Yes, it’s that Bérêche: Pauline Collin-Bérêche is married to Raphaël Bérêche, superstar of the Grower Champagne movement. And yes, this is one of the most hotly sought after wines coming out of Champagne today. But take note! It also isn’t that Bérêche. Because, while Raphaël is an inspiration and an advisor, this is very much Pauline’s wine. 

Pauline grew up in Ludes, one of the great villages of the Montagne de Reims. Her family has farmed this land of north-facing plots and clay-limestone soils for seven generations. But the vines aren’t just their livelihood; this little corner of Champagne is their home. 

And that makes all the difference. For one thing, they’ve farmed them organically since long before it was a thing. This was their backyard, so chemicals were out. But for another, it’s a land they know, fruit they understand, and a story Paulin has always wanted to tell. 

Pauline always knew she’d come back to the family domaine, but she wanted her own experience first. So she studied enology and worked at two of Champagne’s most revered – and technically demanding – houses: Ruinart and Krug. These are not grower Champagnes and you might think that the experience would move her in a non-grower direction. 

But when she came home, she had a plan: She told her father she wanted to make wine from the Ludes terroir she’d grown up in. This wouldn’t be a Grande Marques style blend, but her own expression of the specific place. Her philosophy is simple and bold: one year, one terroir, one wine. She has worked to express her vision, applying the technical chops she was exposed to at Ruinart and Krug, and sharing her husband’s small-scale, Grower ethos and passion. 

Pauline’s 2019 is a turning point. It’s the first vintage that reflects the full scope of her vision: a selection of old vines, naturally farmed and fermented with native yeast in oak barrels from Meursault. The blend—65% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, and 5% Petit Meslier—was aged more than four years on the lees. But rather than aging it under crown cap (basically, a beer cap which makes a very tight seal and doesn’t transmit oxygen) like most Champagnes do, Pauline sealed it under cork. The cork closure allows a tiny amount of oxygen exchange, which gives the wine a special, richer evolution.

The resulting wine is astonishingly complete. Pinot Noir drives the texture, Chardonnay adds precision, and the rare Petit Meslier (an ancient variety prized for retaining acidity in warm years – and now in a warming climate) lends lift and aromatic edge. There’s vinous depth and serious structure, but also something graceful and quiet. This is a wine that reveals itself slowly, and rewards attention. 

The release is tiny: just under 10,000 bottles total, very few of which came to California. But we got just enough to be able to share this incredible treat with our Extra Brut friends – and we just couldn’t turn down the opportunity. We hope you are as excited about the wine as we are. 

Where Pauline is launching something new, carved out of a family domaine, Mathilde Margaine is evolving something classic and already much-esteemed in her own direction—careful to preserve what the generations before her built.

Mathilde is the first woman to step into a leadership role at her family’s five-generation Champagne house. Like Pauline, she returned to her home domaine after seeking her own education out in the world. But in Mathilde’s case, that training included a master’s degree in international wine trade, jobs in Australia and the Netherlands, and even time in New York. She brought that experience back to Villers-Marmery, where she now works alongside her parents—making her mark while honoring the family’s traditions and legacy.

Margaine’s wines are both deeply traditional and a true rarity. The family’s home village is a shocking outlier in the Montagne de Reims: while the Montagne is famous for Pinot Noir, Villers-Marmery is a pocket of brilliant Chardonnay surrounded by Pinot vineyards.

The uniqueness goes deeper than the variety. The local clone of Chardonnay grown here isn’t found anywhere else in Champagne and, together with the particular mix of chalk and clay in their soils, produce wines that are rounder and more immediately inviting than the taut, linear styles of the Côte des Blancs. But make no mistake: these are still precise, still unmistakably Champagne.

Mathilde’s worldly experience now informs how she approaches this distinctive terroir. She knows how rare and special her family’s project is—and how beloved it is by Champagne lovers around the world. Her changes aren’t radical. She’s building on strong foundations: tightening already-sustainable farming, refining techniques to bring out texture and , and taking precision up a notch.

The Le Brut NV is a beautiful window into that transition. Made from 86% Chardonnay and 14% Pinot Noir, it uses a very high percentage of reserve wines (66%) from four vintages (2012, 2018–2020) and was aged over two years on the lees before disgorgement. Fermented entirely in stainless steel, with partial malolactic fermentation (about ⅔ of the wine, which brings a balanced acidity) , and finished with a dosage of 7g/L, it pitches old-school Champagne pleasure alongside site-driven character.

There’s something quietly distinctive about Margaine’s wines. They aren’t trying to impress with power or scale. But they are deeply pleasurable, elegant, and original. And that’s no accident—it’s the result of vines perfectly suited to their place, and a winemaker who knows how to listen to them.