Christophe Mignon - Festigny, Champagne, France

Since first bringing the Champagne of Christophe Mignon many years ago, Mignon, not surprisingly, has become a favored grower by Champagne lovers from the west to the east coast and beyond. According to respected (and well versed in Champagne) wine critic, Antonio Galloni, "Christophe Mignon might very well be the finest grower in Champagne most people have not heard about". While the "most" part of "most people" is shrinking, we are grateful to have been in on the ground floor.

MEETING MIGNON

Well, here we are rummaging through Champagne again. It's a tough job, we know, but.... well, no one really has to do it, but we think it's a good idea.

It's difficult to explain what makes one Champagne stand out from another, but when it happens it can hit like a lightening bolt. The first time I met with Christophe Mignon, I was eight days and 22 winery visits into my trip. Even though I was optimistic, I had reached a point of disillusionment from a number of underwhelming visits in the seven days and eighth morning leading to that moment. Other than Rodez and Lahaye (both of whom I had already visited on previous trips and arranged to work with) and a few more of my favorite growers, I had not really beenmoved by anything. Most things were ok overall, and there was an occasional standout wine, but an AH HA moment with any "new" growers had not happened.

I had a hard time finding Mignon. He is located in the Vallée de la Marne, but not exactly in the "close-in" neighborhood of west Épernay. I reached his village of Festigny without a problem, but my GPS would not take me to his winery. I thought I could drive around and maybe there would be a sign, but driving from one end of town to the other took all of 30 seconds and I didn't see any hints of Mignon. After driving back and forth to the villages before and after Festigny, I decided I would have to do it: make the dreaded French phone call. Luckily my phone worked and I reached him and he understood me and I understood that he knew it was me and he was expecting me, but now what? He wanted to know where I was. I didn't know where I was in English, let alone French! Somehow I was able to guide him to me and we met for the first time on a dirt road on the Ouest edge of Festigny. He asked me if I wanted to see the vineyard and I said, "Oui, but of course!" So we drove down the road, he in his car ahead and me in mine close behind.

We got out of our cars at the base of a row of vines and Christophe explained his terroir. His grandfather, Eugène Prudhomme, established the vineyards in 1880 and for the last quarter century they have bottled their family wines under that label. Four of the family's six hectares are dedicated to Eugène Prudhomme (now under Christophe's lead), two are sold to négoce (big Champagne houses like Moët and Clicquot ), and Christophe reserves 1.5 for his own "Christophe Mignon" label. This part of Champagne is Pinot Meunier country and 90% of his vineyards are planted with it, the other 10% are half and half Pinot noir and Chardonnay. The vineyards face south/southwest and the vines average 30-40 years old, some being 25 and others 60. There is chalk below the topsoil but it is deeper and there is more clay and limestone marl in the soil than in much of the Marne and Côte des Blancs, hence the aptitude for Pinot Meunier.

General vineyard practices are never really a mystery when you are actually standing in the vineyard. It doesn't mean it's not worked vigilantly if it's not teaming with greenery, flowers and ladybugs, but it's not difficult to tell if the soil is completely dead. Christophe does not adhere to any specific method or philosophy, but he does work his soils organically, only deviating in extreme situations, and he incorporates a lot of biodynamic techniques. His soil was clearly alive and fluffily aerated, as opposed to the motionless, hard, compact, trenched-out rows throughout much of the region. He respects the lunar calendar, prefers a diverse ecosystem, and uses what we here in Oregon would call "green" methods in the winery, such as solar energy and recycled rainwater.

As we walked through the winery I noticed numerous herbs and "machines" (manual, of course) that I recognized from biodynamic domaines I had visited. I tend to take a lot of photographs while visiting wineries, many of which end up being used for nothing other than to preserve my own memory, and when it came to the biodynamic stuff Christophe asked that I keep my photos to myself. I understand and I take it as a good sign: he is not certified biodynamic, nor is he claiming any allegiance to the movement and he does not want his use of biodynamics within his own practices to be misconstrued by people thinking he is claiming to be something he's not.

CHRISTOPHE MIGNON, THE WINES

It's interesting communicating with someone when you have a limited use of their language and vice versa. Even though the speaking abilities of me and one person and me and another person might line up fairly equally, I sometimes reach a far greater level of understanding with one than the other. Our conversation probably sounded like three year olds in our respective languages, but Christophe's and my level of understanding of each other's communication was decently fluid (at a low level). I've experienced this and the opposite with a number of different people (even in the same language!) and I think in part it must have to do with whether or not what the person is saying or asking resonates with you - your life, your work, your beliefs, concerns, your core. It's a wavelength thing, and perhaps you both try harder because you can tell you care about similar things? In any case, there was a lot of hope and anticipation based on what I had learned to this point and I was jazzed to taste the wines, but I would not let my evaluation of the wines be clouded; they could be a flop, I'd been through that before.

Wine #1: Expressive and very alive. YAY! Wine #2: LIVELY to the max! Yes... these were the kinds of wines we wanted to find.

My "lively" and "alive" notes were not referring to the bubbles, but the wine itself. LIFE. It is what so much Champagne, and wine in general, is missing. Not only could I drink these wines, I wanted to drink them! I wanted to bring them home and share them with the E&R crew and our wine nutso friends. They were such a clear expression of Pinot Meunier with snappy apply fruit, berries and gingery spice, also doughy and somehow round yet racy and taut. I tasted through each wine several times to make sure I believed my own palate. Yes, it was a sure thing.

I've since visited Christophe for a second time and was equally enthused by the wines. Christophe does not need to export his Champagne to the USA, and, in fact, he was somewhat reluctant to do so - not for any personal/political reasons, but because he did not know what the process would involve. Would it be complicated? No!.... uh, well, as it turns out, yes, perhaps a little. There is a lot of rigmarole involved with getting wines approved to be imported and sold in the US. Since this was the maiden voyage for Christophe's wines, there was a lot of back and forth and confusion regarding the labels that would need to be made specifically for US standards, all further compounded by the language barrier. At last, the labels were approved, our order was placed and the wines were wrapped up and loaded onto a boat bound for Portland, Oregon!

Happily now, the wines arrive here on a regular basis!
(S)

Click on each wine for more detail.