When I worked for a wine merchant in the late 1990s, the manager always used to recommend Pierre Gimonnet et Fils to customers. He’d explain how, with grand marques like Moët & Chandon or Veuve Clicquot you are paying for fashion shows and polo tournaments, or the spraying around at F1 races – but with a grower Champagne more of your hard-earned money goes on the wine. At the time Gimonnet was a good £10 cheaper than the big names at a scarcely believable £15 a bottle. But what’s the picture like today? Do grower wines offer the best value in Champagne?
Dawn Davies MW, head buyer for The Whisky Exchange, thinks so. “The growers always offer great value for money because they are not funding large marketing campaigns and doing lavish launches,” she says. Her bestseller is Gallimard Brut Reserve, a grower blanc de noirs which, at the time of writing, looks great value at just over £30 a bottle, compared with over £50 for Veuve Clicquot. Ana Jackson MW, head buyer for Amathus, agrees. “Grower Champagnes and smaller producers offer a point of difference to the bigger brands, and very often better value,” she says.
Charles Lea, co-founder of Lea & Sandeman, was early into grower Champagne with R&L Legras in 1988, and the business still stocks it to this day. “You get more individuality, more interest, more care about the quality of the grapes,” says Lea.
It’s sensible for independent retailers not to stock the very biggest names because, as James Dainty, business unit controller at Lanchester Wines, notes “supermarkets frequently offer deep discounts”, which smaller retailers can’t compete with. Harpreet Bansal, owner of Wapping Wines, a Champagne specialist in London, says: “I don’t try to sell any LVMH products. I would rather the money go to the farmers.”
Growers aren’t the only game in town for good-value fizz; there are also high-quality co-operatives, such as Champagne Palmer. Raymond Ringeval, the firm’s global commercial director, thinks the declining UK market –down from 29 million bottles in 2021 to 25.2 million in 2023 (Comité Champagne) – and current economic woes might offer an opportunity. He says: “Retailers are looking for more alternatives to cater to a wider range of customers, especially in economic downturns or in markets where cost sensitivity is higher.”
Davies at The Whisky Exchange advises remembering lesser-known grand marques that aren’t stocked in supermarkets, such as Pol Roger and Gosset. Then there are small houses such as Alfred Gratien, which is owned by Henkell Freixenet and produces around 300,000 bottles a year. It works with wholesaler Jascots and makes the Wine Society’s own-label Champagne. Gratien has a point of difference as the only producer in the region to ferment all its wines in oak.
That needs communicating to the end customer, says marketing director Frédérique Lenoir. “We support Jascots at its annual portfolio tasting to meet the customers directly, collaborate on exclusive visits to the winery and provide bespoke support for individual accounts,” she says. “Throughout the year we are involved in exciting activity in the market such as tastings for consumers and the trade.”
Brands such as Gratien have to work harder because “the famous international Champagne brands reassure consumers”, Lenoir says.
Dainty at Lanchester describes the big names as “a comfort blanket for consumers” and Lea at Lea & Sandeman agrees.
“There will always be some, especially in the area of gifts, where name recognition counts,” he says.
SELLING TO CONSUMERS
The hand sell is all important according to Lenoir. “This is what makes a wine merchant so valuable,” she says, “their prescription and their ability to make consumers discover new wines.” Dainty works with negociant brand Champagne Moutard which offers wines “that are a bit different from the norm”, such as Arbane, Six Cépages and Pinot Blanc.
To help sell them, he offers “staff training and tasting events for customers” Dainty adds: “Our goal is not just to supply wine but to go beyond that, bringing the brand and its story to life.” Happily for such producers, Davies thinks that consumers are becoming more adventurous.
“When I started in restaurants, [grower Champagne] was a real hand sell and often the small guys were overlooked in favour of the big names, but today people are much more open to suggestions and are far more adventurous in their choices,” she says.
This seems borne out by CIVC figures. The UK market is relatively diverse, with 46% of sales going to the 24 grand marques. In the US, 94% of sales are shared between 20 brands.
Dainty thinks that most UK customers buy on price and aren’t particularly brand loyal, which is good news for smaller retailers.
They might have to work a bit harder selling non-grand marque Champagne, but the rewards are there and customers are willing to make the jump, especially when the price is right. Growers and smaller brands often offer more interesting wines – and you don’t have to fund lavish marketing events.
