Almost two years ago, we had the pleasure of visiting Les Frères Mignon at their winery in Cramant, patiently waiting for the wines since. With vines in some of our favorite Champagne terroirs, they work in a patient, unadulterated fashion and deliver a high-wire style—balancing chalky fruit that seems to vibrate with an embrace of oxygen through long aging (there’s a good reason they’re featured on the list at Selosse’s Les Avisés).

If that sounds exciting, there’s great news: the wines are finally here.

If Les Frères Mignon looks or sounds familiar, it’s because their first vintage (2016) was in New York for about five minutes. The wines were gobbled up by those who were excited (like us) and, sadly, not seen again—until now.

That absence starts to make sense once you learn about the work of brothers Florent and Julien Mignon, who inherited 8.5 hectares of vines from their parents. The heart of the holdings is Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs (Avize, Cramant, Cuis). But the Pinot they do have comes from one of our favorite places for it: Cumières.

Florent and Julien took their inheritance seriously. From implementing organics in the vineyard to building their winery in the village of Cramant, there have been no shortcuts in launching the domaine.

That long-term thinking clearly extends to the cellar. While many new producers rush to market, the Mignon brothers are committed to the detail that time brings to Champagne. All the wines are spontaneously fermented, and almost everything is raised in 255–600 liter barrels: the 1er Cru bottlings (Cumières and Cuis) see a year in wood, while the Grand Crus (Avize and Cramant) see a rare two years before bottling. Since 2020, they’ve been building a perpetual blend from these four terroirs. And the latest addition to this patient approach: as of ’21, all of the wines (except L’Aventure) are aged under cork.

The finished wines are built in the fashion of today’s most exciting new names—zero additions, and unafraid of texture, acid, or oxygen.

Each of these decisions is impressive on its own. Together, they convey just how serious these two are about making world-class Champagne.

2019 Les Freres Mignon L'Aventure Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Extra Brut $90   $85 for 3+ bottles, $80 for 6+ bottles
Chardonnay from Avize, Cramant and Cuis; aged on the lees 32 months, 3.2g/l dosage.

2020 Les Freres Mignon 'Cumières' Premier Cru Extra Brut, $120 Charonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier from Cumieres; aged on the lees 42 months, 3.5g/l dosage.

2019 Les Freres Mignon 'Cuis' Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Extra Brut, $135 Chardonnay from Cuis; aged on the lees 53 months, 2.4g/l dosage.

2018 Les Freres Mignon Cramant Grand Cru Extra Brut Millesime, $150 Very limited / 1 bottle per customer. Chardonnay from Caramant; aged on the lees 66 months, 1.6g/l dosage.

2018 Les Freres Mignon Le Chemin de Paradis Grand Cru Avize Extra Brut, $195 Very limited / 1 bottle per customer. Chardonnay from Avize; aged on the lees 67 months.

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