Why it matters
The producer
The Hamm family founded the house in 1910, and the business remains family owned. Its name appears across a portfolio of Champagne cuvées, with Brut, Réserve, Rosé, Extra Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, Millésime 2016 and Signature. The range also includes Coteaux Champenois, a red wine, and Ratafia Champenois, a fortified wine.
In 1910, Emile Hamm and his family founded the house in Aÿ. The business became part of the historic landscape of Aÿ, and the family name stayed attached to the Champagne house. The name Champagne Emile Hamm et Fils keeps that founding family in the label itself.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Aÿ-Champagne is the house's home, and its grape sourcing extends into the Montagne de Reims, the Marne Valley and the Côte des Blancs. These are distinct Champagne subregions, so fruit from them can vary in ripeness, acidity, fruit weight and texture before the cellar work begins. A house drawing from all three can build variation into sparkling cuvées while keeping the regional method, the second fermentation in bottle that creates the bubbles.
Wines to know
The range in view
The sparkling portfolio includes Brut, Réserve, Rosé, Extra Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, Millésime 2016 and Signature. Rosé names a pink style, Blanc de Blancs indicates white grapes, Blanc de Noirs indicates black grapes used for a white wine, and Millésime 2016 identifies a vintage cuvée. Coteaux Champenois is a red wine, while Ratafia Champenois is fortified, giving the range still and fortified forms alongside its sparkling bottles.
Réserve has floral and citrus notes. The aromas are carried by the mousse of sparkling Champagne, while acidity keeps the palate fresh and dosage controls sweetness. Lees ageing can add savoury, yeasty detail as bottles mature, giving a Champagne texture that sits behind the fruit and flowers.