Fine print on Champagne Bottles

The following was written by a veteran member of the WineSpectator Forums with the call name of “VinoMe.” It is very well written and insightful, and with his permission, I have copied it here. For more information, or two participate in the discussion, see the original post on WS forums here: Fine print on Champagne Bottles

by VinoMe originally written December 10, 2006

With the Christmas and Holiday season upon us, I thought it might be an opportune time to post this information. I find that many wine lovers, even some of the most knowledgeable ones, are oblivious to the meaning of some of the fine print on a Champagne bottle. So here it is (ignore it if you already know this).Every bottle of Champagne must have a 2 letter code on it. They are in very small print with a set of numbers after it. They are always on the front label based on my observations but I don’t know if that is a regulation. ‘NM’ and ‘RM’ are the 2 most common with probably 80-90% of all Champagne sold falling into the ‘NM” category. Here are all 5 sets of letters and what they mean.

NM (Negociant Maker)- Actually the French use the word manipulant instead of maker but it means the same so I will use maker because it is easier to remember. These letters refer to a house which buys grapes to make their wines. All of the big houses fall into this category. Of course they also use some of their own estate fruit.

RM (Recoltant Maker)- This refers to a Champagne maker that grows their own grapes. they are allowed to buy up to 5% of their production. I often look for these initials on a bottle since they are often a sign of a small house that does not get a lot of press and is a very good value.

RC (Recoltant Cooperative)- Same as RM but they make and sell their Champagnes with the help of cooperatives.

CM (Cooperative Maker)- Here you have a collection of growers that join together to make and sell Champagne on behalf of its members.

MA (Marque d’acheteur)- This is a Champagne that is owned by a 3rd party and not the maker of the wine.

As I indicated, I like to look for the RM on the bottle simply because I find small production Champagnes more interesting and like to support small producer that take pride in what they do. It is much easier to get a sense of terrior from these producers since the blending from multiple site that is done by the large houses in most of their wines destroys any sense of place. They are more concerned with maintaining a house style than delivering a unique product. of course that is not to say that large houses can’t produce a great product, they can and do since they have access to most of the best sites and the most modern technology.

Hope this was informative and useful. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and don’t forget to open something sparkly.

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