Champagne Flashcards
Vintage Champagne requirements
100% from that vintage
Examples of universally declared Champagne vintages
2002, 2008
Rosé d’assemblage
Blend red wine with white
Rosé de saignée
Skin macerate black grapes; draw off skins
Blanc de Blancs character
austere in youth
long ageing
Blanc de Noirs
FUller bodied
Age more rapidly than BdB
Grand Cru
all grapes from Grand Cru villages
Premier Cru
all grapes from Premier Cru or Grand Cru villages
Drink late disgorged CHampagne immediately, why?
Initially seem more youthful tahn same vintage disgorged earlier
But after disgorgement they age more rapidly
Impact of disgrogement (ingress of oxygen, disturbance of liquid) greater in older wines
Wine from Champagne was historically what style/colour?
Still, rosé
Pinot Noir
Who developed riddling?
Veuve Cliquot
Remuage
Riddling
Champagne AOC boundary set in what year
1927
Blocage
Reserve wines
Why blocage came about?
Reserve wines
Portion of young wine set aside as insurance policy against low yields/disasters later
5 subregions of Champagne
Montagne de Reims Valée de la Marne Cote des Blanc Cote de Sézanne Cote des Bar
Champagne climate
Cool continental
Some oceanic influence
700mm rain
Average annual temp in Champagne
11C
How has climate change impacted Champagne?
Over last 30 years, harvest dates have moved forward 18 days on average
Average acidity has dropped
Potential alcohol risen 0.7%
Result: more consistently ripened grapes, fewer poor vintages
Best geographical area in Champagne for high quality grapes?
Chalky hillsides in northern part
High chalk content = high quality Chardonnay
Characteristics of chalk soils
Highly porous
Stores water
Steady supply of water in dry periods
Montagne de Reims
Black grapes
Grand Cru: Mailly, Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay, Bouzy
Wide plateau, not mountain
North-facing villages = excellent cool-climate site (frost prone)
High acidity
Austere in youth
Grands Crus on chalk = balance of water retention and drainage
Some good Chardonnay
Vallée de la Marne
Meunier on clay, marl and sand (fruity wines)
Meunier bud break later, ripen earlier = well suited to frost prone valley
Grand Cru: Ay
Early drinking Chardonnay also
Cote des Blancs
Almost exclusively white grapes
Purest chalk (water retention and drainage)
95% Chard
GCs: Cramant, Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
Long aged wines, austere in youth
Cote de Sézanne
Continuation of Cote des Blancs Clay and clay/silt, some chalk Chardonnay on warm SE-facing slopes Fruitier, riper Quality lower than VdlM, CdBlanc and MdR
Cote de Bar
South of region
25% Pinot Noir
Kimmeridgian calcareous marls (Sancerre and Chablis)
Steep slopes, stony limestone = drainage = good Pinot
Important source of Pinot for other areas
Merchants from north buy grapes here
Hectares under vine in Champagne
35,000ha
Breakdown of grapes %
Pinot Noir 38%
Meunier 32%
Chardonnay 30%
Which of three grapes is increasingly in demand?
Chardonnay
Planted more and more
Demand from big Houses
Higher price per kilo, larger yields
Other grapes in Champagne
Pinot Blanc
Arbanne
Petit Meslier
Fromenteau
Meunier
aka Pinot Meunier Mutation of PN with white hairs/floury Meunier = miller Early bud (but later than PN and Chard = less prone to frost) Earlier ripen than PN = good in years with late rain Sensitive to botrytis Fruity wine, adds softness Important for NV wines
Producers that use Meunier for long-ageing wines
Krug
Egly-Ouriet
Average density in Champagne vyd
8,000v/ha
Why are high yields ok?
Not necessary for ripe tannins or flavours
Don’t need concentrated colour
Taille Chablis
Pruning system best for Chardonnay
3-4 cordons (old wood), max 5
End of each cordon: a spur with up to 5 buds
Form of spur pruning, lots of permanent wood (good vs. frost)
Spurs grown t yearly intervals, trained to max 0.6m above ground (benefit solar energy reflected from soil)