1890s: A Star Is Born
Champagne Dumangin was created by Hippolyte Dumangin. Jacky Dumangin, 3 generations later, perfected the characteristically feminine Premier Cru champagne range. His son, Gilles Dumangin, 5th generation of successful winemakers, "upped" the range by introducing the several high class champagnes that helped position his top of the range wines: First he created the "Premium", a delightful (unfortunately low yield) Blanc de Blancs cuvee in a wonderfully frosted white bottle. Through his love of cooking & travels through Asia, Gilles also imagined the Extra-Brut, a Champagne that both helps complement spicy cooking and also balances diets with a low sugar content.Recently, he added the Party Pack, a nicely packaged 4 champagne quarters appealing for party time, wine connoisseurs or for gifts. His last creation, 8* Star, a strong masculine Blanc de Noirs, has received high praises from prospective customers and press alike.
Innovation through Tradition
In the last 25 years the Champagne region has seen many improvements in winemaking processes. General quality has been raised. Unfortunately this has led to uniformity in most champagnes. Champagne Dumangin believes in uniqueness… Each wine is unique.The Dumangin Rosé is a good example… thanks to its untypical blend of vintage cuvées and red wine from Pinot Meunier, it exhibits finesse and fruit rather than vinosity and strength. Obtaining the right balance between traditional methods that will favour the exceptional character of wines and modern techniques is a difficult but enjoyable exercise.
Dumangin Champagnes suffer no stressful processes. They are handled very gently from grape picking to bottling in their tank room in Chigny Les Roses. Careful manual riddling, in-house disgorgement & dosage ensure quality at all steps. To add an additional twist, dosage liquor is aged in perfumed oak cask. This makes the Argentée cuvee, the house demi-sec, a must try for lovers of sweet champagnes.
Tradition is also what directed Gilles to revive long lost Champagne gastronomic Specialities. Starting in 2001 with Champagne vinegar, innovation & passion led him to acquire knowledge & create unique recipes of champagne based food delicacies that are now represented all over the world from Canada to Japan. A wonderful Champagne jam (Confit de Vin Champenois) will match a delicate foie gras. The Grape Chutney makes a perfect condiment for pâtés. He also used innovative cask aging (matured in casks used in other regions of France) and traditional solera systems to produce a range of alcohols (Ratafia, Marc & Fine) replete with flavours and colours.
The crus in Champagne
The 312 villages producing Champagne (around 30 000 ha) have been classified under a hierarchical system unique in France: The value of the grapes produce in each village are assessed with this system. This value is based on the quality of grapes. There are 3 names for crus in Champagne: The Grands Crus, the Premiers Crus and the Champagnes without Cru. The quality is then paid at 100 % of its base price decided for the whole area of Champagne and respected by a majority of wine growers for the Grand Crus, from 90 to 99% for the Premiers Crus and from 80% to 89% for the Champagnes without Cru.The Premiers Crus (Christian Audigier, Brut & Rosé)
- 44 villages outof 312 (13%)
- 5 000 hectares out of 30 000 (17%)
- This naming convention is not very widely used as many wine growers have only a part of their land in a village classified Grand Cru Moreover only the wine growers having the entirety of their land in a Grand Cru village can add it to their label. It is however widely used than the Grand Cru name.
- Name of the villages where CA grapes grown : Chigny les Roses.
Awards
Since 1987, Champagne J. Dumangin Fils presents his Champagnes in the biggest international wine competitions. Their quality is often rewarded regularly :Brut Grande Réserve :
- Silver award : International Wine & Spirits Competition : 2010
- Bronze award : WAH! TASTE Hong Kong : 2009