Location and History
Champagne Mandois is based in Pierry, a Premier Cru village southwest of Épernay in the Champagne. The family has been documented in Champagne since 1735; in 1905, Victor-Auguste Mandois set up a press and a cellar at the current site. The historic cellars extend beneath the village church.
Vineyards and Cultivation
The roughly 37 hectares of vineyards lie on the slopes where the Vallée de la Marne meets the Côte des Blancs. Further areas are located in the Coteaux Sud d’Épernay, in the Sézannais and on the Côte des Bars. The Clos Mandois in Pierry covers around 1.5 hectares, is south-facing and stands on white chalk from the Upper Campanium with an alluvial layer.
Chardonnay grows on the majority of the terroirs; Pinot Meunier makes up 20 percent and Pinot Noir 10 percent of the vines. Around 70 percent of the grapes come from the company’s own vineyards. Since the early 2000s, these have been gradually converted to organic farming; 23 hectares near Pierry have been certified since 2020 according to the French AB standard. Sowing cover crops, mechanical tillage, organic preparations and natural fertilisers are among the documented measures. Harvesting is done by hand; afterwards, the grapes are sorted and gently pressed.
Cellar Maturation
For fermentation and ageing, Mandois uses, among other things, stainless steel tanks, Burgundy barrels, Champagne demi-muids, large wooden foudres, concrete eggs and tulip-shaped containers. The Parcellaire gallery works with 41-hectolitre tanks, each of which corresponds to one press load and allows the separate vinification of individual parcels.
The Clos Mandois is vinified entirely in demi-muids and ages for eight months without malolactic fermentation, filtration or fining. The wine then spends ten years on the lees.
Cuvées
The Origine collection includes cuvées made from Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir, including Brut Origine and Rosé Origine. The Blanc-de-Blancs collection is based on Chardonnay from selected parcels in chalky soils in Champagne. The 2020 vintage Vertus Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru consists entirely of Chardonnay from white Campanium chalk and matures for 67 percent in stainless steel and for 33 percent in large wooden vessels with natural yeasts. The Clos Mandois is a single-variety Pinot Meunier cuvée.
