Our History
The Jean Dumangin Champagne House cultivates all the qualities of the Champagne terroirs with passion.
The family vineyard is located in Chigny-les-Roses, a historical district classified Premier Cru nestling on the slopes of the Montagne de Reims. The name Chigny-les-Roses is relatively recent. Emile Loubet, erstwhile President of the Republic, decided in 1902 to ratify the change of name from Chigny-en-Montagne to Chigny-les-Roses, justified by the presence in the village of a famous rose garden, greatly admired by its many visitors.
The Jean Dumangin Champagne has very deep roots. The current family represents the eleventh generation. It is possible to go back with certainty to Firmin Dumangin – a wine grower in Ludes, born in 1645 – to find the first traces of the family’s wine-making origins.
It was in the second part of the 17th century that the winemakers began to produce a white wine called “vin gris”, obtained using an appropriate pressing of black grapes with a colourless flesh. It was also the period when Dom Pérignon, the monk and cellar master at the Benedictine Abbey of Hautvillers, discovered how to put the sparkle into wine between 1668 and 1715, along with the art of blending grapes before pressing them.
The first Champagne Houses were founded in 1729, thanks to the grapes supplied by the wine growers. A century and a half later, spurred on by Hippolyte Dumangin, the family got a headstart by making its first bottles in 1895 and putting them on the market, at a time when the sale of grapes to the merchants in Champagne was slow. It was then that commercialisation got off to a great start under the “Hte Dumangin” brand. Unfortunately this came to a brutal halt with the phylloxera plague that destroyed the vineyard. Hippolyte restored it to its former glory with the help of his sons, Alcide and Achille. The latter personalised the brand in 1909 with the label “Ach Dumangin”, but saw a fall in sales with the Great War, followed by the economic crisis in the 30s.
The Baby Boom years revitalized the House’s sales. Then in 1960, Maurice, Achille’s son, developed its shipments with his three sons, Jean, Guy and Jacky, under the “M. Dumangin Fils” brand.
The creation of a company in 1963, bringing the three brothers together, made it possible to sell the whole harvest and tap the export market. Italy, then Belgium contributed to the brand’s excellent reputation in particular.
This development was linked to the quality and care the company took for the wine-making process, with the 1964 vintage becoming the House’s flagship vintage. To such an extent that, with prudence and diversification in mind, sales to Italy had to be restricted.
The three brothers each took their independence in 1978, keeping their surname on the label preceded by their first names.
Jean’s two sons, Laurent and François, both graduated in wine growing and oenology, developed the brand with the creation of the “E.A.R.L Jean DUMANGIN” company in 1991. Since then they have expanded their vineyards into the Vitry-le-François area, with its chalky soil specifically dedicated to the chardonnay variety. This investment helped the House to diversify, with the development of the “Blanc de Blancs Terroir” range.
The Jean Dumangin Champagne House has never ceased to invest in improving and modernising its facilities – a drive that can be seen in the numerous initiatives taken, such as the fitting out of cellars on three levels in 1974. The year 2000 marked a new stage with the construction of a fermenting room equipped with a Coquard automated plate wine press, one of the very best for making champagne, and the installation of heat-regulated stainless steel tanks.
This dynamism continued in 2014 with the renovation of the offices and the creation of a reception and tasting area for the clients. The constant improvement in the range’s quality above all involves particular attention being paid to the protection of the vines and respect for the environment. The Jean Dumangin Champagne House cultivates its vineyards using sustainable methods, keeping the use of plant-care products to a minimum and paying the closest attention to working the soil. The greatest care is taken with sorting the grapes when harvesting, which is only carried out when the crop is absolutely ripe. In April 2016, The Jean Dumangin Champagne House obtained the High Environmental Value certification.
Since the 60s, the family estate has been developing its sales not only on the export market but also at the cellars. The many medals won at renowned competitions, in particular Gold and Silver ones at the ‘Concours Mondial de Bruxelles’ (including a Great Gold Medal in 2007 for its Brut Réserve Blancs de Blancs and a Revelation Award in 2017 for its Brut Millésime 2009 Premier Cru) contribute to making the brand well-known abroad.
The House now exports 75 % of its produce, essentially to Europe and the United States.
With a surface area of 8.5 hectares, the Jean Dumangin Champagne House achieves a subtle balance in its blends making it possible to give a specific style to each Cuvée thanks to a smart choice of wines from different plots. Prolonged ageing contributes to improving the wines by bringing them to their optimum maturity.
At Champagne Jean Dumangin, everyone has a well-defined mission with a shared ambition: taking the range upmarket and increasing shipments to third-country markets.
