How I met the Massonnots

"I first noticed the vigneron Camille Massonnot and her mother, Christel, across a crowded room during our team’s first Les Printemps de Champagnes tasting of the week in Reims last spring. Printemps is a week-long festival designed for vignerons to showcase their Champagne and make connections with others in the Champagne industry. I recognized the name Massonnot from seeing it on some really extraordinary wine lists in France and London, and when I approached their booth and was offered a taste of their pinot meunier, it did not disappoint. 

 

But even before I put the glass to my lips, I was completely smitten with this mother-daughter duo. I could feel their family connection and their roots in tradition but also they’re willingness to evolve and let the younger generation take change. I knew then that, no matter what, I was going to make space in my completely packed schedule to visit their family estate in Coulommes-la-Montagne, a small village in Vallée de la Marne. Camille and Christel told me that they’d heard of me, too, and our meeting began to feel like kismet. 

 

When I arrived at the Massonnot estate later that week, disgorgement was in full swing, and every member of the family was involved. Camille was running the show, while her husband, and brothers attended to various tasks. Her father, Jean-Marie, was doing the hand work down in the cellar. Christel and Camille’s young twin daughters took me on the grand tour. 

 

As I took in the buzz of activity around me, I couldn’t help but fall for the Massonnot family. They’re deep connection to each other, their legacy and the many tasks at hand was almost palpable. I was elated when they agreed to work with fatcork to bring their stunning Champagne to the U.S. 

 

Read more of their story below, and be sure to get your hands on some Jean-Marie Massonnot Champagne! I can’t wait to hear what you think." 

 

— Bryan Maletis, supreme grower Champange geek and founder of fatcork

Jean-Marie Massonnot Champagne 

Jean-Marie Massonnot Champagne traces its roots back to the 1930s when Aimé Massonnot began making and selling his own Champagne in Coulommes-la-Montagne, a village in Vallée de la Marne. His legacy continued through his son, Michel, and Michel’s wife Michèle. Fascinated by the natural world, Michel was devoted to preserving the health of his family land. He later passed that passion and the reins to the family domaine to his son, Jean-Marie. 

When Jean-Marie took over, he renamed the domaine Jean-Marie Massonnot and continued to hone his father’s nature-focus approach to winemaking, further minimizing human intervention and working alongside nature rather than trying to overpower it. In 2021, Jean-Marie Massonnot earned organic certification. While looking toward a cleaner, more sustainable future, Jean-Marie reverently preserved some of his father’s massal selections, dating back to the 1950s. This commitment to the massal selections underscores the family’s keenness to “multiply rather than uproot and recreate rather than cut down.” 

That desire lives on in the newest generation to lead Jean-Marie Massonnot. Today, the domaine is a multigeneration operation with Jean-Marie’s daughter, Camille, at the helm. Camille’s husband; her parents, Jean-Marie and Christel; and her brothers, Valentin and Victor, help however they can. Even Camille’s young children find small ways to lend a hand. 

Camille continues her father’s commitment to the thoughtful, harmonious, organic farming of Massonnot’s mostly pinot meunier plots while also incorporating more modern growing and winemaking techniques of her own. 

Since taking on the role as vigneron, Camille has significantly lowered dosages, resulting in Massonnot cuvées that are cleaner and leaner than they’ve ever been. Just as in the vineyards, Camille avoids intervention in the cellar whenever possible — no dosage and no excessive use of sulfites or filtering. She also prefers a slow aging process on lees, allowing the wine, yeast and time to interact and her cuvées to express their unique identity.

For fatcork founder Bryan Maletis, meeting Camille and her lovely family felt like kismet, and we are so excited to bring their Jean-Marie Massonnot Champagnes to customers in the U.S.