Jean Milan

“Long and complex finish. A lovely Champagne.”
– Cameron Douglas, MS on the 2010 Symphorine, rated 95 points

Our Story

The Domain Jean Milan and its 6ha of vineyards are situated in Oger, which is a Grand Cru village in the Côte des Blancs sub-region of Champagne. It has good claim to make the most focused and elegant wines from Chardonnay grapes.  From the 1860`s the family was growing grapes for the negoce. As Henry Milan and later his son Jean, pressed the grapes for houses such as Krug and Veuve Clicquot, so they learned about making Champagne. Eventually the Milans became independent and began to produce and sell their own finished wines.  Milan is now a reference point among Champagne experts, and its traditional presses are still working for different Champagne houses such as Pol Roger, while remaining very traditionalist to older processes of wine making.

The Purity of these Champagnes is remarkable, achieved by classic, generally rather conservative methods, these are wooden foudres but with one interesting tool: a little machine that disgorges the deposit from Champagne without freezing it. The Milans believe, rightly, that this technique of non-freezing protects the natural aromas in their Champagnes, all pure Chardonnay.

“Terre de Noel” is from their oldest vines is a highly mineral wine. The single vineyard plot lies just behind the Milan house on difficult, quite alluvial soil, planted 73 years ago.“Symphorine” is the most elegant and ethereal Champagne of the house. Made from an assemblage of the Milans four very best-located hillside lieux-dits in Oger Grand Cru, with the captivating names Beaudure, Barettes, Chenets and Zailleux, the vines have an average of 45 years. “Symphorine” is the perfect expression of balanced roundness and finesse that is quintessential Oger.