Our ethos
We have always been driven by an unwavering commitment to excellence and quality. As a constantly evolving Champagne House with a strong winegrowing identity, we combine time-honoured tradition and a spirit of innovation with passion and determination.
Precise viticultural work
The excellence of our champagnes begins in the vineyard. With tireless dedication, Claude Mandois tends each vineyard plot, drawing on the savoir-faire inherited from his father, Michel, and his grandfather, Henri. Just as it was back in their day, the harvest is a critical moment, a busy, fast-paced time of the year when the grapes are picked by hand and carefully sorted. Each batch undergoes a gentle, bespoke pressing from which only the finest juices will be retained.
But Claude has never been afraid to go his own way. Early on, he recognised the value of organic practices, not only as a way to bring out the true character of his remarkable terroirs but as a response to growing environmental challenges. Since the early 2000s, he has invested heavily in converting his vineyards to organic production.
Innovative vinification work
At Champagne Mandois, blending is a true art form, an integral part of our identity. But we are equally committed to preserving the pure expression of each terroir through dedicated vinification and ageing techniques. This dual approach enhances the aromatic complexity of our wines and allows us to showcase selected crus through vintage champagnes, which now represent 30% of the wines in our cellar. After all, harvesting grapes of exceptional quality means little if their unique character is not meticulously preserved throughout the winemaking process.
To ensure that the wine in each fermentation vat is able to develop its own distinct personality, we have long preferred to use the indigenous yeasts naturally present on our grapes. We also work with a wide variety of containers, from the most traditional to the most advanced, including stainless steel vats, Burgundy barrels, Champagne demi-muids, large oak foudres, concrete eggs and tulip-shaped vats.
Our commitment to excellence in the cellar pushes us to go beyond the standard quality specifications. Our non-vintage champagnes are aged for at least three years, while our vintage champagnes are aged for five, eight and sometimes even ten years. Each wine receives a delicate dosage, the final touch in its creation, carefully measured to allow its unique personality to shine through.
The “Galerie Parcellaire”
The Galerie Parcellaire (parcellation vat room) is where tradition meets innovation, perfectly embodying our winegrowing philosophy. Inaugurated with the 2024 harvest after three years of construction, this remarkable 170 m² space is home to an exceptional collection of wines from 12 of our finest plots, carefully selected across our 17 crus. Like spices in a recipe, these individual wines add nuance and complexity to our blends.
“The Galerie Parcellaire embodies the essence of our Champagne House and symbolises the link between its past, its present and its future.”
Claude Mandois
Each vat in our Galerie Parcellaire has a capacity of 41 hectolitres, the exact volume of a single press load. This allows us to vinify each plot separately and obtain the purest expression of its origin. The vats’ rounded bottoms encourage the natural circulation of the lees during fermentation. Depending on the desired expression, vinification may also take place in concrete to enhance the terroir’s minerality or in wood to allow a gentle micro-oxygenation.
Each nuance imparted by the origin of the wood or the barrel’s toast adds a new shade to the palette with which Claude Mandois will paint his final cuvée. As in haute couture, bespoke creation is the norm. Naturally, the beauty of our Galerie Parcellaire had to reflect the quality of our wines, i.e., imposing yet minimalist, simple in its materials, yet complex in its lines.
There is no better place to taste a wine than the place where it was born, which is why we have created a space where visitors feel truly welcome. Overlooking the vat room, our tasting room offers visitors a uniquely immersive experience…