Champagne: Jimmy's Flashcards
Define the style: non-vintage or NV
Blended from a number of vintages, usually following a house style. Blending from difference parcels of land can even out vintage variations to create consistency year on year.
Define the style: Vintage
100% of the wine comes from the indicated year, generally only produced in the best years.
Define the style: Rosé
Made by blending red and white wines. Only permitted in Champagne.
What is rosé d’assemblage?
Rosé Champagne made by blending red and white wines.
What is rosé de saignée?
Rosé made by macerating the skins of black grapes and “bleeding off” the wine.
Define: Blanc de Blancs
Sparkling white wine made from white grapes only.
Define: Blanc de Noirs
Sparkling white wine made from black grapes only.
Define: Grand Cru
All grapes have been grown in vineyards belonging to grand cru villages.
Define: Premier Cru
All grapes have been grown in vineyards belonging to premier or grand cru villages.
Define: Prestige Cuvée
The best/most prestigious wine or wines in a Champagne producer’s range.
Define: Late release/recently disgorged wines
Wines that have had extended ageing on the lees, and age faster than more conventionally lees aged wines. They are intended to be consumed immediately.
Name two significant characters in the story of the development of Champagne.
Dom Pierre Pérignon and Madame (Veuve/widow) Clicquot.
Describe the climate of Champagne.
Cool continental, some oceanic influence, 700mm per year of rain. Average annual temperature of 11C. Rain is spread throughout the year, and can negatively impact yields if it occurs during flowering, fruit set or harvest (when it causes fungal disease).
How has climate change impacted the region?
The climate has warmed over the last 30 years, bringing harvest forward by an average of 18 days, lowering overall acidity and raising alcohol levels by 0.7%. On the other hand, this increase in temperature has resulted in more consistently good harvests.
Describe the key features of the topography and soil in the region.
The region is an old seabed, with a thick layer of chalk throughout. Soils are therefore chalky, with limestone and chalk subsoil. Vineyards tend to be between 90 - 300m above sealevel, and planting on well-drained slopes help growers avoid any waterlogging from the relatively high rainfall of the region.
Name the 5 subregions of Champagne
Montagne de Reims
Vallée de la Marne
Côte de Blancs
Côte de Sézanne
Côte des Bar
List 3 qualities of the Montagne de Reims area.
Best known for black grapes.
Some top villages face north.
Wines tend to have high acidity and are austere in youth.
Name the five Grand Cru villages of the Montagne de Reims.
Mailly, Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay, Bouzy.
List 3 qualities of the Vallée de la Marne.
The main plantings are Meunier.
Soil types are clay, marl and sandy.
Meunier’s budburst and ripening is later than Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, suiting it to this frost-prone area.
Name a Grand Cru village in the Vallée de la Marne.
Aÿ
List three qualities of the Côte de Blancs.
Almost exclusively white grapes.
Soil type is the purest form of chalk, giving it an excellent balance between water retention and drainage.
Plantings are 95% Chardonnay.
Name the four grand cru villages of the Côte de Blancs.
Cramant, Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
List three qualities of the Côte de Sézanne.
A continuation of the Côte de Blancs, with clay and clay/silt soils.
Mostly planted with Chardonnnay on south-east facing slopes.
Lower quality than the Côte de Blancs, Vallée de la Marne and Montagne de Reims.
List three qualities of the Côte des Bar.
Soil type: Kimmeridgian calcareous marls.
Steep slopes with stony limestone are well drained.
Nearly one quarter planted with Pinot Noir, which makes the region an important source of this grape.
Name four minor grape varieties being grown in Champagne.
Pino Blanc, Arbanne, Petit Meslier, Fromenteau (Pinot Gris).
+ Voltis
Name one advantage and one disadvantage that Meunier (or Pinot Meunier) has.
Advantage: It buds later than other popular grapes in Champagne, which makes it less prone to spring frosts.
Disadvantage: It is very susceptible to botyrtis infection.
What does Meunier bring to a blend?
It is a fruity wine that brings softness to a Champagne blend.
What vineyard spacing is required by regulations in Champagne, and what is the average planting density as a result?
Inter-row spacing of 1.5 metres
Intra-row spacing of 0.9 - 1.5 metres
Total spacing must not exceed 2.5 metres
Average density therefore of approx. 8,000 vines per hectare.
Name the four approved training, pruning and trellising systems in Champagne.
Taille Chablis
Cordon du Royat
Guyot
Vallée de la Marne
Name five climatic dangers in Champagne.
Severe winter frost
Spring frost
Cold/rainy weather during flowering and fruit set in Jun
Violent summer storms
Hot and humid summers, bringing botrytis.
Name an innovation around packaging that the Comité Champagne has brought about.
They have introduced a lighter weight Champagne bottle for non vintage wines, with an estimaged 8,000 metric tonne reduction in CO2 output for the region.
Name four functions of the Comité Champagne.
Protecting the quality of wine in the region by preventing over-cropping.
Protecting the price of Champagne and regulating supply and demand.
Managing levels of reserve stocks of wine.
Setting harvest dates and yields each year.
How may pressing centres are there in the region (approximately) and why?
There are around 1,900 pressing centres in the region to help keep transportation (and thus spoilage risks) to a minimum.
What is the French term for the the traditional method of making Champagne?
Méthode Champenoise
List three kinds of press used in the winery.
Basket press
Pneumatic press
Hydraulic horizontal press
What is the permitted yield range in hectolitres per acre?
79 hL/ha, but can be raised to 98 hL/ha and the surplus put into reserve if agreed by the Comité Champagne.
What is a marc?
4,000 kilos of grapes
What are the permitted quantities of the two fractions of juice during pressing?
2,050 litres (per marc) of free run and first pressing (cuvée)
500 litres (per marc) of taille
Describe the qualities of the cuvée.
The cuvée is rich in acids and produces the highest quality of wine.
Describe the qualities of the taille.
The taille has lower acidity, but more colour and phenolics, so is useful to add to blends, giving more expression to youthful wines, but less ageing potential.
What are the primary fermentation vessels used in Champagne production?
Primarily temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, but increasingly large oak foudres, particularly at the higher end.
What is the importance of reserve wines?
For non-vintage production, having a good range of reserve wine available (large producers can have over 100 available) means that house style can be rigorously adhered to, no matter what happens to any given year’s harvest.
What are the regulations around maturing in Champagne?
Non-vintage wines must be matured in cellar for 15 months, of which 12 must be on the lees.
Vintage wines must also have 12 months on the lees, but must be matured for 3 years after tirage.
Is there a limit to the effects of lees ageing?
Lees ageing can continue for up to 10 years, after which it is thought to have little further impact.
What impact can the base wine in liqueur d’expédition have?
This year’s youthful base wines can give light, fresh flavours.
Aged reserve wines can give aromas of baked apple and dried fruit.
For rosé, colour can be corrected with the base wine used here.
What was the name of the original system for ranking in Champagne, that ended under pressure from the EU?
Échelle des Crus
What is a Négotiant manipulant, or NM?
A business (or house) that buys grapes, must or wine to make their own Champagne under their own label.
What is a Récoltant manipulant, or RM?
Referred to as “growers”, they make and market their own label from their own grapes. They manage the whole process on their own premises.
What is a Coopérative de manipulation, or CM?
A cooperative that markets its own label of Champagne from its members’ grapes.
What changes has the Comité Champagne been making to Champagne’s brand positioning recently?
It has been positioning itself away from the high-volume market, given the growth of high quality mid-priced wines such as Prosecco, and towards higher price points, by setting lower maximum yields to reduce volume by 10%.
How many kilos of grapes are needed to produce one bottle of Champagne, and what is the cost per kilo?
1.2kg for one bottle of Champagne at €6.10 per kilo.
Name three factors that push up the cost of production?
Cost per kilo of grapes.
Choice of grapes - i.e. grand or premier cru.
Style of wine - rosé is more expensive to produce.
Vintage Champagne versus non-vintage, as the longer storage period adds costs and ties up cash flow.
Primary fermentation vessels - oak is more expensive than stainless steel vessels.
List five recent trends in Champagne production and marketing.
Increase in awareness and popularity of Brut Nature and Extra Brut.
Sweet wines intended for drinking over ice or in cocktails.
Rosé is in increasing demand.
Single-vineyard wines (at the top end of the market).
Grower Champagnes.
