Introducing Jérôme Blin
Jérôme Blin’s reputation as a winemaker preceded him, and when the fatcork team visited Champagne last spring, we finally got the chance to meet him in Reims at an industry event hosted by the Meunier Institute.
Our founder, Bryan Maletis, had seen the name Jérôme Blin on some of his favorite European wine lists, and we had all heard about him from our mutual friend, vigneron and fatcork producer Vincent Lagille. But nothing could have prepared us for meeting the man himself. Colorful and gregarious with a barrel-like chest and clean-shaven head, Jérôme was busy lighting up the room — pouring tastes, telling stories and talking shop — with the confidence and swagger of a man who’s completely at home with being exactly himself.
Best of all, when we finally made our way to him, he seemed thrilled to meet us, too! We chatted for a few minutes, and right away we felt the connection. Jérôme was practically oozing those special qualities that we look for in a fatcork producer: passion, curiosity and warmth. He had us at his heavily French-accented “hello,” but would he trust fatcork to represent him in the U.S.? Would he have enough of his microrelease wines to sell us?
To understand our line of self-questioning, you’ll need to know a little more about Jérôme Blin.
From his plots in Trélou-sur-Marne and Vincelles, both in the Vallée de la Marne, Jérôme farms just under 3 hectares of vineyards, planted primarily with pinot meunier along with some chardonnay and pinot noir. Certified organic and cultivated using biodynamic practices like beekeeping, agroforestry and eco-grazing, Jérôme’s world-class grapes form the backbone of his small, terroir-driven collection of grower Champagnes. Meanwhile, in his barrel room, Jérôme focuses on micro-vinification — mostly in wooden barrels but also in amphora and in egg-shaped earthenware vessels called qvevri.
Jérôme’s family tradition of growing Champagne grapes dates back to 1671. In 1947, his grandfather, Henri Blin, created the Vincelles cooperative Champagne H. Blin. A cooperative is a union of growers from a single village. The growers supply their grapes to the co-op, and the appointed head vigneron makes the final cuvées. H. Blin still exists and is well-known throughout the Champagne region for its strong identity and the unique character of the local star grape: pinot meunier.
When it came time for Jérôme to decide his future, he set off on his own path, studying cell biology, education and agribusiness before, finally, returning to the family farm in 1996 to help run the family farm as his father’s health declined. From there, Jérôme learned on the job, perfecting his methods and techniques on a plot given to him by his father. After completing a specialized degree in viticulture from the wine school in Avize, he took over the entire family farm in 1998.
As the new head of his domaine, Jérôme purchased more plots in Vincelles and immediately began incorporating healthier methods of viticulture that were better for the land and for the people working it. In 2010, Jérôme earned organic certification for a portion of his vineyards and finally fulfilled his dream of launching his own label, Jérôme Blin.
Since then, bottles from Jérôme Blin have become highly sought-after, and Jérôme himself has become one of the most recognizable faces in grower Champagne today. So, at the Meunier Institute event after party, we were all surprised when Jérôme came up to us and offered us a pour from a magnum he was carrying: the latest vintage of his single-vineyard pinot meunier. “I just disgorged this yesterday — with no dosage, of course,” he said. “Too soon to drink? Let’s find out!” As we expected, the Champagne was extraordinary.
Throughout the evening, Jérôme kept returning to our table to talk to us, and at one point we gave him a fatcork ball cap, and he jumped in a picture with our whole team. Things were going so well, our founder Bryan boldly asked Jérôme if, by chance, he would he sell us enough of his Champagne so that every one of our club members could try one of his single-vineyard pinot meuniers this year. And, to our delight, he said yes!
Members will have the opportunity to discover an exclusive, ultra-rare Jérôme Blin cuvée in their Winter 2026 allocation, but there’s no need to wait. A selection of equally beguiling single-vineyard Jérôme Blin Champagnes are available to everyone and ready to go home with you now.
