It is easy to get confused between the numerous, highly regarded grower champagnes out there. A handful whose styles I was hoping folks could give me the comparative rundown on:
Bereche
Prevost
Pierre Peters
Rose de Jeannes
Agrapart
Vouette&Sorbee
Chartogne-Taillet
Who of these folk are making the most compelling champagnes at this point and why? What do you see as the stylistic differences?
I have at least five books on Champagne but really get lost in the hagiography. Thanks in advance.
I am dying for responses.
Not to quibble but Bereche is no longer a âgrowerâ.
But to me itâs (letâs just say Bereche is a grower)
Bereche
Lassaigne
Bouchard
Prevost
Robert Moncuit
Savart
In that orderâŠ
Iâll tryâŠ
Bereche: A superb lineup of characterful wines, most expressing their grape variety and terroir very clearly. The wines are very much vinous without being massive and they are mostly intense as hell. I am not too familiar with the negoce wines but of those made from their own grapes Les Beaux Regards (chard), Le Cran (ch-pn) and Campania Remensis RosĂ© are all mind-blowing wines that really demand your attention. The perpetual reserve wine Reflet dâAntan is a great one as well but stylistically somewhat different. Iâve noticed that not every Champagne geek loves this one as much as the single vintage wines.
Prevost: Only had Les Beguines once and found it to be a singular expression of Pinot Meunier: the exotic flavor profile is there but the structure and focus are something rare. Also very vinous.
Pierre Peters: Extremely pure, transparent BdB wines (plus the Rosé for Albane). Les Chétillons is one of the most majestic Chardonnay Champagnes out there - one of the best buys for the cellar.
Rose de Jeannes: Bought two bottles CĂŽte de Val Vilaine, both were faulty, will not buy again 
Agrapart: One of the best producers out there for what I consider the classic BdB style. Perhaps by favorite Champagne producer when it comes to drinking with fresh seafood (although Peters and Berecheâs Les Beaux Regards are fine for this purpose as wellâŠ).
Vouette&Sorbee: Have not tried.
Chartogne-Taillet: Quite a big line-up nowadays. Entry-level wines are great for mid-week drinking but of those Iâve tried the pinnacles are the single vineyard wines Les Barres (Meunier) and Les Orizeaux (Pinot Noir). Once again very vinous wines where the bubbles are not of great importance - grab a big glass and forget about the surrounding world. I do not know if I would nail Les Barres as pure Meunier blind as it really takes the grape to another level. Both wines are easily of prestige cuvĂ©e quality but they can still be found carrying very friendly price tags (in France, that is).
Lots of good info above. Pierre Peters, Bereche, Chartogne-Taillet and CĂ©dric Bouchard (Rose de Jeanne) All make regular appearances at our table. Thatâs four completely distinct expressions of Champagne that to a degree cover the field. Granted there is a whole lot more we buy and drink (e.g. Aubry is our QPR champ grower, Mousse Fils is great value in Meunier based Champagne).
I can fully concur with Ilkkaâs post (especially as I know his taste and I know he knows his stuff when it comes to Champs - among a good deal of other wines).
Iâve had a handful of Vouette & SorbĂ©es and most of them have been ridiculously good. Textures is one of the greatest Pinot Blanc Champagnes out there (not a round and fruity bubbly, but a taut and mineral Champ with a lot of depth and substance) and SaignĂ©e is a terrific oddball of a rosĂ©. The only one that I havenât been that fond of is FidĂšle, which was a bit too austere for a Blanc de Noirs.
If a heftier, more vinous style is up your alley, some other impressive producers include:
BenoĂźt Lahaye
Charlot-Tanneux
Emmanuel Brochet
Francis Boulard
Marguet
Olivier Horiot
Ulysse Collin
and of course the aforementioned Jacques Lassaigne.
Egly-Ouriet- The 1er Cru Brut Les Vignes de Vrigny is a fun wine to taste 100% Pinot meunier.
Savart
Paul Bara
Charles Heintz- Not Champagne but is in the league with serious grower fizz. Made by Michael Cruse wine.
In addition to the above, Tarlant.
Camille Saves, especially the rose.
I very much like
Bouchard
Bereche
Jacquesson
Chartogne-Taillet
Lassaigne
Like, but not nearly as much - Vergnon.
Have only had the following in limited amounts:
Prevost - very impressed with the one bottle I have had.
Collin - the one bottle I have had seemed way too young. Look forward to trying this again.
Suenen - first bottle I had seem too young. Had a second bottle of same wine a year later and it was much better.
Vilmart - very impressed with the little I have had from him.
Agrapart - what I have had has been good but I have liked others better so far.
I was not that âintoâ Champagne until one of our SF Berserkers fed me a taste of Selosse Initial (thanks, Joel!). Since then Iâve been very interested.
I made a point of searching out the Selosse understudies: Vouette & Sorbée, Chartogne Taillet, Prévost, and Ulysse Collin. They are all unique and interesting. Ulysse Collin is my favorite in the $100 range.
Some others Iâve really liked are Tarlant and Lallement. You can sometimes find Tarlant CuvĂ©e Louis for $70 (about $80 on WS now) - I donât know of many aged Champagnes at that price point. The Lallement Reserve is a younger wine but it has been my favorite in the $50-60 range.
IMO their negocie wines are far, far inferior to the ones they make from their own grapes. Iâve had nothing but disappointing bottles from that lineup.
On the other hand their âdomaineâ Champagnes are on the short list I buy regularly.
I see you didnât mention their Rive Gauche (their pinot meunier bottling). If you havenât tried it I strongly encourage you to seek it out as itâs not only one of my favorites but a relative bargain in their lineup.
I made several converts to the Remensis rose when I opened 2 bottles at my last blind wine tasting.
I believe the negociant wines are made under a slightly different label.
I have to highly second Emmanuel Brochet and Benoit Marguet, as I believe both have hit their stride quite nicely, and the future is even brighter. These are hard to find, but worth the search.
Two names that havenât come up are Michel Fallon (WOW) and Ledru (WOW, but you knew that already 
). Not cheap, but both are exceptional.
I like everything you have listed here. My favorites of these would be Bereche, Prevost and Pierre Peters. PP in a lighter style, Prevost in a richer, more Selossian style and Bereche just for their delicious complexity (though see my note on the negociant bottles).
Iâd add two more.
Benoit Lahaye for their vintage bottlings and the La Violaine which is my absolute favorite zero dosage wine.
And Marie Courtin, whose Champagnes are an absolute delight with the sole exception of the Resonance which does nothing for me. The Eloquence is my favorite but all them are worth seeking out.
I largely tend to agree with you, but had the 2006 Cote in late December, and it was tremendous. Most of the other ones Iâve had were funky, like dank basement (something I get out of Dom P about a year or two after release), but in sort of way that the funky quality will never go away.
Thanks Ian, I havenât tried that one.
A big HECK YEAH on this one.
I also dig Pierre Peters, especially the Chetillons and Reserve out of magnum. Laherte-Freres has been a consistent favorite. Marc Chauvet vintage wines are excellent. I generally find good grower bubbles to have distinct character and to be interesting. Theyâre always fun to drink.
Instead of just throwing out names, its important to understand Champagne is as complex if not more than burgundy. There is no one size fit all list of names. The site, the style, the vintage all have significant signature.
In many tastings, someone usually says its 70% chard, 30% PN, which sounds useful, but really isnât. What is more helpful is the village/winemaking and of course base vintage.
Site:
Just like Puligny and Meursault are different, site in champagne matters. A BdB from Le Mesnil sur Oger is much more linear and mineral, where as Cremant is much more richer. A Pinot from Ambonnay offers more complexity and those from Aube are more flashy.
Style:
Again comparing with burgundy, sticking to Meursault, a Coche or a Jobbard are reductive in style while Lafon is very generous. Vogue is darker and dense while Mugnier is ethereal.
I would classify the following in very racy, mineral style: Agrapart, Pierre Paillard, Pierre Peters, Etiene Calsac
Richer style: Vilmart, Mark Hebrart, Marguet, Suenen, Larmandier-Bernier, Bereche (not technically a grower)
Winemaking:
Aging in wood or no-wood. Malo or no-malo. And dosage. Each has a distinct impact on the product and when they should be consumed.
To the OP, I would recommend reading Peter Liemâs book on Champagne and/or better subscribe to Brad Bakers Champagne warriorâŠthere is wealth of information.
Yes. IIRC, BĂ©rĂȘche & Fils are the wines made from grapes sourced from own vineyards and RaphaĂ«l & Vincent BĂ©rĂȘche are the negociant wines.
Prevostâs wines are so good. Iâve only ad one bottling that showed a bit ânaturalâ, and canât remember the vintage. The others have been fantastic and his 2011 is possibly my favorite champagne from that vintage. His rosĂ© is amazing. Worth drinking if you find it. I find all the wines need a few years after disgorging.
That sucks about the RdJ. He is one of my favorite producers. The wines are all packed with power and concentration, and he bottles at a lower pressure. I havenât had any of the Val Vilaines yet, but I have some Iâm sitting on. The 2008 CĂŽte de Bechalin was in my top 3 wines last year.