The Mangin story reads like a case study in Champagne's evolution. Gabriel and Fernande Mangin started in the early 20th century making red wine (yes, still red wine in Champagne), selling it from their café in Le Chêne La Reine—the hamlet's only meeting place. As Champagne's star rose globally, they pivoted to growing grapes for the big houses, with Krug as their prized client.

Their children René and Andrée saw opportunities where their parents saw steady, if paltry, income. They closed the café, stopped making red wine, and launched Champagne Mangin-Bertrand. By the 1980s, third-generation Bernard and Françoise were bottling serious volumes as Champagne Mangin & Fils. Each generation built on the last: better viticulture and smarter winemaking begat an ever-growing reputation.

Now Cédric Mangin runs the show with just four full-time employees and a laser focus: showcase what Pinot Meunier can do when you stop treating it like Champagne's third wheel. Their ten hectares in Leuvrigny and Moussy sit on the Paris Basin's limestone subsoil, overlaid with chalk, clay, and marl—classic Marne Valley terroir that makes Meunier from producers like Egly-Ouriet so coveted.

This Brut Nature blends 2021 base wine with 30% reserve wines, creating complexity while maintaining freshness. Zero dosage means nothing masks the wine's character—just pure Meunier expression after two-plus years on the lees. 

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT

• The Krug Connection: When your family's grapes were good enough for one of Champagne's most prestigious houses, you know you're sitting on special terroir. Now you get to taste what Krug was buying to boost Grande Cuvée’s body and breadth—at a tiny fraction of the price.
  

• 100% Meunier Mastery: 100% Meunier Champagne has more personality than most Chardonnay-based bottles; it’s earthy, chocolaty, bold yet precise.
  

• True Brut Nature: Zero dosage is a statement; it’s a way to show off the inherent quality of your fruit without using sugar as a crutch. With fruit this good from Marne Valley terroir this expressive, you’ll taste the limestone, the chalk, the pure expression of place accented with an enticing citrus-oil appeal. 

HOW TO SERVE IT

• Serve properly cold at 42-45°F. Use white wine glasses, not flutes: those grapefruit and rich, nutty aromas need some real estate to unfurl.
  

• Drink now through 2030. While it's electric right out of the gate, Meunier-based Champagnes develop beautiful complexity with a few years of bottle age.
  

• Brilliant with oysters, sashimi, or seared scallops finished with a little white wine and cream.