Grapes, District, Climate, Soil, Factors, Departments Flashcards
Which are considered as the three Champagne grapes? With which districts are better associate?
Which aromas and character they give to the blend?
Which are the other minor grapes of the region?
Pinot Noir (38% of the total vineyard area), Pinot Meunier (32%), Chardonnay (30%).
Pinot Noir: Montagne de Reims (northern region), Côte des Bar (Aube, southern).
Pinot Meunier: Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne (cause this sub-region is prone to spring frosts, and the fact that Pinot Meunier is classified as a late budding grape variety, makes it particularly adapted to this district).
Chardonnay: east-facing slopes of the Côte des Blancs, and Côte de Sézanne.
Pinot Noir: provides the basic structure and depth of fruit in the blend.
Pinot Meunier: provides many champagnes with an early-maturing richness and fruitiness.
Chardonnay: it imparts a certain austerity and elegance to young champagnes, but is long lived and matures to a fine fruitiness. In Champagne it grows vigorously and buds early, thus making it susceptible to spring frosts.
Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Arbane, Petit Meslier (the latter, genetically related to Gouais Blanc and Savagnin.
Which are the five districts of Champagne? Which have Grands Crus? Which are the 17 GC of Champagne, and in which districts are?
Associate the predominantly grapes of each, by highlighting the style of champagne produce, and of course how the soil and the slight variations of slope and aspect are crucial in determining it.
North to south are:
• Montagne de Reims: Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. 9 Grands Crus: Sillery, Puisielx, Verzenay, Verzy, Louvois, Bouzy, Ambonnay, Mailly-Champagne, Beaumont-sur-Vesle. The so called wooded “mountain” of the city (where France’s kings were crowned), essentially made two principal styles: a. Acidic, less powerful: from Pinot vines planted on such-north facing slopes as those of Verzenay and Verzy, but that can brings a refined, laser-etched delicacy to a blend; b. Rounder, softer: from vines grown on the warmer, more propitious (at least, pre-climate change!) southern flanks of the “mountain” near Äy. Overall, Montagne wines contribute to the bouquet, the headiness, and, with their firm acidity, the backbone of the blend. The memorably named village of Bouzy is famous partly because a small quantity of still red wine is made there, essential for tinting champagne rosé (by magically increasing they perceived value). Here is focusing as well the production of the rare and comparatively tart still wines of the Champagne region (mostly light reds but occasionally whites), which are sold under the appellation Coteaux Champenois.
• Vallée de la Marne: Pinot Meunier. 2 Grands Crus: Äy, Tours-sur-Marne. Situated in the west has a succession of south-facing slopes that catch the sun and produce some of the fullest, roundest and ripest wines, with plenty of aroma, optimum for the maturation of the predominantly blacked-skinned grapes present there.
•Côte des Blancs: Chardonnay. 6 Grands Cru: Chouilly, Oiry, Cramant, Avize, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The east-facing slope south to Epernay (typographically not unlike the Côte de Beaune) is the Côte des Blancs, planted with Chardonnay that gives freshness and finesse to a blend. Cramant, Avize and Le Mesnil are three villages with long-respected names for their wines.
• Côte de Sézanne: Chardonnay. No GC. Is effectively a slightly less distinguished extension of the Côte des Blancs.
• Côte des Bar (Aube): Pinot Noir. No GC. It grows friendly Pinot Noir in a pastoral landscape quite different from that further north, on Kimmeridgian marl (as in Chablis) rather than the Champagne Cretaceous chalk. Ambitious young growers proliferate here.
(A little bit western more to the Côte des Bar, in the viticulturally isolated area of Montgueux, geographically under Troyes, some of the most distinctive and early-ripening Chardonnay for blends are produced on a south-facing chalky slope).
Which are the five département of Champagne?
North to south are:
• Aisne: it covers around the 10% of the total regional vineyard area, with the mainly focused Pinot Meunier vineyards situated on the bank of the river Marne.
•Marne: it accounts for around 2/3 of the total Champagne production. Le Montagne de Reims, Valée de la Marne (some part of), Côte des Blancs and Côte de Sézanne are the districts part of Marne département.
• Seine-et-Marne
• Haute-Marne
• Aube: to the south, it is specialise in vigorous, fruity, distinctive Pinot Noir produced in the Côte des Bar (around 23% of the regional’s total) district which is part of this département.
How is the soil composition?
How soil can contribute to the modern tendency of the single-vineyard Champagne wines?
Generally speaking, to present the region, chalk (mainly from the Cretaceous) is Champagne’s most famous attribute, both for drainage and its excavated cellars, or crayères.
But its soils vary considerably over the vineyard area, which cover more than 35,000 ha:
• Côte des Blancs and much of the Montagne de Reims (apart the western portion): deep beds of Cretaceous chalk;
•Montagne de Reims (western portion): wide variety of limestones and clays.
•Vallée de la Marne: westward position inside the Marne department, here the chalk is further and further below thick layers of clay, limestone and marl.
•Côte des Bar (Aube): further south, the soils here isn’t any chalk at all, but Kimmeridgian marl, as in the immediate south-west Chablis.
This variety results in a surprisingly diverse array of wine styles and character, and more producers are now interesting in analysing the peculiarity of each soil type, in order to makes the better single-vineyard champagne possible, from a distinctive, unique, parcel.
How is the climate in Champagne?
Which is the annual average temperature?
Which are the factors that mainly influence the climate here?
Which is the latitude?
Cool and northern, but steadily getting warmer due to the climate change.
10°C (whereas, as a comparison, 12,5°C in Bordeaux and 14°C in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, southern Côte du Rhône).
The proximity to the sea, an so, the related Atlantic influences, with its cloud cover and equitable season, which has always helped to ripen grapes so far from the equator.
Indeed, the latitude of Champagne is between the 49-50°, that makes it the northern wine region (apart England, whose best wines are fair copies of champagne), incredibly suitable for the production of super quality sparkling wines.
Which is the river that carved the region in two part?
River Marne
Which impact has chalk on the vine itself, on the grape bunches (so, yeast fermentation) and on the cave (wineries) environment, so, on the related champagne ageing?
What lies beneath the vine is Champagne’s trump card: chalk is a soft rock that can easily be hewn into cellars. It also retains moisture and acts as a perfectly regulated vine humidifier while actually warming the soil. And it produces grapes rich in nitrogen, which in turn encourages the activity of yeasts.
How much far from Paris is Champagne?
Champagne is only 145 km (90 miles) northeast of Paris, centred on a small range of hills rising from a plain of chalk and carved in two by the River Marne.
Which is the physiology for each of the three Champagne grapes?
•Pinot Noir: early-ripening, early-budding black grape variety.
•Pinot Meunier: early-ripening, late-budding black grape variety.
• Chardonnay: es PN.
Due to the fact that Vallée de la Marne is prone to spring frosts, according to the distinctive physiology of each of the 3 Champagne grapes, which of these is better associate there, and so, mostly planted?
Pinot Meunier, which buds late and ripens a little earlier than PN (even if it shares some similarities), meaning it has a shorter growing cycle; this makes it a little less prone to issues with flowering and fruit set (such as spring frosts), and it also generally has less issues at harvest as the weather change.
Which were strongest vintages in Champagne?
Stronger vintages for champagne include 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2015.
