France - Champagne Flashcards
What is the general appellation for still blanc, rosé, and rouge from the Champagne region?
Coteaux Champenois AOP. Grapes allowed - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier, Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris
Rosé des Riceys AOP
100% Pinot Noir rosé from Les Riceys. Grapes are vinified as whole bunches (semi-carbonic maceration)
Producers of Rosé des Riceys?
Olivier Horiot, Alexandre Bonnet
“Brut Nature” residual sugar
0-3 grams per liter, must not have any dosage
Brut Nature synonyms
Non-Dosé, Brut Sauvage, Ultra Brut, Dosage Zéro, Sans Sucre, Pas Dosé
“Extra Brut” residual sugar
0-6 grams per liter
“Brut” residual sugar
0-12 grams per liter (lowered in 2010 from 0-15)
“Extra Dry” residual sugar
12-17 grams per liter (lowered in 2010 from 12-20)
“Sec” residual sugar
17-32 grams per liter (lowered in 2010 from 17-35)
“Demi-Sec” residual sugar
32-50 grams per liter
“Doux”
50+ grams per liter
Producers of “Doux” champagne
Vranken, Lallier, Doyard
Champagne maximum press yield
102 liters/160 kg - Additional pressed juice is rebêche, or the “end of pressing” and used for distillation
For vintage dated Champagne, what % of the wine must be from the stated year?
100%
Champagne full list of allowed grapes?
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Arbane, Petit Meslier
NV Champagne aging:
Wines may not be disgorged until at least 12 months after the date of tirage. 15 mo. total aging.
Vintage champagne aging requirements
Wines may not be disgorged until at least 12 months after the date of tirage. (lees aging) 36 mo. total required from date of tirage.
From what date is tirage allowed?
Tirage may not occur until at least January 1 of the year following the harvest
How much of a harvest may be sold as a vintage champagne?
Max. 80% of a year’s harvest may be sold as vintage Champagne
What is the “rendement de base”
Base yield: 10,400 kg/ha
What is the “rendement plafond”
The absolute ceiling of yield allowed
What is the “rendement butoir”
The actual allowed harvest yield, set each year
Who regulates annual yields?
CIVC
In Champange, what does blocage and deblocage refer to?
Respectively, the reserve and release of wine stocks for use in future vintages
When did the French government delimit the Champagne region? What was the result? When was the AOC established?
- Vigneron from the Aube nearly rioted in 1911 over their exclusion, and were fully reinstated in 1927. The AOC was among the first to be established, in 1936
What is the only appellation that does not require Appellation Contrôlée (or Protégée) on the labels?
Champagne
When did phylloxera hit Champagne?
1890s
What led to the grower’s revolt in 1911?
Collusion amongst producers to drive down Champagne grape prices
When was the Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) founded?
1941
Grand Cru villages of the Montagne de Reims:
Sillery Puislieulx Beaumont-Sur-Vesle Verzenay Mailly-Champagne Verzy Louvois Bouzy Ambonnay
Dominant grape in the Montagne de Reims
Pinot Noir
What is an important grand cru village in the Montagne de Reims for Chardonnay?
Sillery
One destination (bottling) for Sillery chardonnay
Ruinart - Dom Ruinart
Grand Cru villages of Vallée de la Marne
Aÿ
Tours-sur-Marne (GC for red)
Grand Cru villages of the Côte des Blancs
Chouilly* (GC for white) Oiry Cramant Avize Oger Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
Who was Dom Pérignon, and what is his contribution to Champagne?
The cellarmaster at the Abbey of Hautvillers from 1668-1715, and a master of assemblage.
From whence do the terms pétillant, crémant (demi-mousseux) and grand mousseux stem?
The unpredictable variance in the level of mousse in early champagnes.
What is the oldest still-operating Champagne house?
Gosset, 1584
What is the oldest Champagne house established for sparkling wine?
Ruinart, 1729
Major 18th century Champagne Houses
Moët et Chandon
Veuve Cliquot
Taittinger
Delamotte
Who developed remuage?
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin in 1816
Who first identified the relationship between sugar and fermentation, and when? (and what winemaking practice is named for him?)
Jean-Antoine Chaptal in 1801 ; Chaptlization
Who created the first brut Champagne?
Pommery, in 1874, called “Nature”
NM/ND/MA are prohibited from farming more than how much land (whether owned or rented)?
15 hectares
What wine created the category of “Prestige Cuvée,” and when?
Dom Pérignon (Moët et Chandon), in 1921
When did the INAO expand the boundaries of Champagne?
2009 - for the first time since 1927
What is the latitude of Champagne
48 degrees
What is bouvreux?
2nd crop, the result of rain during flowering. Usually left on the vine, but does not ripen
What is belemnite chalk, and where is it found?
Chalk derived from fossilized cephalopods, with a high limestone content. Found on the hillsides of Champagne
What is micraster chalk, and where is it found?
Chalk derived from fossilized sea urchins, found in Champagne’s valley floors
What is the dominant soil type in the Aube?
Clay soils
Pinot Noir accounts for how much of Champagne’s acreage?
38%
Chardonnay accounts for how much of Champagne’s acreage?
30%
Pinot Meunier accounts from how much of Champagne’s acreage?
32%
What is Fromenteau?
champenoise name for Pinot Gris
What are the four permitting pruning techniques in Champagne?
Cordon du Royat, Vallée de la Marne, Chablis, Guyot - double or simple
The CIVC set a limit on press yield in 1992. What is it?
102L/160kg of grapes, or 2550L/4000kg (4000kg is the capacity of a Coquard basket press)
Why is the Vallée de la Marne a good choice for the Meunier grape?
It buds late and ripens early, which is good in a frost-prone region.
What are the only two Premier Crus with a 99% rating?
Mareuil-sur-Ay (Vallée de la Marne)
Tauxières (Montagne de Reims)
What two regions of Champagne have no Grand Cru villages?
Côte de Sézanne
Côte des Bars (Aube)
What five villages were elevated to Grand Cru status in 1985?
Verzy Chouilly Oiry Oger Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
What does NM mean?
Négociant Manipulant: a house that purchases grapes or base wines from other smaller houses
What separates the Côte des Blancs from the Côte de Sézane
Marshes - Le Marais de St Gond
Krug
In Reims. oxidative style, oak fermentations in small cask, large proportions of reserve wine used. rosé, grand Cuvee, and vintage wines. Single vineyard selections from Clos d’Ambonnay (1995) and Clos de Mesnil (1979).
Salon
In Mesnil-sur-oger. One wine, a Blanc de Blancs: Inaugural vintage 1905 (first commercial vintage was 1921). 100% chardonnay and aged about 10 years on the lees before release.
Egly-Ouriet
In Ambonnay. Base wines are fermented in oak barriques for 8 to 10 months. Depending on vintage conditions, the wines may or may not go through malolactic fermentation. The ageing on the lees lasts three to four years and the Champagnes are bottled with a low dosage of two to five grams per liter. Wines are Pinot Noir dominant, except one BdB bottling.
Paul Bara
In Bouzy. All grapes undergo fermentation in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. Very Pinot-centric in his blends. Coteaux Champenois rouge.
Jacques Selosse
In Avize. Low yields, native yeast fermentations, and barrel ferments and aging. Wines:
Substance, Grand Cru: Solera began in 1987.
Initiale, Grand Cru
Champagne Extra Brut, “Version Originale”
Les Carelles, Le-Mesnil-Sur-Oger: Soler began in 2010.
Exquise, Sec (24 g/l)
La Côte Faron, (formerly Contraste): Single vineyard in Aÿ.
Pierre Péters
In Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. All stainless fermentation and again. Full Malo on all wines.
Cuvée de Réserve Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut NV
Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra Brut Vintage
Cuvée Spéciale les Chétillons Blanc de Blancs Brut Vintage: Inaugural vintage 1971.
Rosé for Albane Brut Vintage: Inaugural vintage 2009.
Where is Les Chetillons?
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
Ruinart
In Reims. Oldest sparkling wine house - since 1729. Predominantly Chardonnay, but unusually, lots of Chardonnay from the Montagne de Reims (especially Sillery and Verzenay) which lends a richness to the wines. Fermented in steel, full Malo.
Blanc de Blancs Brut NV Brut NV (sold in EU market) Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Brut Vintage Dom Ruinart Rosé Brut Vintage
Vilmart & Cie.
In Rilly la Montagne. Powerful wines from estate owned vineyards. 10 mo. barrel aging on the base wines.
Grand Cellier NV Cuvée Rubis NV Grand Cellier Rubis Vintage Grand Cellier d’Or Vintage Coeur de Cuvée Vintage Ratafia
Pierre Gimonnet
In Cuis. All base wines are fermented in stainless steel in order to preserve the freshness of the Chardonnay grape variety. Wines generally receive a low dosage for their Brut designation. Typically blends across villages.
Bollinger
Aÿ. Oak aging for NV and vintage wines. Pinot Noir dominant wines. Clos St. Jacques and Chaudes Terres in Aÿ go into VVF bottling. Also some Coteaux Champenois AOP rouge from Ay.
“en provignage” vine training
another name for “en foule”
Billecart-Salmon
In Mareuil-sur-Ay. Depending on the cuvée, base wines may be fermented in oak or stainless steel. Those that are fermented in oak do not go through malolactic fermentation. Wines are fermented slowly and at cool temperatures to preserve freshness, and are aged on their lees for four to five months before the bottle fermentation. Most wines are Pinot and Meunier dominant.
Pol Roger
In Epernay. Family owned and operated (a rarity). Prior to blending, each vineyard site is fermented and aged on its own and separated by grape variety and grower. The non-vintage is typically equal parts Pinot Noir, Meunier, and Chardonnay
Jacquesson
In Dizy. owned by the Chiquet family. The majority of the wines are fermented in large oak foudre, for structure and aromatics. All wines go through malolactic fermentation, and there is a period of lees aging lasting about four months before the secondary fermentation takes place in bottle. Across the board, they are known for using very low dosages.
Gaston Chiquet
In Dizy. Their vineyard holdings are all in the Marne Valley, spanning the premier and grand cru villages of Dizy, Hautvillers, Mareuil-Sur-Aÿ, and Aÿ. They are known for having a high proportion of Meunier in many of their wines. No oak is used during any of the vinification process
Philipponnat
Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Historically the wines were fermented in large foudres, though now a percentage is fermented in 228 L barrel. Overall, the dosage is very low, around 4-5 g/l for the Brut designated wines. The house is best known for its single vineyard holding, the famed Clos des Goisses vineyard. Clos de Goisses, a 5.5 hectare vineyard with a 45 degree slope.
Charles Heidsieck
In Reims. No oak, high proportion of reserve wines (40%), several owners over last 30 years.
Champagne Charlie (No longer produced) Blancs de Millénaires Brut Réserve Rosé Réserve Brut Millésime Rosé Millésime
Louis Roederer
In Reims. 100% grand cru/premier cru. 1876 was the first vintage for Cristal, but it was not commercially available until 1945. The first vintage of Cristal Rosé was 1974.Large format oak - 6000L foudres. Pinot dominant (often 60/40).
Brands/wineries owned by Roederer
Champagne Deutz, Roederer Estate and Scharffenberger, Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Chateau de Pez, Domaine Ott in Provence and Ramos Pinto in the Douro Valley
Taittinger
In Reims. The majority of production is fermented in stainless steel tank to achieve a crisp character. They occasionally ferment about 5% in oak barrel for subtle vanilla flavor. The Comtes de Champagne is the top expression of Taittinger’s style, and this is 100% Chardonnay, sourced from exclusively Grand Cru plots in the Côte de Blancs.
Gosset
In Aÿ. Oldest producer in Champagne - 1584. The house is known for finesse and relies on Chardonnay for its top cuvees. Their top cuvee, Celebris, is made in blanc de blancs, rosé, and blended styles; all receive an extra brut dosage. Stainless steel fermentation, no Malo.
René Geoffroy
Aÿ. Mostly Marne Valley Pinot and Meunier. The base wines are fermented in oak, but no Malo. The resulting Champagnes are known for their richness, structure, and depth of fruit.
Laurent-Perrier
In Tours-sur-Marne. Laurent-Perrier is a Negociant Manipulant; the group also owns Salon, Delamotte, and De Castellane. The wines are fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. There is no oak used at this firm. Min 7 years aging before release.
Dom Pérignon (Moët)
In Epernay. Moet is the largest landowner in Champagne, and the source for Dom Perignon comes from their best vineyards, spread throughout the region. Depending on the vintage, the exact vineyard sources and proportion of fruit used from each changes. Wines are made in a deliberately reductive fashion, as they believe this brings out the flavors of autolysis in the best way.
