Benoît Marguet is one of Champagne’s most singular and eccentric grower-producers: an Ambonnay native whose path included plenty of oenology work for local champagne houses, an oenology post at Mumm in Napa Valley, a stint in Washington State with Paul Hobbs, and as sommelier for the French Military in Paris before returning to his family’s seven-hectare estate. Beginning in 2004, he rebuilt the domaine around a holistic vineyard-to-cellar philosophy, converting it to organic and then biodynamic farming—an especially demanding commitment in Champagne’s cool, wet climate. The estate was fully organic by 2011; Marguet works with horses, painstakingly farms each parcel, and is known for an unusually personal connection to his vines, to say the least.

The 2020 “Les Crayères” Ambonnay Grand Cru is a scarce, single-vineyard Brut Nature Champagne from 1.35 hectares of shallow clay-limestone soil over white Campanian chalk. Planted in 1958 and 1974, the parcel yields a blend of 67% Chardonnay and 33% Pinot Noir, vinified in old oak with native yeasts and finished without dosage. Just 1,548 bottles were produced. The warm 2020 vintage gives the wine a ripe core of citrus, orchard fruit, and stone fruit, but Les Crayères’ chalk soils preserve its defining saline, smoky, mineral edge; James Suckling awarded it 95 points and Vinous’ Anne Krebiehl MW gave it 94.

Why You’ll Love It

• A genuinely rare, vineyard-specific Ambonnay Champagne: only 1,548 bottles were made.

• Delivers Chardonnay lift and chalky precision alongside Ambonnay Pinot Noir’s depth, spice, and texture.

• Brut Nature and low-intervention in character, with vivid notes of bitter lemon, pear skin, sourdough, oyster shell, pepper, and salt.

How to Serve It

• Serve at 50–54°F—cool, but not ice-cold—to let its fruit, barrel texture, and chalk detail emerge.

• Use a large white-wine or Bordeaux stem rather than a narrow flute; give it 15–30 minutes of air after opening.

• Pair with oysters, scallops, lobster, roast chicken with morels, turbot, or aged Comté; it will be compelling now but should become more complex through 2028–2035.