Maison Mumm reveals new cellar master

Champagne Mumm has chosen a new cellar master following the tragic death of predecessor Laurent Fresnet last year. The new chef de cave makes the move from a leading co-operative, and has been chosen to ensure the brand’s “savoir-faire”, says the house.

Last spring the Champagne world was left reeling when Laurent Fresnet, chef de cave at GH Mumm for the past three years, died suddenly at the age of 56 following a short illness.

Fresnet had spent 13 years at Champagne Henriot prior to joining Champagne Mumm, and was also president of the Association of Champagne cellar masters since 2020.

“It’s with a deep sorrow that we announce Laurent Fresnet’s loss, Maison Mumm’s dear Cellar Master,” Maison Mumm said in a statement at the time. “Our thoughts go out to his family and his close ones, to the teams who worked with him on the making of the wines and to all of those who crossed his path. We will strongly miss him.”

Following his death, Sabrina Roussel managed the winemaking team, overseeing all aspects of the process.

Maison Mumm has now announced its new permanent cellar master Yann Munier, who will pick up the reins on 8 April.

Formerly of the Covama co-operative, and Nicolas Feuillatte, Munier has also supplied several Champagne houses, including Mumm, with grapes from the vineyards of his family’s domain.

In 2005 Munier joined Covama, a respected wine co-operative in the Marne Valley, where he worked as head of the vat room and oenologist until 2012. Munier then moved to Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte in 2012, where he became responsible for the vat room and bottling, and collaborated closely with the cellar master on the blends.

He returned to Covama in 2017 to take up the post of cellar master there, a role he will hold until joining Mumm later this year.

“I am proud to join Mumm which has always been an emblematic House of Champagne and am delighted to accompany its evolution in the years to come,” said Munier.

“More than a métier, Champagne is for me above all a synonym for conviviality, pleasure and sharing.

Speaking of Munier’s appointment, François-Xavier Morizot, Champagne vice president for Martell Mumm Perrier Jouët, a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard, said:

“We are especially pleased to welcome Yann Munier to Mumm. We took the necessary time to find the person who could best ensure the continuity of an
established savoir-faire and style, who could closely accompany our teams in Champagne and promote the House’s standing both in France and abroad.”

Sabrina Roussel will continue to support innovations designed to improve the winemaking processes in her role as oenologist for the house, and will be taking part in regenerative viticulture experiments “with a view to meeting the environmental challenges of the 21st century”, said Maison Mumm.

Last year, Champagne Mumm opened a restaurant in Reims, with a wine list “based on the great French wine regions”, along with expressions from elsewhere in the world.

In 2022, Mumm launched its first Tasmania-made fizz, as well as the first bottle of Champagne designed for space travel.