Champagne JL Vergnon
BRAND OWNER
Nowadays, Champagne JL Vergnon is certainly among the top estates of Cote des Blancs — Peter Liem.
In the first half of the XX century, Champagne was going through hard times: war, economic crises, the second war, even more terrible, undermined the prosperity of the region, just getting back on its feet after the phylloxera epidemic. Not surprisingly, after the Second World War the owners of shell-destroyed and uprooted premium vineyards went bankrupt en masse and few dared to work in the destroyed estates independently.
One such daredevil was the young Jean-Louis Vergnon, whose parents, being the members of a viticulturists' cooperative, worked a small plot of land in Mesnil-sur-Oger. Having also worked in a cooperative whose sole purpose was to sell the harvest to negociants and large houses, he became disillusioned with this approach and decided to make his champagne exclusively from Chardonnay, the flagship variety of the Cote de Blancs area.
Unfortunately, Jean-Louis' eldest son and successor Bruno Vergnon, tragically died in 1977 which significantly slowed down the development of the domain. His brother Alain, who returned from an apprenticeship in 1979, started a new business. The first release of the updated range of wines was in 1985, and two years later, Extra Brut by Champagne JL Vergnon was awarded the Coup de coeur prize (jury's choice) by the famous Hachette guide. Since 1999, Alain’s son Didier Vergnon has been running the estate, and his son Clément has recently joined the business. For many years, a talented oenologist and winemaker, Christophe Constant, has been in charge of all operations in the cellar. He acts as a consultant and mentor.
In the first half of the XX century, Champagne was going through hard times: war, economic crises, the second war, even more terrible, undermined the prosperity of the region, just getting back on its feet after the phylloxera epidemic. Not surprisingly, after the Second World War the owners of shell-destroyed and uprooted premium vineyards went bankrupt en masse and few dared to work in the destroyed estates independently.
One such daredevil was the young Jean-Louis Vergnon, whose parents, being the members of a viticulturists' cooperative, worked a small plot of land in Mesnil-sur-Oger. Having also worked in a cooperative whose sole purpose was to sell the harvest to negociants and large houses, he became disillusioned with this approach and decided to make his champagne exclusively from Chardonnay, the flagship variety of the Cote de Blancs area.
Unfortunately, Jean-Louis' eldest son and successor Bruno Vergnon, tragically died in 1977 which significantly slowed down the development of the domain. His brother Alain, who returned from an apprenticeship in 1979, started a new business. The first release of the updated range of wines was in 1985, and two years later, Extra Brut by Champagne JL Vergnon was awarded the Coup de coeur prize (jury's choice) by the famous Hachette guide. Since 1999, Alain’s son Didier Vergnon has been running the estate, and his son Clément has recently joined the business. For many years, a talented oenologist and winemaker, Christophe Constant, has been in charge of all operations in the cellar. He acts as a consultant and mentor.
