Grower CHAMPAGNE vs. Grandes Marques - Can I taste the difference?

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I use this wine key: Forge de Laguiole Ebony
I have used this glass in this Video: Riedel Vinum Champagne
I have tasted the following wines in this Video:
Egly-Ouriet Les Vignes de Vrigny Premier Cru Brut, Champagne, France#
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/eg...

2006 Pierre Moncuit Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Millesime, Champagne, France
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/pi...

Piper-Heidsieck Essentiel Cuvee Extra Brut
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/pi...

2017 Marguet Pere & Fils Ambonnay Grand Cru Extra Brut Rose
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/ma...

The 100 Point Scoring System (from www.robertparker.com):
96-100: An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase, and consume.
90 - 95: An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines.
80 - 89: A barely above average to very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor as well as character with no noticeable flaws.
70 - 79: An average wine with little distinction except that it is soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine.
60 - 69: A below-average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavor or possibly dirty aromas or flavors.
50 - 59: A wine deemed to be unacceptable.

The epic battle between David and Goliath, the giant vs the regular person, Rocky vs Apollo Creed is a story that appeals to us as we all feel like the underdog sometimes. This is one of the reasons why there is growing interest in Grower Champagne. These Champagnes are produced by small independent Vignerons that handle everything from the vineyard to the cellar as opposed to the Grande Marques that purchase grapes in order to make vast amounts of standardized Champagnes.

For today Leon picked 3 Grower Champagnes and one Grande Marque and I will taste & rate them and try to identify which ones are the Davids and which one is the Goliath… Most people have heard of the big Champagne Brands like Moet & Chandon, Veuve Cliquot, and Ruinart. Few consumers know that these three are all owned by LVMH - a French multinational holding. Other famous Champagne brands are also large-scale producers like Louis Roederer, Taittinger, and Bollinger.

They are so big that – while they usually own large vineyards - they cannot source all of the grapes required to produce millions of bottles from their own vineyards and therefore have to buy grapes from other sources. In the second half of the 20th century, vintner-winemakers started to promote the fact that they are small and different and Grower Champagne developed into a counter-movement to the big brands that used to and still do dominate the region.

A real grower Champagne can be identified by the abbreviation RM which stands for Récoltant-Manipulant or Vintner-Winemaker but there are some smaller producers that also purchase grapes and make wines that would be considered Grower Champagne. The key here seems to be that they are small-scale, artisanal producers that focus more on the terroir of their vineyards and are less interested in producing homogenous mass market bubbles.

But this is obviously not very clear-cut. These producers are legally identified by the abbreviation NM - Négociant manipulant or merchant winemaker – just like the big brands but their philosophy would be more in line with Grower Champagne producers … So if you want to make sure that you are getting pure Grower Champagne then check for the abbreviation RM and if you want to drink Champagne from a small producer then talk to them or research them. I don’t think Grower Champagne is generally better than the big houses. I actually still think that the big houses produce better Champagnes at the top level.

Grower Champagnes can, however, be more interesting and just different. I have three real grower Champagnes and one widely distributed NM Champagne in the lineup and they could cost roughly the same. That’s all I know.

I am going to taste the wines to see which ones are good and which ones aren’t and I am trying to find out whether you can actually taste the Grower in Champagne.