DUMANGIN Batch 020 Invergordon 1986 48.2% 700ml

The Dumangin family's wine-growing roots in Ludes — adjacent to today's estate — trace back to Firmin Dumangin, born in 1645. Champagne production under the Dumangin name was established in the 1890s by Hippolyte Dumangin in Chigny-les-Roses, the Premier Cru village on the Montagne de Reims that has remained the family's base since. In 1960, Maurice Dumangin and his three sons — Jean, Guy and Jacky — formed M. Dumangin Fils to consolidate sales and pursue export. The brothers each became independent in 1978; Jean's sons Laurent and François founded the current EARL Jean Dumangin entity in 1991, both qualified in viticulture and oenology.

The estate vineyards are concentrated in Chigny-les-Roses, a 1er Cru classification on the slopes of the Montagne de Reims. The Champagne range follows the standard méthode champenoise: hand-harvest, gentle press, parcel-by-parcel vinification, 36-month minimum bottle ageing for the Brut Reserve. The production approach emphasises long lees ageing and the vineyard-specific character of Premier Cru sites over the more uniform mass-market style of larger Champagne houses.

Beyond Champagne, Dumangin has built a secondary spirits range that is unusual for a Champagne house. The Fine de Champagne is a cognac-style brandy made from distilled Champagne-region base wine, aged in oak (with experimental finishing in Chassagne-Montrachet rouge and Bordeaux Graves rouge barrels). The Vieux Marc de Champagne is the regional grappa-equivalent. The Ratafia is a partially-fermented mistelle of grape must and Fine de Champagne, aged 3+ years. And in recent years Dumangin has launched independent bottlings of Single Malt and Single Grain Scotch at 46% under their own label — Batch 001 (single malt), Batch 002 (single grain), Batch 005 Bourbon Rye finish — adding an independent-bottler dimension to the house.