Maison Malard
Our story - Champagne
Born in Epernay, the capital of Champagne, his parents were already very active in the world of bubbles: his mother worked for the Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins de Champagne, and his father was a general sales inspector for Moët et Chandon.
Jean-Louis has always been surrounded by strategic discussions, both on the qualitative vision of modernizing Champagne production processes (in viticulture and oenology), and on the various methods for successfully showcasing these fine cuvées to customers and consumers.
From the very start of his school career, he was surrounded by numerous winegrowers, with whom he has since forged strong bonds of friendship.
Jean-Louis Malard is an avid sportsman, and after studying rugby and playing for the Paris Racing Club for a few years, he decided to go back to business school.
After graduating, his entrepreneurial spirit surfaced, and in 1987, at the age of 22, he decided to set up his first company, CHAMP’EXPORT.
The aim of this company was to promote the know-how of his winegrower friends through their cuvées to distributors in France and abroad.
For 10 years, he travelled extensively to meet different distributors, to whom he passed on his knowledge and vision of the Champagne world in order to promote the different wines.
At the end of this epic journey, he wanted to take this enterprise a step further by creating his own Champagne Malard house in 1996.
He relied on the same winegrowers who supplied him with the precious grapes, and was thus able to carry out his first vinifications and blends.
He set up his own production facilities and received his meticulously selected grapes from Premier and Grand Crus, and began to develop his own house for his customers.
Today, Le Champagne Malard is a family-run business in Ay, a village renowned for its Pinot Noir Grands Crus.
The continuity of the house is assured by the second generation, who are beginning to impose their own style.
Champ'Export
Champagne MALARD
Brands & Domains
Takeover of Domaine de la Maïonnette
Our story - Provence
After more than a decade of research, the future of our project is finally taking shape in Provence at Domaine de la Maïonnette .
A winegrowing estate since 1913, located in the Sauvebonne valley a few kilometers from Pierrefeu-du-Var, has passed through the hands of 3 winegrowers, and we will ensure the continuity of this magnificent 30-hectare winegrowing estate.
After a complete overhaul of the estate, including the uprooting of some old plots (around 30% of the estate) and replanting with grape varieties that are dear to us: Syrah, Grenache for the reds and Vermentino for the whites, we will also completely overhaul the wine range.
Armed with our first bottles of the 2020 vintage, we’re off to conquer our customers.
Starting from almost zero in terms of sales, the quality of our terroir, which can be felt in the estate’s wines, won us over in the very first year, with 30,000 bottles of our 2020 vintage sold.
In 2021, we have decided to focus on the production of top-of-the-range white and red wines, which have made a major contribution to the estate’s reputation. The domaine progressed and sold 75,000 bottles of its 2021 vintage and 100,000 bottles of its 2022 vintage.
Since taking over in 2020, we’ve had a lucky star: the harvests have been fine and healthy, despite the increasingly high temperatures and water deficit.
As part of our commitment to quality and respect for the environment, the estate is now HVE certified, with the aim of achieving organic viticulture by 2026.
Work has also been carried out to improve customer service and promote wine tourism.
The family
Jean-Louis Malard is a child of Champagne. Born in Épernay, the young boy was brought up on the world of bubbles by his parents. Only rugby could have taken him away from the world of wine. But Champagne caught up with him, and in 1996 Jean Louis became a négociant manipulant and launched his own Champagne brand. In just twenty years, he has conquered the French market and is now busy developing the Domaine de la Mayonnette.
Joined by his eldest son Antoine during his studies to learn about Champagne marketing in the various distribution channels, Antoine is today the head of his own structure created in 2016 “Antoine Malard diffusion”. He is now the sole representative of Maison Malard in the Champagne-Ardenne region.
After Antoine, it’s Charles’ turn to join the company. After immersing himself in the world of winemaking and Champagne production, Charles Malard represents
Malard to the restaurant trade and is currently helping to develop the brand’s export business.
After the boys, it’s the turn of the two youngest daughters, Constance & Louise, to join the adventure.
Constance perfected her marketing skills during her studies, and is now in charge of marketing Champagne Malard and wines from the Domaine de la Mayonnette in the Var department.
Louise is in charge of marketing and communications for the company. The development of wine tourism is also one of her main objectives.
Our business - Champagne
1 - Sourcing
Sourcing is an essential step in the preparation of a cuvée. In this area, Malard has taken the lead by partnering with major players in the vineyard to purchase grapes, and has succeeded in convincing winegrowers in Champagne’s finest crus to supply the precious raw material.
2 - Vinification
In harmony with our oenologist-cellar manager, Vitalie Cabusel, Jean-Louis MALARD and his children work on their wines and select the best blends to offer their customers authentic, elegant and well-balanced wines.
3 - Sales and marketing
Various qualitative distribution channels with a network of 35 sales agents in France for marketing to the CHR (cafés, hotels, restaurants), a dozen importers for our export representation…
Our business - Provence
Domaine de La Maïonnette uses integrated viticulture methods. The vines are grown without the use of herbicides, in order to preserve biodiversity and living organisms as much as possible. The soil is worked mechanically using ploughs.
We use sheep to graze in our plots, thus avoiding tractor traffic, soil compaction and Co2 emissions.
Organic nitrogenous matter is transferred through the use of leguminous plants.
Soil structure is controlled by adding cereals and grasses such as barley and rye, whose roots limit soil erosion and runoff.
To help the vines develop in the best possible conditions, we use presle and nettle decoctions, which are sprayed on the vines and soils, providing a natural disinfectant thanks to their high silica content.
All this attention to the vines is reflected in the estate’s cuvées.
