Champagne label codes: NM, RM, CM, RC, SR, ND, MA · Styles

The seven codes

Code	French name	What it means
NM	Négociant manipulant	Buys grapes, musts or wines, in addition to any own grapes, and carries out at least the final production steps on its premises
RM	Récoltant manipulant	Makes, on its own premises, only wines from its own harvest
CM	Coopérative de manipulation	Cooperative that makes wine on its premises from its members' grapes
RC	Récoltant coopérateur	Grower who delivers grapes to its cooperative and takes back musts or wines to sell under its own label
SR	Société de récoltants	Group of growers, typically one family, pooling resources to sell under a shared label
ND	Négociant distributeur	Buys finished bottles and labels them on its own premises
MA	Marque d'acheteur (also marque auxiliaire or autorisée)	Finished bottles sold under the buyer's brand, for example a retailer or a restaurant

Sources: DGCCRF and the Comité Champagne label factsheet for NM, RM, CM, RC, ND and MA;^3,4 Union des Maisons de Champagne for SR and MA.¹

Legal basis

The AOC Champagne specification (XII.h) requires labels to carry the registration identifiers set by the Comité interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne. The codes themselves are not listed in the specification.² The SR definition here comes only from the Union des Maisons de Champagne; the DGCCRF guide and the Comité factsheet do not list SR.¹

How many of each

The Union des Maisons de Champagne gives approximate counts: about 200 or more NM houses, more than 2,000 RM growers, about 3,000 RC growers and more than 100 cooperatives, of which about half market wine.¹ These are estimates, not an official register.

Reading the code

The code tells you the business model, not the quality or the style. An RM bottle is the closest match to the trade term grower Champagne. An RC bottle carries a grower's name but was made at a cooperative. An MA bottle can come from any type of producer. See also NM, RM, CM, registration number.