Young Winemakers, Ancient Terroir
Marlène Delong is one of the most exciting new voices in grower champagne. The estate was founded in 1966 by Ginette and Gérard Delong, but it is the second generation that has truly put it on the map. Marlène took over in 2000, and her husband Damien joined in 2008.
Together, they farm 5.3 hectares across the villages of Allemant, Broyes, and Sézanne in the Côteaux du Sézannais, a part of the Champagne region that earned UNESCO World Heritage recognition in 2015 for its outstanding cultural landscape. Their plantings are split between Chardonnay (50%), Pinot Noir (33%), and Pinot Meunier (17%), giving them a versatile palette to work with across their range.
What defines Marlène Delong today is a fierce commitment to organic farming: the estate earned its AB organic certification in 2023, the culmination of years of careful, deliberate transition away from conventional viticulture. For anyone who believes great champagne starts in the vineyard rather than in the cellar, this producer is living proof that the next generation of vignerons is taking sustainability seriously. If you are exploring organic champagne, Marlène Delong is a name that belongs on your list.
Organic Practices, Authentic Flavour
Organic certification is one thing. Living it every day in the vineyard is another matter entirely. Marlène and Damien have eliminated bare soil from their vineyards, stopped using insecticides and synthetic treatments, and drastically reduced chemical inputs across the board. In the cellar, they add minimal sulfites, use indigenous yeasts and bacteria for fermentation, and let the wine develop at its own pace without rushing the process.
The result is champagne with real purity and a vivid sense of place that is hard to achieve any other way. The Grande Réserve Brut and Terroir Brut are the house signatures, both expressing the chalk soils and gentle slopes of the Sézannais with clarity, freshness, and an appealing natural vibrancy. There is a wildflower quality to these wines, a brightness and energy that you simply do not get from conventionally farmed grapes.
The biodiversity on the estate is visible when you visit: cover crops growing between the rows, natural habitats preserved around the vineyards, and a general sense that the land is alive and thriving rather than depleted. It is the kind of farming that produces wines with genuine energy, and you can feel that from the first sip to the last.
Why Marlène Delong Inspires Us
We chose Marlène Delong because this estate represents the future of champagne. A young couple, deeply connected to their terroir, farming organically and making wines that are both accessible and thought-provoking.
The Côteaux du Sézannais does not have the fame of the Côte des Blancs or the Montagne de Reims, but it has something equally valuable: authenticity and a growing reputation for quality. Producers like Marlène Delong are putting this area on the map through sheer quality and commitment, and we think that story deserves to be told and tasted widely. The wines are approachable enough for a casual evening and interesting enough to hold the attention of any seasoned enthusiast.
At The Champagne Fox, we are always looking for producers who challenge the idea that great champagne must come from the usual famous villages, and Marlène Delong does exactly that with grace and purpose. If you enjoy champagne as a beginner or as a curious explorer, these bottles offer a genuinely fresh and inspiring perspective on what the region can do. The future of champagne is in hands like these, and it tastes wonderful. We cannot wait to see what Marlène and Damien do next, and we hope you will join us in following their journey.