Has the Grower Bubble Burst? 

Is this the beginning of the end of the grower producer? 

Forces are at play that threatens the survival of Champagne’s grower-producers. Global economies, erratic harvests, incentives from négociants and even the French taxation system itself are driving growers to sell all their fruit, some to relinquish their status and become négociants, and others to sell up altogether. Are our beloved champagne growers on a path to extinction? 

The rise of the grower-producer has revolutionized this generation in Champagne. Recent decades have seen the little guy step forward to demonstrate that top champagne is no longer the exclusive realm of the big players. Champagne is not just oceanic blends from everywhere, but single crus and individual vineyards tended, crafted, matured and presented lovingly to the world by the same pair of hands. 

And, oh, how we have celebrated. Champagne’s grower-producers are the darlings of sommeliers and hip bars the world over; the prize of the most fanatical champagne purists. Top growers like Egly-Ouriet and Jacques Selosse have realised prestige prices. Rightly or wrongly, the ‘RM’ (Récoltant-Manipulant) insignia on labels has become a status symbol over ‘NM’ (Négociant-Manipulant). And the négociants have taken notice, inspired into more sustainable viticultural practices, more creative vinification and the creation of specialist cuvées to capture the detail of single crus and vineyards. It’s been a heyday for champagne. But all this is changing. 

Devastating decline 

‘Champagne is going to be a very different place in the next decade,’ I was recently told by one small grower and négociant struggling to sustain his family business in a highly respected premier cru on the Montagne de Reims. ‘It will not be possible for many of the small brands to survive.’