Voirin-Jumel is an independent grower-producer (négociant manipulant) based in Cramant, at the heart of the Côte des Blancs. The estate has passed down through five generations and is run today by Patrick Voirin and his two daughters, Julie and Pauline. Around ten hectares of vines, spread across several plots in different crus. In 2022 Julie and Pauline had every one of those plots surveyed geologically — soil profiles, core samples, a sensory analysis of each horizon — before changing anything in the cellar. Six of their cuvées are now available at Quast Collection, priced between 34 and 66 euros.
Who is Voirin-Jumel?
The estate has been passed down through five generations. The Voirin-Jumel name itself dates from 1968, when Gilles Voirin married Françoise Jumel — two Côte des Blancs winegrowing families, rooted in the grand cru villages of Cramant and Chouilly. The second generation also brought a plot beyond the chalk into the fold: “Les Carelles” in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, bought by Paulette Jumel and planted to pinot noir in 1968.
Today Patrick Voirin and his two daughters run the estate in its fifth generation: Pauline in the vineyard and the cellar, Julie on the commercial side. The blends are made six-handed. The vineyard covers around ten hectares, spread across several plots in different crus and planted largely to two varieties: chardonnay and pinot noir.
One sentence, which the estate places at the front of its own presentation, sums up its position: owning a great terroir is not enough — you have to respect it.
Cramant and Chouilly: two grands crus of the Côte des Blancs
The Côte des Blancs covers roughly 3,200 hectares of vines south of Épernay. What makes it distinctive is near-total specialisation: 97 per cent of the area is planted to chardonnay. Pinot noir and meunier share the remaining three per cent.
Six Côte des Blancs villages hold grand cru status: Oiry, Chouilly, Cramant, Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Four more are classified premier cru. The ranking derives from the échelle des crus, a scale applied to villages: grand cru designates the 17 villages rated 100 per cent across Champagne — the classification applies to the village, not to the individual plot or the wine.
The subsoil is chalk, laid down around 75 million years ago during the Campanian, when a shallow, warm sea covered the region. This chalk stores water, releases it to the vines in dry spells, and shapes the straight, saline, mineral style for which the Côte des Blancs is known.
2022: the geological survey that came first
“Our first step as winegrowers is centred on our terroir.” In November 2022, Julie and Pauline Voirin had each of their plots analysed by geologist Geoffrey Orban. The method went well beyond a standard soil test:
-
core samples and soil profiles, layer by layer (horizons H1 to H6 depending on the plot)
-
a sensory analysis of each horizon — dry in the glass, then wetted with water
-
parallel tasting of the base wines from the same plot
-
matching the smells of the soil against the aromas of the wine
From this work they draw concrete decisions: how to work the soils, which variety belongs on which plot, how precisely to manage the vines. Soil cultivation has been in transition for three years.
|
Site |
Village |
Planted |
Area |
Slope |
Altitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Les Bas Caures |
Chouilly, grand cru |
2010 |
32 ares |
5 % |
132–137 m |
|
Le Gros Mont |
Cramant, grand cru |
1985 |
11.59 ares |
6 % |
142–147 m |
|
Les Vignes de Mardu |
Cramant, grand cru |
2006 |
45.73 ares |
17 % |
194–205 m |
All three sites are planted to chardonnay, face north-east, and sit on brown calcareous soil over slope colluvium with chalky material at depth. Source: Geoffrey Orban survey, November 2022.
The result is not a marketing line but a working tool. The survey showed, for instance, that the stony layer at Les Bas Caures comes from Quaternary freeze-thaw cycles and aids drainage — and that a silty matrix there softens the power of the limestone while adding fruit.
What is a réserve perpétuelle?
A perpetual reserve is a vessel that is never fully emptied. Each year a portion is drawn off for blending and replaced with the new harvest. Over time this builds a blend that theoretically reaches back to the first vintage — the same principle as a sherry solera.
Voirin-Jumel uses between 40 and 44 per cent reserve wine from this perpetual reserve. The purpose is twofold: to offset weaker vintages, and to give the cuvées a depth that a single year cannot provide.
One cuvée, two readings: La V.1 and La V.2
La V.1 and La V.2 are the same wine. Same plots in Cramant and Chouilly, same base vintage, same 40 per cent reserve wine. The only difference is the dosage.
Dosage is the small amount of sugar added after disgorgement. La V.1 receives 4 to 6 g/l; La V.2 receives none. The estate puts it this way: “Two visions of the same wine, two ways of expressing it.”
What that changes in the glass: dosage rounds off the acidity and brings forward riper, pastry-like aromas. Without it the wine is tauter, more citric, more saline, and moves closer to the primary aromas — to what comes from the subsoil. Anyone wanting to understand what dosage actually does has the rare case of a direct comparison within a single range.
Six cuvées at Quast Collection
|
Cuvée |
Style |
Grapes |
Dosage |
Price Quast Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
L'Assemblage |
Brut |
61 % pinot noir, 39 % chardonnay |
6 g/l |
€34.00 |
|
La V.1 |
Blanc de blancs grand cru |
100 % chardonnay |
4–6 g/l |
€42.00 |
|
La Saignée |
Rosé de saignée |
100 % pinot noir |
5 g/l |
€43.00 |
|
La V.2 |
Blanc de blancs grand cru |
100 % chardonnay |
0 g/l |
€45.00 |
|
555 |
Blanc de blancs, barrel-aged |
100 % chardonnay |
4 g/l |
€62.00 |
|
Cramant |
Blanc de blancs grand cru |
100 % chardonnay |
3 g/l |
€66.00 |
All cuvées: 0.75 litre, 12.5 % abv, serving temperature 8–10 °C, drinking window 3 to 5 years. Prices as of September 2026.
Which cuvée for which occasion?
As an aperitif and for an evening with friends: L'Assemblage. Pinot noir and chardonnay in balanced proportions, 6 g/l dosage, the most approachable wine in the range. It also carries a meal — roast poultry, fine charcuterie, semi-hard cheeses.
With oysters, raw fish and anything briny: La V.2. With no dosage the saline tension stays intact, which suits ceviche, sashimi or langoustines. La V.1 is the gentler alternative for anyone who finds that too austere.
For the table: 555. Six months in oak, first fermentation in barrel — this wine is built for dishes with sauce: lobster, turbot, sweetbreads, Bresse poultry. One hundred magnums are made each year.
For anyone wanting to understand Cramant: the Cramant cuvée. A patchwork of the estate's plots within that single village, always vintage-dated, 3 g/l. It shows what one grand cru village produces on its own.
With spiced cooking and red meat: La Saignée. A rosé whose colour comes from a short maceration rather than added red wine. It partners duck breast, grilled lamb and aged cheeses.
Frequently asked questions
Is Voirin-Jumel a grower champagne?
Yes. Voirin-Jumel is a négociant manipulant (NM) and vinifies only grapes from its own vineyards in Cramant, Chouilly and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. The RM abbreviation appears on every label before the registration number.
What does grand cru mean in Champagne?
The classification applies to the village, not the plot. Seventeen villages are classified grand cru across Champagne, six of them in the Côte des Blancs: Oiry, Chouilly, Cramant, Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Voirin-Jumel's plots in Cramant and Chouilly carry this classification. Read more about Grand Cru
What is the difference between La V.1 and La V.2?
The dosage, and nothing else. Both cuvées come from the same plots and the same base vintage, and contain 40 per cent reserve wine. La V.1 receives 4 to 6 g/l of dosage; La V.2 receives none (0 g/l).
Why make a champagne with no dosage?
With no added sugar the wine expresses its primary aromas more directly — in La V.2, a taut, citric, saline line. A brut nature does require very ripe, perfectly healthy fruit, however: nothing is there to mask an imbalance.
How long can you keep a Voirin-Jumel?
Three to five years for all six cuvées. Store bottles lying down, away from light, at a steady 10 to 14 °C. Serve at 8 to 10 °C.
How much does a Voirin-Jumel champagne cost?
From €34.00 for L'Assemblage to €66.00 for the Cramant cuvée (September 2026 prices). All six cuvées come in 0.75-litre bottles.
How long has Champagne Voirin-Jumel existed?
The name dates from 1968, when Gilles Voirin married Françoise Jumel. The estate itself has passed down through five generations and today covers around ten hectares.
