Claude Mandois

In 1982, he joined the Pierry estate and made Brut Origine, the first champagne of his tenure there, without help from his father or grandfather. That wine remains central to how Claude Mandois describes assembly: "The blending of Brut Origine is one of the most rewarding aspects of my role as cellar master." The line is plain, and that is the point. It places blending where the work actually happens: in one wine, one decision at a time, with Brut Origine as the first proof of his own hand at the estate.

The cellar method is traditional: indigenous yeasts, vinification in foudres or small vats, and very light filtration. The house also works plot by plot with stainless steel, concrete tulip tanks, wooden foudres, and oak vessels, so each stage of the process has its own material setting rather than a single uniform path. Blending is one of his defining skills, tied to a low-dosage style of Champagne that aims to stay fresh and full-bodied.

The balance is consistent throughout: less dosage without losing breadth, freshness without thinning the wine, and plot-by-plot work without breaking the final composition.

Today, he is president of Champagne Mandois in Pierry. The title marks a career that began inside the same estate in 1982 and continued through farming choices, vessel choices, and the discipline of assembling Champagne over time. Vertus 2020 extends that arc in another direction: a champagne made as a tribute to a founding terroir. Set beside Brut Origine, it gives the career a clear pair of markers — the first champagne he made on arrival, and a later wine that looks back to origin through place.

His own description of the method stays practical: "The winemaking approach is traditional, utilizing indigenous yeasts, vinification in foudres or small vats, and very light filtration." For Claude Mandois, the route from first blend to presidency has been built through decisions that remain visible in the wines themselves.

Claude's signature wines include Brut Origine and Vertus 2020.