Arnaud Beaufort et Fils
Formerly known as Claude Beaufort et Fils, Champagne Arnaud Beaufort et Fils has been a family business for nine generations. Arnaud currently manages 5.60 ha of vines, 90% of which are planted with Chardonnay and the rest with Pinot Noir. Situated in the village of Trépail, classified as a Premier Cru, the estate uses integrated farming methods. To preserve the environment and biodiversity, no herbicides or insecticides are used. The range comprises eight cuvées, including an extra-dry and a demi-sec.
Arnaud Moreau
The Moreau estate is a family business created three generations ago. It produces a range of champagnes based on sustainable viticulture. The vineyard covers 4 hectares entirely classified in Grand Cru. The estate also owns two guest houses to welcome wine tourism enthusiasts.
Arnould de Beaufort
Verzenay, an atypical village in the Reims mountains, is the home of Adeline and Joachim Beaufort-Arnould. Descended from ancient Champagne winegrowing families for over five generations, Adeline and Joachim, through their champagnes born under the Arnould de Beaufort brand, continue the know-how carefully handed down by their elders on the finest Champagne crus: Verzenay, Verzy, Aÿ, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Oger... The estate is HVE3 certified and also offers a wide range of wine tourism activities, including accommodation, tours and tastings.
Arretxea
This is one of, if not the benchmark estates in the Iroulegy appellation. Known the world over by lovers of great expressive wines, Arretxea produces some of the region's most accomplished wines. Initiated in the 90s by the couple Thérèse and Michel Riouspeyrous, the estate is now run by their children Iban and Téo. With over 12 hectares in total, the estate offers several cuvées in all three colors. A small production is identified by terroir. All the wines are superb, and the Haitza cuvée, paired with suckling lamb from the Basque country, leaves an indelible impression of perfect harmony. The estate concentrates mainly on production, but welcomes visitors in the afternoons and by appointment.
Aspasie
From a family of five generations of winegrowers, Paul-Vincent Ariston oversees the estate's 12 hectares. He brings out the best in pinot meunier, a grape variety often underestimated, which produces superb vintages here, but also cultivates the old varieties (petit meslier, arbane, pinot blanc and pinot gris). Neither premier nor grand crus are vinified here, but determination and time are the house's remarkable allies. The vineyard has been certified organic since 2022. Visits by appointment and online store for champagnes.
Ataïr
This champagne takes its name from a Chinese legend, that of the Cattleman and the Weaver. A young peasant named Niu Lang (Ataïr or Altaïr) fell in love with the fairy Zhi Nü (Vega), while she was bathing in a lake. They fell in love, married and loved each other eternally. The goddess of the heavens, unable to tolerate this inhuman love, decided to transform them into stars, separating them by a silvery river, the Milky Way. Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, birds form a bridge across the Milky Way, allowing the two lovers to meet again. This champagne is a tribute to eternal love. It is produced in Brouillet, near Reims.
Aurore Casanova
Aurore Casanova, a former dancer, took over in 2011 the family estate created by her mother in the Grand Montagne de Reims in 1968. She cultivates her 2 hectares of vines in a sustainable approach inspired by the principles of biodynamics.
Aurélien Lurquin
Aurélien Lurquin is one of the up-and-coming young generation in Champagne. A member of the Des pieds et des vins association (along with other winemakers featured in this guide, such as Guillaume Sergent, Barrat-Masson, Barbichon...), which aims to raise the profile of terroir-based champagnes, Aurélien now produces just a few thousand bottles a year of his assertive, beautiful style. For him, making wine means "using all five of my senses to discover the new juice, while allowing the twelve months that forged its identity to express themselves as purely as possible". A domaine that was still confidential just a few years ago, and whose cuvées now fetch stratospheric prices.
Autréau-Lasnot
Since the 1930s, the Autréau-Lasnot family has been cultivating vines, mainly on the Venteuil terroir in the Marne Valley, covering some 15 hectares today. The fifth generation is represented by two brothers, Fabrice and Florent, and their wives, Véronique and Virginie. The two Champagne grape varieties, chardonnay and pinot noir, are combined with pinot meunier, of which the house is proud to produce a vintage cuvée.
Ayala
Founded in 1860 by Edmond de Ayala, Ayala is an independent, family-run company located in Aÿ, in the heart of the Grands Crus. A pioneer in the introduction of low dosage wines, the house stands out for the purity of its style. The result of high-precision expertise, each cuvée expresses the elegance of Chardonnay, the house's emblematic grape variety, and the uniqueness of a place where everything is made in-house from a diversity of crus unique in Champagne. This goldsmith's work, without artifice, reveals the essential. Here, blending is an art and purity a signature.
Barbier
Champagne Barbier, located in Avize, was founded in 1911 by Florimond Barbier. Today, since 1995, Champagne Barbier has been run by Fabien, the grandson who, incidentally, appeared as an extra with Louis de Funès in "L'aile ou la cuisse", when he was a cook in the capital. The vines, exclusively Chardonnay, are located in several villages: Avize, Oger, Cramant, Chouilly, Oiry, Vindey and Neuville-sur-Seine in the Côte des Bar region of the Aube. The average age of the vines is 40 years, with the exception of a 2-are plot that will soon reach 90 years of age and is still producing exceptionally well.
Barbier-Roze
The domaine has been producing champagne in Verzenay for five generations: born in 1856, Charles Barbier married Clémence Roze in 1874. Together, they had enough vines to produce their own champagne. Charles marketed it in the 1890s under the Ch. Barbier-Roze brand. Today, Benoît, the fifth generation, perpetuates the family tradition and the name of his great-great-grandfather through his brand, which remains first and foremost an owner's champagne.
Barnaut
Located in Bouzy, in the heart of the ??? "grand blacks" solar ??? , Philippe Secondé is the worthy heir of a great family of winegrowers. He continues his trials of grass between rows, and to maintain the age of the vineyard he is happy just to replace individual vines instead of pulling parcels out. The vineyard, conducted according to the rules of the viticulture reasoned, is beautifully representative of the soil of Bouzy. The Champagne style is bouncy and fruity.
Baron Albert
Baron Albert champagnes were founded in 1947 by Albert Baron and his wife Béatrice. They passed the torch on to their three sons, Gilbert, Gervais and Claude. Today, the third generation is in place with Claude's daughters. The Baron sisters, Claire, Lise and Aline, accompanied by Rachid Boutaïg, vineyard manager, cultivate 55 ha of vines in an environmentally-friendly manner, and produce almost 500,000 bottles of wine a year in their cellars.
Baron Dauvergne
This 7-hectare family estate, founded in 1923, is now run by Vincent Dauvergne, the fourth generation of winemakers. Located in Bouzy, in the heart of the Grands Crus of the Montagne de Reims, the estate offers a fine range of champagnes, as well as the famous Bouzy red in coteaux-champenois. We'll also introduce you to the tasting of no less than four Champagne ratafias (pinot noir, blanc de pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay), an all-too rare appellation that should be rehabilitated. Other activities include electric car rides through the vineyards, complete with packed lunches. A twelve-person gîte completes the offer.
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