Most of Champagne’s best-known producers own only a small percentage of the vineyards that provide their grapes. Instead, big Champagne houses like, say, Veuve Clicquot or Bollinger buy grapes from many growers throughout the region and blend the resulting wines. That gives such producers access to many lots for blending, so they can make a fairly consistent product, year in and year out.

    I don’t mean to diminish the quality of such Champagnes or the skill required to make them. The amount of blending that goes on at a big Champagne house is truly astonishing, and the result is a wine that stays true to a house style. If you like that house style, you can be pretty confident in your choice.

   But many Champagne fans know not to overlook so-called grower Champagnes, wines produced by the people who grow the grapes. Because these producers are limited to using the grapes from their own vineyards, they have a more limited selection of lots for blending. And the wines are more reflective of a particular vineyard location.

   Grower Champagnes tend to be more expensive, at least in part because production is so small. So unless you’ve made a killing on your AI investments, you will probably want to reserve these wines for smaller gatherings. Here are three that stood out during a grower Champagne tasting this fall.

   The non-vintage Diebolt-Vallois “Tradition” Brut ($52) is round, fresh and aromatic, with apple and lemon flavors, a saline note and a long finish. The Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut, which is a little more expensive, is also excellent: racy, fine and very precise.

   The non-vintage Pierre Moncuit “Delos” Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut ($60) strikes a balance between racy and creamy, with zippy fruit, fine texture and a long finish.

   And for a splurge, there’s the non-vintage Eric Rodez Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut ($125), a richer, more mouth-filling wine than the others, but still very fresh with fine texture. The Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut is also extremely good and a little less expensive.