In recent years, a number of similar trade fairs, galas, and festivals focusing on champagne and/or sparkling wine have emerged in Germany. Of these, “Einhundert Prozent Champagne” has undoubtedly become the most significant. This is partly due to the event being divided into a public Sunday and a trade visitor Monday. The second reason is the quasi “dual-track” organization of the fair by the Meininger publishing house as the organizer. Behind the professional event team is Sascha Speicher, one of Germany’s leading champagne connoisseurs, who has unparalleled connections in both the French champagne and German sommelier scenes.
Six so-called “Chef’s Tables” made their debut in 2025, offering special tastings of rare champagnes in small groups. The themes were top cuvées from Champagne Bollinger, Laurent-Perrier, Fleur de Miraval, Roederer, Bruno Paillard, and Jacquesson. As I am reporting on this exclusively for Meininger Verlag, I will not go into further detail on Sur-la-pointe. But here are at least my top 10 from the general section. As always at trade fairs, I gave priority to new discoveries over familiar ones in my selection. This applies in particular to Champagne Roederer, Leclerc-Briant, Ablelé, Franck Bonville, and Le Brun de Neuville, who also presented some great champagnes.
1 Vazart-Coquart Blanc de Blancs Chouilly Grand Cru Special Club 2016
Founded in 1954, the Vazart-Coquart champagne house is a leading producer of grower champagnes in the Grand Cru commune of Chouilly. It is one of the few producers in the northern Côte des Blancs that also grows some Pinot Noir. But the focus is, of course, on Chardonnay. For me, the highlight here was the Special Club, the bottling for the exclusive winegrowers’ association “Club Trésors de Champagne.” These bottlings are considered the prestige cuvées of the respective members. In this case, it is a vintage mono cru, Grand Cru Chouilly 2016 from the Le Mont Aigu and La Cerisière parcels. Aged in steel tanks, the malolactic fermentation is ongoing, and bottle fermentation takes place under natural cork. Disgorging is done by hand “à la volée” with a very low dosage (1.1 grams). This interprets the precise, salty-chalky aromas of a Blanc de Blancs from Chouilly in both a reductive and oxidative style. A combination of precision and generosity that is very successful (93 P.).
2. Domaine Vincey Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru Auge Blanc de Blancs 2020 Brut nature
Domaine Vincey is a young winery from an old winemaking family in Oger that has been producing its own champagne since 2014. The owners, Marine and Quentin Vincey, have 7 hectares in Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and Chouilly. The vineyards are cultivated biodynamically, and intervention in the cellar is kept to a minimum. The style is determined by the chalky soils of the Côte des Blancs as well as by the aging in barriques. The Burgundian philosophy prevails in the winery: one grape variety, one location, one vintage. And indeed, the three single vineyard wines presented are impressive. From 2020, “Le Grand Jardin” from Oger and “Chemin de Châlons” from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger were presented. I found the wine from the Lieu-dit Auge in the eastern part of Le Mesnil to be the most impressive. Citrus, apples, and a hint of vanilla on the nose, but also a strong spiciness that continues on the palate. Ripe and slightly creamy on the palate, with good length (93 points).
3 Aurore Casanova Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru Chardonnay “Malo” Extra-Brut
Champagne Aurore Casanova is a young house. But it has a history that makes the hearts of journalists, merchants, and consumers beat faster. The co-founder of the same name had an international ballet career before returning to Champagne. Trained at the wine school in Avize, she then apprenticed with Fabrice Pouillon for two years. Together with her partner Jean-Baptiste Robinet, she founded Champagne Aurore Casanova in Mardeuil, where her parents also grew grapes. Their 4.5 hectares of vineyards in 22 plots are leased by family members, with the Grand Cru sites in Puisieulx (via the maternal family) and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger (by the Robinet family) standing out in particular. Aurore Casanova presented three impressive single-vineyard champagnes (as well as the Assemblage Union). The Lieu-dit “Malo” from Le Mesnil (from 2021, 2019, 2017, dég. April 2024) was outstanding. Despite short bottle fermentation, it was enormously complex, dense, with electrifying acidity (96 P.). My “Coup de cœur” and the biggest surprise of the fair.
4 Jacquesson Avize Champ-Gaïn 2014 Extra-Brut
The Jacquesson house also hosted a “Chef’s Table” that focused on comparing the classic 700 bottlings with their variants with longer bottle fermentation (DT). This was pretty impressive. And at the same time reassuring, because Benjamin Vitrac, sales manager at Champagne Jacquesson since 1998, presented the wines. That’s because in 2024, the Artemis Group (François Pinault) took over Jacquesson from the Chiquet family (more here). Vitrac’s commitment to continuity was certainly a relief to friends of the house. In Munich, the Maison also presented one of its single-vineyard champagnes. The Blanc de Blancs Champ Caïn Extra Brut comes from a 1.3-hectare plot in Avize. The 2014 vintage was slightly more open than its 2013 predecessor (here). Nevertheless, it displays an almost razor-sharp style. Pale, with yellow-green reflections in the glass and precise acidity on the palate. An enormously fresh, vertical champagne with a salty finish (95 P.)
5 Tarlant La Vigne D’Antan Brut Nature 2006 Non greffée
Benoît Tarlant, one of the great innovators of Champagne, came to Munich. In fact, he had continued the pioneering work that his father Jean-Mary Tarlant had begun in the early 1980s with the introduction of Dosage-Zéro champagnes. Just a few years ago, his son Benoît bottled a good 80% without dosage. Today, all the champagnes he had with him in Munich fell into the Brut nature category. Single vineyard wines were also bottled separately here at an early stage, a trend that Benoît Tarlant has been promoting since 2003. The winemaker from Oeuilly in the Vallée de la Marne brought four of them with him. The most impressive – and just ahead of an amazing Vigne Royale from 2007 – was the Vigne D’Antan. The champagne comes from ungrafted Chardonnay vines that survived phylloxera thanks to the sandy soil in the “Les Sables” plot. The Chardonnay displays a complexity that was hardly thought possible in the Marne Valley. A champagne like Buddha: rich, deep and serene (96 P.).
Tarlant’s Le Vigne d’Antan. A champagne like Buddha: rich, deep and serene.
6 Geoffroy Les Tiersaudes 2019 Brut nature
Champagne Geoffroy was the third top producer from Aӱ, alongside Deutz and Bollinger, to present its wines in Munich. However, the house has only been based here since 2008. The family has its roots in Cumières, 10 kilometers down the Marne. There, in the westernmost Premier Cru of the Vallée de la Marne, lies the majority of the house’s vineyards, covering 11 of the 14 hectares. The mono-crus from Cumières that Geoffroy brought with him ranged between the extremes of powerful and complex – Blanc de Blancs Volupté 2017 and Terre 2015 (75PN, 25Ch) – and racy and precise – Empreinte Blanc de Noirs 2017. Nevertheless, this time around, the single-varietal Meunier from the single vineyard Les Tiersaudes, planted in 1972, came out on top for me. Partially aged in wood, which gives the champagne a beautiful texture and structure. The aromas remain wonderfully pure and fresh, without the excessive fruitiness of Meuniers from young vines (94 P.).
7 Hommage à William Deutz Parcelle d’Aӱ Grand Cru La Côte Glacière 2018
The prestige of a wine fair from the exhibitors’ point of view is also reflected in the bottles that are opened during the presentation. Judging by this, the status of “One Hundred Percent Champagne” seems to be very high at Maison Dutz. The classic Prestige Cuvée William Deutz has recently been seen only very rarely in presentations in Germany. The very successful current 2014 vintage was presented here. The Rosé Millésimé 2019 was also very stylish. Above all, however, the two single-vineyard champagnes from the Hommage à William Deutz series were also available for tasting, albeit only on request. Both, Meurtet and La Côte Glacière, are pure Pinot Noirs Blancs de Noirs. The hot 2018 vintage once again demonstrates how well the chalky soil in Aӱ can retain moisture. Both champagnes are fresh and precise. Meurtet is perhaps a little more accessible, while La Côte Glacière is slightly more structured and has more reserves (94-95 P.).
8 R. Pouillon & Fils Mareuil sur Aӱ Les Blanciens Premier Cru Brut Nature 2018
Among the producers of winemaker champagnes, Fabrice Pouillon is an intellectual. For him, winegrowing is about convictions and values; his way of producing champagne means, in his words, “tracing a path to freedom.” He has been cultivating his vineyards biodynamically since 2003. In the cellar, he has a whole range of fermentation vessels at his disposal, including stainless steel, terracotta amphorae, wooden barrels of all sizes, and cement eggs. Pouillon’s best plots are located in Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aӱ. Although this is actually Pinot Noir land, one of his best champagnes, Les Valnons from Aÿ, is a Blanc de Blancs. Les Blanciens from Mareuil-sur-Aӱ, the estate’s “DNA wine,” is a blend of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay. It is amazing how much radiant acidity this champagne from the hot 2018 vintage has. Just released and still a little restless, but dense, focused and with a delicately bitter phenolic character, it is very promising (94 P).
9 Pommery Cuvée Louise Brut 2006
Pommery is probably not the number one trend brand among German sommeliers. This is due to the decline of the once legendary brand in the last century. It began slowly after the death of the widow (Louise) Pommery in 1890, then accelerated rapidly in 1979 when the house changed hands several times after being sold by the family. In 2002, the Vranken Monopole group, owned by entrepreneur Paul-François Vranken, acquired Pommery. The new owners seem to have remembered the brand’s great tradition and are making some encouraging moves, for example with the Apanage line. The Prestige Cuvée Louise, which began with the 1979 vintage, is fascinating because it is one of the longest-aged “regular” champagnes on the market. The current 2006 vintage is a resounding success and shows currently very strong. It is clearly characterized by autolytic notes and, typical of the vintage, almost lavish in its fruit aromas. But it still has good acidity and is dense and complex (95 P.).
10 Benoît Lahaye Rosé de Macération
Many people are familiar with the situation. The trade fair is over, everyone is slightly exhausted, but you’re still standing around chatting. And then someone brings a few bottles to the table that immediately wake you up again. In this case, it was importer Sébastien Visentin who, in addition to the Champagne Jacquesson he officially represents, opened a few other “bonuses.” The Rosé de Macération from Champagne Benoît Lahaye in Bouzy was very impressive. Its label displays cool understatement. It does not mention that this is a vintage champagne (here: 2016). Nor does it state that the wine comes from a single vineyard, specifically 100 percent Pinot Noir from the Les Juliennes vineyard in Bouzy. Three days of maceration before pressing, followed by aging partly in wooden barrels and partly in amphorae. Very spicy, slightly phenolic, powerful, and with racy acidity (93 P.). A true Rosé de Terroir!
The six Chef’s Tables
An article about “One Hundred Percent Champagne” 2025 would be incomplete without at least a picture of the six special tastings. A link will be provided as soon as the corresponding articles are online at Meininger-Verlag.
Image rights
Stefan Pegatzky / Time Tunnel Images
