Montgueux: Champagne's Best-Kept Secret
Hélène Beaugrand makes champagne from one of the most intriguing terroirs in the entire region: Montgueux, a 200-hectare cru just 10 kilometres from Troyes, sometimes called the "Montrachet of Champagne." The comparison is not idle flattery; it reflects the genuine quality of Chardonnay that this unique terroir can produce.
Montgueux sits on calcareous soils shot through with veins of silex (flint), and its south-southeast exposure gives the vines abundant sunlight throughout the growing season. The result is Chardonnay with an aromatic intensity and tropical richness that you rarely find elsewhere in Champagne.
Hélène grew up in the Aube, studied oenology in Burgundy, and then travelled the winemaking world, working vintages in South Africa, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United States. She returned home in 2018 to carve out her own estate, selecting the best 3 hectares of family vineyards in Montgueux to launch her independent Récoltant Manipulant label.
The vineyards are farmed without herbicides, following organic practices that respect the soil's natural balance. For anyone who thinks they know what Blanc de Blancs tastes like, Hélène Beaugrand is the kind of producer who will pleasantly upend that assumption.
Chalk, Flint, and World-Travelled Winemaking
With 90% of her plantings in Chardonnay, Hélène's range is a deep and focused exploration of what this grape can do on Montgueux's unique soils. The chalk provides the classic mineral framework that Blanc de Blancs lovers recognise, while the flint adds a smoky, flinty edge that gives the wines a distinctive signature note you will not find on the Côte des Blancs.
It is a combination that produces champagnes of striking complexity: fresh and precise, but also generous and aromatic in a way that cooler northern sites approach differently. Every bottle is aged for a minimum of 36 months on the lees, developing fine bubbles, creamy texture, and layered aromas that unfold gradually.
The Derrière La Cabane Extra Brut is a standout, offering a drier, more focused and mineral-driven expression of the terroir that serious champagne enthusiasts will appreciate. Hélène launched with six distinct cuvées, an ambitious debut that signals serious intent and deep knowledge of her vineyards.
Her winemaking draws on everything she learned around the world: the restraint of Burgundy, the boldness of the New World, the precision of Champagne tradition. It all comes together in wines that feel both rooted and cosmopolitan, intimate and expansive at the same time.
A New Chapter in an Ancient Terroir
What drew us to Hélène Beaugrand is the combination of raw talent, international experience, and exceptional terroir. She is the proud granddaughter of the man who fought to have Montgueux recognised within the Champagne AOC. But her strength is not rooted in history alone. With her vineyards currently undergoing organic conversion and as an active member of a female Champagne makers' collective, she is very much a producer with her eyes firmly set on the future.
Montgueux is still relatively unknown among champagne drinkers, overshadowed by the famous Grand Cru villages to the north, but insiders and sommeliers have been whispering about it for years. Hélène is exactly the kind of producer who will change that perception. Her international winemaking experience, her organic approach, and her focus on expressing Montgueux's unique chalk-and-flint character give her wines a clarity and ambition that stand out in any tasting.
These are not champagnes made by formula; they are champagnes made by conviction and shaped by a world of experience. At just 3 hectares, production is small, which makes every bottle feel like a genuine discovery worth seeking out. We are proud to feature Hélène Beaugrand at The Champagne Fox because she represents everything we love about grower champagne: independence, terroir obsession, and a refusal to follow anyone else's path. If you are the kind of person who enjoys exploring independent grower champagnes, her wines belong in your glass. Montgueux is a terroir that deserves to be known, and Hélène is the one making that happen.
