Ch.3/4/5/6 – Other Traditional Method Wines of France Flashcards
1
Q
What is Crémant?
A
- Some (not all) regional French traditional method sparkling wines made outside the Champagne region.
- Crémant PDO created to protect champagne
- used to be semi-sparkling style within Champagne, but because of change in law - 1985 EU banned “méthode champenoise” - Crémant took on current meaning.
- More regions created a Crémant (now 8)
2
Q
How many Crémant appellations are there in France?
Name the 3 largest
A
- 8 Crémant appellations in France:
- Three largest
- Alsace
- Bourgogne
- Loire
3
Q
What are the six common features for all Crémant wines?
A
- Whole-bunch pressing (so hand-harvesting)
- Max yield at pressing of 100l per 150kg grapes
- Min 9 mths lees ageing during 2nd ferment in bottle
- Min 12 mths maturation between tirage and release (includes the 9mths lees ageing)
- Max 13% abv in finished wine
- Min 4 atmospheres pressure
4
Q
What is the (2018) annual production of France’s non-Champagne sparkling wine regions?
A
- Loire total (Cremant, Saumur, Vouvray) ~460,000hL
- Cremant de Loire ~200,000hL
- Saumur sparkling ~80,000hL
- Vouvray sparkling ~50,000hL
- Other sparkling wines make up balance
- Alsace ~310,000hL
- Bourgogne ~225,000hL
5
Q
Define Crémant d’Alsace
A
- Sparkling wine made in the traditional method, mainly Brut
- Main grape Pinot Blanc (though 5 others allowed: Auxerrois, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir)
- Medium intensity, ripe, apple and pear fruit, medium+/high acidity, light/medium bodied
- Longer lees-aged wines medium intensity biscuit, autolytic notes
- Rosé must be 100% Pinot Noir, v good quality med/(+) intensity red berry fruit
6
Q
Climate in Alsace
A
- Vineyards 200m-400m on eastern flanks of Vosges foothills (Vosges shelter from prevailing westerlies)
- Climate sunny, semi-continental, often dry/hot during growing season
- Hot days, cool night: fruit ripeness, retains acidity: ideal
- Possible problems
- No irrigation permitted: water can be problem
- Spring frost (esp earlier springs/ earlier bud break) leading to reduction in yields
7
Q
How significant is Crémant for Alsace?
A
- 25% of total wine production
- 500 growers (often alongside still production)
- 3,600 hectares vineyard area +15% in last 10 yrs
8
Q
Where is Pinot Blanc grown in Alsace for sparkling wine production
A
- Vineyards generally sheltered by Vosges
- Best sites usually reserved for noble varieties for still wines (eg Riesling)
- Pinot Blanc grown on lower elevations, fertile soils (not suitable for top quality)
- Also on cooler sites in higher valleys where grapes for still wines would struggle to ripen (eg Munster Valley, where cool airflows retain acidity in grapes)
9
Q
Pinot Blanc’s importance to Crémant d”Alsace?
A
- 20% of total Alsace vineyard area (includes Auxerrois, as not distinguished in record-keeping, most are P Blanc)
- PROS
- Inexpensive
- Early budding & ripening, so picked much earlier than other varieties (useful to spread out harvest)
- floral, green apples, high acidity
- CONS
- early budding = spring frosts
- prone to fungal diseases
- simple quality (top growers use Pinot Gris instead)
10
Q
What are the grape varieties permitted in Crémant D’Alsace?
A
- SIX:
- Pinot Blanc (main grape)
- Auxerrois
- Chardonnay (only Alsace appellation allowing it)
- Riesling (preferred for still wines)
- Pinot Gris (used by better producers for Pinot B)
- Pinot Noir (ONLY grape for Cremant D’Alsace rosé)
- NOT allowed - Gewurztraminer, Muscat
11
Q
Harvest of Cremant D’ Alsace
A
- early (end Aug/early Sept) for just-ripe fruit/high acid
- By hand, whole berry mandatory for high quality juice low phenolics
- Greater crop load than for still wines, as base wines don;t need high flavour concentration
- max yields 80hL/ha vs. champagne 79 hL/ha.
- Growers must declare in July if they are going to make Crémant
12
Q
Winemaking for Crémant D’Alsace
A
- as pot alcohol low (min 8.5%), must often chaptalised
- Then traditional method for fully sparkling
- Wines 100% single vintage - no reserve wines
- Time on lees during second fermentation us 12 mths, so primary green apple fruit
- Top producers age longer on lees (eg Cave de Turckheim co-op 2 years for least expensive), giving biscuit, autolytic notes.
- Brut
- Rosés macerate on skin 12-24 hours for colour
- Dosage 8-10g/L range with sugar balancing high acidity
13
Q
Crémant d’Alsace Emotion
A
- 2012 prestige category for Alsace sparkling
- min 75% Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay & Pinot Noir, separately or together
- min 24 mths on lees
- Some v good wines (Dom J-C Buecher), but new category not popular
14
Q
Wine Business structure of Cremant D’Alsace
A
- Production
- 43% cooperatives
- 37% merchant houses
- 20% independent growers
- Largest company is co-op Maison Bestheim, makes sparkling & still wine from 1400 ha, owning half the vineyards, the rest from 450 growers
15
Q
Cremant D’Alsace sales and production
A
- Production more than doubled between 2000-14
- 80% sold in France, but exports rising with world demand
16
Q
Cremant de Bourgogne in one card
A
- Sparkling wine trad method
- Chardonnay (most), Pinot Noir and <20% Gamay
- 10% of total wines of Burgundy
- Production doubled since 2000 (to 19.5m bts)
- Range of styles, white Brut most common with med(+) acidity. Lightly fruity to richly toasty. Med intensity is green apple and lemon (cool) to apricot (warm) with brioche autolytic notes.
- Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs and rosé also made.
