available in limited numbers.
The bottles in this article
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