On 11 April, the Vinay Mancy cooperative announced the appointment of Gabrielle Malagu as its new Chef de Cave. The move comes just a few months after the formation of the cooperative through the merger of the Vinay and Mancy winegrowers’ associations south of Épernay. The larger of the two, the Coopérative Vinicole de Mancy, is known for its brand Champagne Esterlin, which produces around 250,000 bottles, primarily Chardonnay. Under this name, the cooperative holds a prestigious address – uniquely among cooperatives – on Épernay’s Avenue de Champagne. Malagu succeeds Sébastien Struzik, who, after three years with Esterlin, has moved on to become Deputy Cellar Master at Maison Henri Giraud.
Malagu’s transition follows eight years at Champagne Gosset, the region’s oldest surviving wine trading house, founded in 1584, making the move somewhat unexpected. She joined Gosset in 2017 as Deputy Cellar Master, bringing with her a solid background: a bachelor’s degree in viticulture and oenology, followed by a national diploma in oenology, both from Dijon. She began her career as production manager for Crémants at Veuve Ambal in Burgundy and went on to serve from 2005 to 2017 as director and cellar master of the Coopérative d’Hautvillers – becoming the first woman to hold such a position in a Champagne cooperative.
In 2022, after five years as Deputy Cellar Master, she was appointed Chef de Cave at Champagne Gosset, although Odilon de Varine continued to be listed as the house’s “Head Winemaker”. Comparing the scale of Esterlin to Gosset (which produces around 1.1m bottles annually), Malagu’s decision brings to mind Caesar’s famous words: “Better to be first here than second in Rome.”
When contacted by our sister publication WEINWIRTSCHAFT, Champagne Gosset congratulated Gabrielle Malagu on her new role but declined to comment further. The house did, however, announce that a successor for the position alongside Odilon de Varine would be named in the near future. SP
