A deeply terroir-driven Pinot Noir from the village of Écueil
Some Champagnes are crafted like great still wines — wines of terroir, texture, and time. “Mont Âme Migerats” 2015, often simply called MAM, from the Lacourte-Godbillon family, is unmistakably one of them.
Produced in tiny quantities from old Pinot Noir vines in the Premier Cru village of Écueil, this is a Champagne built around terroir, patience, and precision.
At The French Paradox, these are the bottles we love most: wines that do not simply sparkle, but truly speak.
Lacourte-Godbillon – a grower’s philosophy
At Lacourte-Godbillon, the vineyard is always at the centre of the conversation.
The family works as récoltant-manipulants — grower-producers who vinify exclusively from their own grapes — allowing for a direct connection between soil, grape, and finished wine. Their philosophy combines organic farming, minimal intervention, and a strong focus on parcel expression.
Rather than seeking a uniform “house style,” they allow each cuvée to reflect its origin as clearly as possible.
MAM is perhaps the purest expression of that philosophy.
Écueil – Pinot Noir on chalk and clay
The Montagne de Reims is often considered the spiritual home of Pinot Noir in Champagne, and Écueil is one of its most compelling villages.
Here, chalk soils covered with layers of clay create wines that combine tension with depth. Chalk brings freshness and minerality, while clay contributes texture and structure.
The grapes used for MAM come from two specific parcels — Mont Âme in Les Mesneux and Migerats in Écueil — planted in the early 1960s through massal selection. These old vines naturally produce lower yields, concentrating flavour and complexity.
100% Pinot Noir – but not in the expected way
MAM is built entirely from Pinot Noir from Écueil, yet it moves away from the richer, more obvious expression often associated with the grape.
Instead, it focuses on precision and texture. The fruit is present, but never dominant. What emerges instead is a wine shaped by soil, ageing, and subtle oxidative complexity.
This is Pinot Noir interpreted through Champagne terroir rather than through power.
Vinification by gravity and oak from Écueil
Every detail of the winemaking reflects a search for purity.
The wine is vinified in oak barrels made from trees originating from the forest of Écueil itself — a rare and deeply symbolic choice, reinforcing the connection between the wine and its environment.
The must and wine are worked entirely by gravity, without pumping, preserving delicacy and texture. The wine is neither fined nor filtered, allowing it to retain its natural depth and energy.
Nothing here feels rushed or industrial. Everything is built around patience.
Six years on lees – the importance of time
After bottling, MAM spent six years ageing in the cellar under cork, followed by an additional year after disgorgement.
This extended ageing transforms the Champagne profoundly. The bubbles become finer, the texture more integrated, and the aromatics more layered. Fresh fruit evolves into notes of dried citrus, spice, toasted hazelnut, and chalky minerality.
Time is not simply part of the process here — it is one of the ingredients.
The 2015 vintage – generosity with structure
The 2015 vintage in Champagne brought ripe fruit and concentration, but in a terroir like Écueil, freshness and mineral tension remained essential.
In MAM, the vintage expresses itself through depth and generosity, balanced by the precision of the chalk soils and the long ageing. The palate feels broad yet focused, with remarkable persistence and a saline finish that keeps the wine vibrant.
It is a Champagne that unfolds slowly, revealing different layers with air and temperature.
More than Champagne
“Mont Âme Migerats” 2015 is not a Champagne designed for simple aperitif moments. It is a gastronomic wine — contemplative, textural, and deeply connected to its terroir.
It reflects a broader movement within Champagne: the return to single parcels, old vines, minimal intervention, and wines that express origin above all else.
A Champagne of terroir and patience
In the end, MAM 2015 feels less like a sparkling wine and more like a conversation between vineyard, time, and craftsmanship.
It is a Champagne that rewards attention, revealing not just fruit and bubbles, but the quiet complexity of Écueil itself — chalk, clay, Pinot Noir, and six years of patience captured in a single bottle.
GLASSES ¦ Champagne Flutes by Lehmann Glass (box of 6 flutes)
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