News
Champagne Mandois Expands Its Range with Single-Vineyard Cuvées and a Debut Ratafia
The Pierry-based family house, now in its ninth generation, has released new mono-cru and single-varietal expressions alongside its first-ever ratafia.
What happened
Champagne Mandois, the family house based in Pierry, has announced the release of a new set of mono-cru and single-varietal cuvées, together with the house's first ratafia. The releases mark a notable expansion of the range from a producer whose identity has long been shaped by a close relationship with Chardonnay.
Why it matters
For a house now in its ninth generation of family ownership, these additions carry considerable weight. Mandois has historically placed Chardonnay at the centre of its work, and the new single-vineyard and single-varietal expressions deepen that commitment, allowing the character of individual parcels and grape varieties to speak with greater precision. The arrival of a ratafia — a fortified marc-based liqueur produced in Champagne — is a further milestone: it is the first time the house has released such a product, broadening its portfolio beyond sparkling wine and signalling a willingness to explore the full breadth of what the region can offer.
Taken together, the releases suggest a house that, far from resting on a long-established reputation, continues to interrogate and articulate its own terroir with fresh rigour.
Context
Pierry sits within the Côte des Blancs, a part of Champagne long associated with Chardonnay cultivation, which lends particular resonance to Mandois's varietal focus. The house's nine generations of family stewardship place it among the more enduring independent producers in the region, where consolidation has steadily reduced the number of houses remaining in founding-family hands.
Ratafia de Champagne is a traditional regional product, distinct from the appellation's sparkling wines, made by blending grape must with marc spirit. Its production sits outside the main Champagne appellation rules, yet it remains closely tied to the culture and raw materials of the region. For Mandois, releasing a ratafia for the first time represents both a nod to that tradition and a new chapter in the house's history.