Crémant de Bourgogne Flashcards
Crémant de Bourgogne
General info
- Typically made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
- Accounts for 10% of wine produced in Burgundy
- Production more than doubled since 2000 / around 170.000hL (avarage 2014-2018)
- most wines in brut style / med to med+ acidity
- apple, lemon (cooler areas) / apricot (warmer areas) / brioche and/or biscuit autolytic notes
- Standard white sparkling / BdB / BdN / Rosé
Crémant de Bourgogne
Growing enviroment
- Same appellation boundary as Bourgogne AOC
- Fruit can be sourced from any Burgundy departements: Yonne (Chablis), Cote d’Or (Cote d’or, Saone-et-Loire (Chalonnais, Maconnais) and Rhone (Beaujolais)
- 250km north to south = Location of the grape source can influence the style
Crémant de Bourgogne
Main sources of grapes:
- Mâconnais (especially for Chardonnay) and Côte Chalonnaise (especially Rully)
- Beaujolais
- Areas aroud Chablis in the Yonne departements and Chatillon-sur-Seine (immediately south of Champagne)
- Hautes Côtes de Beaune and the Hautes Côtes de Nuits
- Flatland vineyards on the Côte d’Or
Generally cooler areas suited for the production of sparkling wines and/or cheaper areas
Crémant de Bourgogne
Crémant de Bourgogne
Climate and vineyard management
Range of climates due to the size of the region:
- Northern areas = cool climate (tipically no hot, dry summer period) / vines need to face south/south-east to gain maximum warmth and light / high acidity and light body wines
- Central area = continental climate with low, sometimes freezing winter temperatures + drier sunny summers / just-ripe fruit + high acidity / very little of this fruit goes into Cremant due to high value of grapes for still wines
- Southern area (Mâconnais, Beaujolais) = Mediterranean influence, high summer temperatures / risk from summer storms / riper fruit character and lower acidity
- Max yeald = 75hL/ha (significantly higher than for still wines)
- Growers are required to declare that the vineyard will be used for Cremant before the end of March
Common Burdundian hazards: hail, spring frost, fu gal diseases and esca
Crémant de Bourgogne
Grape varieties
- Chardonnay, Pinot Noir + Gamay / Pinot Gris / Pinot Blanc / Aligoté / Melon
- Minimum 30% Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris
- Max 20% Gamay
- Most rosé made mainly from Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the dominant varieties for Crémant de Bourgogne as both can display autolytic traits well
Crémant de Bourgogne
Wine Law and Wine Business
- 2/3 of Cremant made by merchant houses
- 30% made by co-operatives
- 2% made by independent winemakers
- Many independent winemakers take grapes grown for Cremant to a specialist sparkling wine producer to make the wine for them
- Sales risen by a third in the last decade to 2017
- Biggest volumes are marketed by négociants and co-operatives (top 10 companies responsible of 90% of the volume / Jean Charles Boisset, Louis Bouillot)
- Export = nearly 40% of sales
- Principal export markets = USA, Sweden, UK, Belgium and Germany
Crémant de Bourgogne
Crémant de Bourgogne Eminent / Grand Eminent
Top tier hierarchy introduced in 2013:
- Crémant de Bourgogne Eminent = 24 months lees-ageing minimum
- Crémant de Bourgogne Eminent Gran Eminent = PN and Charodnnay only / 20% Gamay allowed for Rosé / commonly Vintage / min 36 months lees ageing + 3 months in bottle / Brut designation only
More and more difficult to source grapes for Cremant in Burgundy as growers can get better prices for still wines (even in Rully, which used to be the centre for Cremant production)
