Other Traditional Method Sparkling Wines of France Flashcards
What other traditional method sparkling wines are there in France?
The term Crémant is used to denote some regional French traditional method sparkling wines made outside of the Champagne region. Before 1985, the term Crémant was used to refer to a semi-sparkling style within Champagne. However, when the EU banned the term méthode champenoise as a description of the traditional method for making sparkling wines, Crémant came to be used exclusively for traditional method sparkling wines outside of Champagne. In the following decades, more regions created a Crémant and production grew.
There are eight Crémant appellations in France, but the Diploma Specification only deals with the three largest: Alsace, Bourgogne and the Loire. In addition, the sparkling wines of the appellations of AOC Saumur and AOC Vouvray will be considered in the Loire Valley chapter.
The permitted grape varieties for the various Crémant wines reflect the typical varieties of their regions, as spelled out in more detail in the following chapters.
The common features for all the Crémant wines are:
- whole bunch pressing and therefore hand harvesting
- maximum yield at pressing of 100 litres per 150 kg of grapes
- minimum of nine months’ ageing on lees during second fermentation in the bottle
• minimum 12 months’ maturation between tirage and release, which includes the nine
months’ ageing on lees
- maximum 13% abv in the finished wine
- minimum four atmospheres pressure.
While Alsace and the Loire are the largest and most important sources of traditional method wines outside of Champagne, the production of each is still only about 10 per cent of the production of Champagne.
Each of the three Crémant appellations covered here has introduced a top tier to allow for greater qualitative differentiation. These typically have greater requirements for time on lees. See the further details under each appellation.
Tell us about Cremant d’Alsace?
Crémant has become an important part of wine production in Alsace. It now accounts for about 25 per cent of total production of wine in the region. Approximately 500 producers make Crémant, many making it on a small scale and alongside their still wine production. The area of vineyard declared each year for Crémant has grown by 15 per cent over the last ten years to 3,600 hectares, reflecting increased demand for sparkling wine in general. The most important variety for sparkling wine is Pinot Blanc.
Typically, Pinot Blanc-based Crémant has medium intensity apple and pear fruit with biscuit-like autolytic notes, medium (+) to high acidity and a light to medium body. Most wines are in the Brut style.
Explain the climate of Alsace?
The vineyards for both still and sparkling wine are mainly on the eastern flanks of the Vosges foothills at elevation ranging from 200 to 400 m. The Vosges protect vineyards from prevailing westerly winds. As a result, the climate is sunny and continental. It is often rather dry and
hot during the growing season, though rain at harvest can be a problem. Shortage of water can be a problem, as irrigation is not permitted. In this climate, grape ripening progresses with hot days and cool nights (due to the continental climate), giving flavour ripeness while retaining the high acidity that is ideal for traditional method sparkling wine. Spring frost can be a problem and has become worse in recent years with warmer and earlier springs resulting in early bud break. This in turn makes the vines more vulnerable to spring frost and leads to reduction in yields.
Explain site location for Cremant d’Alsace?
Growers reserve their best sites for Riesling and the other noble varieties to be made into still wines. Pinot Blanc is grown on a range of sites – usually lower level elevations (high fertility and therefore not suited to top-quality grapes for still wines) and some cooler sites in the higher valleys where grapes for still wines would struggle to ripen. For example, Pinot Blanc for Crémant has been planted in the Munster valley, with its cool airflows retaining acidity in the grapes.
Explain the grape varieties for Cremant d’Alsace?
The varieties used for Crémant d’Alsace are Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. This group of mostly low aromatic varieties is well known for its suitability for traditional method sparkling wine. Pinot Blanc, 20 per cent of the total Alsace vineyard area, is a major ingredient. (This figure is for Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois combined, as the two varieties are not distinguished in the record keeping; in reality, most of the vines are Pinot Blanc.) Pinot Blanc is early budding, making it vulnerable to spring frosts. It is prone to fungal diseases. It is also early ripening which, combined with the early picking necessary for sparkling wines, means that the harvest is much earlier than for other varieties. The early date is a help to wineries handling the full range of Alsace varieties, allowing them to spread out the harvest and reception of grapes at the winery. Pinot Blanc contributes pear and apple aromas and high acidity to Crémant.
The other common aromatic varieties of Alsace, such as Gewurztraminer and Muscat, are not permitted. Riesling is allowed, but little used as growers prefer to use it for still wines. Pinot Blanc is an inexpensive variety, though some top growers will put the more valuable Pinot Gris (with its more prominent fruit) in their blends to raise quality.
Crémant d’Alsace is the only Alsace appellation allowing the use of Chardonnay. It is a tiny part of the total vineyard area (1 per cent).
Crémant d’Alsace Rosé can only be made from Pinot Noir. These wines can be of very good quality with medium to medium (+) flavour intensity of red-berried fruit.
Explain the vineyard management for Cremant d’Alsace?
In general, vines for grapes intended for Crémant are pruned to a greater crop load than for still wine, as the base wines do not need a high concentration of flavours. The maximum yield is 80 hL/ha (hectolitres per hectare), very similar to that allowed in Champagne. Growers must declare in July that they are going to make Crémant from particular vineyards.
Harvest for Crémant is early – the last days of August to first part of September – because just-ripe fruit with high acidity is sought. Harvest is by hand, as whole-bunch pressing is mandatory. This is with a view to producing high-quality juice with low phenolic content.
Explain the winemaking for Cremant d’Alsace?
As potential alcohol is low, the must is often chaptalised. Winemaking then follows the standard procedure for traditional method to produce a fully sparkling wine. Wines are typically made entirely from grapes from a single vintage, i.e. no reserve wines. Time on the lees during second fermentation is typically relatively short (e.g. 12 months), resulting in wines that show mainly primary fruit. However, better producers, including the top co-operatives (e.g. Cave de Turckheim), increase the time on lees substantially (e.g. two years for Cave de Turckheim’s most inexpensive sparkling wine). This results in wines with biscuit autolytic notes and more complexity. The vast majority of wines are Brut. Dosage levels are typically in the 8–10g/L range with the sugar balancing the high acidity.
Rosé wines are made by maceration on the skins for 12–24 hours to get the desired depth of colour.
Explain the wine law and wine business for Cremant d’Alsace?
The main AOC regulations have been covered – grape varieties, yield and time on lees.
Production of Crémant d’Alsace is divided between co-operatives (43 per cent), merchant houses (37 per cent) and independent growers (20 per cent). The largest single company is the co-operative Maison Bestheim, one of the pioneers of Crémant d’Alsace. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, it now makes wine, sparkling and still, from the fruit of nearly 1,400 hectares. The company owns half of these vineyards and the other half is owned by 450 growers. Other significant producers on a much smaller scale include Valentin Zusslin and Muré.
Crémant d’Alsace has grown in volume of production, more than doubling between 2000 and 2014. Most of the wine is sold in France (around 80 per cent), but exports are also rising as world demand for sparkling wine continues to rise.
What is Cremant d’Alsace Emotion?
This prestige category was launched in 2012 to create a top-quality category for Alsace sparkling wine. This category requires a minimum 75 per cent Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, separately or together, and a minimum 24 months on lees. However, while some very good, long-lees-aged wines are made in the region (e.g. Domaine Jean-Claude Buecher), the new category has not proved popular.
Tell us about Cremant de Bourgogne?
Crémant de Bourgogne is a sparkling wine, typically made from Chardonnay (now the most used variety for Crémant de Bourgogne) and Pinot Noir. It accounts for about 10 per cent of wines produced in Burgundy. Production has more than doubled since the turn of the millennium. Production is around 170,000 hL (average production 2014–2018).
The wines come in a range of styles. Most are white wines made in a Brut style with medium (+) acidity to high acidity. The medium intensity fruit ranges from apple and lemon (cooler areas) to apricot (warmer areas), with brioche autolytic notes. In addition to the standard white sparkling wines, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs and rosé are made.
Explain the growing environment and grape growing for Cremant de Bourgogne?
The appellation boundary is the same as for Bourgogne AOC. Fruit can be sourced from any of the Burgundy departéments: Yonne (Chablis), Côte d’Or (Côte d’Or), Saône-et-Loire (Chalonnais, Mâconnais) and Rhône (Beaujolais). The north to south distance is about 250 km, which can influence style if regional fruit is kept separate in a specific wine (further details in the climate section below).
The main sources of grapes for Crémant are:
- the Mâconnais, especially for Chardonnay (e.g. the large co-operative Cave de Lugny) the Côte Chalonnaise, especially around Rully
- Beaujolais
• areas around Chablis in the Yonne department and Châtillon-sur-Seine, which is immediately south of the southernmost part of
Champagne
• Hautes Côtes de Beaune and the Hautes Côtes de
Nuits
• flatland vineyards on the Côte d’Or.
In general, these areas are the cooler (and therefore better suited to producing grapes for sparkling wine) and/or the cheaper vineyard areas in the Burgundy appellation.
Explain climate and vineyard mangement for Cremant de Bourgogne?
Because of the size of the region, there is a range of climates. The northern areas have a cool climate, in that there is typically no distinct hot, dry summer period. This far north, vines need to face south or south-east to gain maximum warmth and light. These areas produce wines with high acidity and a light body.
The central area has the most continental climate, with low, sometimes freezing, winter temperatures, and drier, sunny summers, producing wine with just-ripe fruit and high acidity. However, because of the high value of grapes for still wines on the Côte d’Or, very little of this fruit goes into Crémant.
The southern area (Mâconnais, Beaujolais) has a Mediterranean influence, with high summer temperatures, producing wine with riper fruit character and lower acidity. However, they are also at risk from summer storms.
Growers of grapes for Crémant face the common hazards affecting Burgundy as a whole: hail, spring frost, fungal diseases and esca.
The maximum yield for Crémant de Bourgogne is 75 hL/ha. The allowed maximum yield for Crémant de Bourgogne is significantly higher than for the still wines of Burgundy. If growers wish to take advantage of this higher yield, as stated, they are required to declare that the vineyard will be used for Crémant before the end of March, i.e. at the end of winter when decisions about pruning have been made.
Explain grape varieties for Cremant Bourgogne?
The range of varieties typically grown for still wine are also permitted for sparkling wine. These include Gamay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Aligoté, Chardonnay, Melon and Pinot Blanc. For the proportions of these grape varieties permitted, see Winemaking.
In practice, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the dominant varieties for Crémant de Bourgogne as both can display autolytic traits well.
Explain winemaking for Cremant Bourgogne?
The base wine is made from early-harvested fruit. The wines go through malolactic conversion if this is desired by the individual producers.
For Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc, the blend must be a minimum of 30 per cent Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris, either alone or in a blend. (In practice, mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are used as there is very little Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris planted.) The maximum permitted amount of Gamay in a blend is 20 per cent.
For Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Blancs, Chardonnay and other white varieties are allowed, whereas for Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Noirs, only Pinot Noir is permitted. Rosé is similar dominantly Pinot Noir, but a small amount of Gamay is allowed to help with the colour.
Explain the wine law and wine business for Cremant de Bourgogne?
The main AOC regulations have been covered – grape varieties, yield and time on lees.
Around two-thirds of Crémant de Bourgogne is made by merchant houses, around 30 per cent by co-operatives and just 2 per cent by independent winemakers themselves. This reflects the high investment costs of producing traditional method sparkling wine. However, many independent winemakers take grapes grown for
Crémant to a specialist sparkling wine producer to make the wine for them and receive the finished bottles back to sell.
Crémant de Bourgogne has seen substantial growth this century. Sales have risen by a third in the decade to 2017. The biggest volumes are marketed by the négociants and co-operatives, with the top ten companies being responsible for 90 per cent of volume. Significant producers include Jean Charles Boisset and Louis Bouillot. Exports account for nearly 40 per cent of sales and continue to grow. Principal export markets are the USA and Sweden, with exports rising rapidly in the UK, Belgium and Germany.
To develop a quality hierarchy with Crémant de Bourgogne, and to get a better return for grapes grown for Crémant, two top tiers were recently introduced:
Crémant de Bourgogne Eminent
This category has an additional lees-ageing requirement of 24 months minimum.
Crémant de Bourgogne Grand Eminent
This category has a number of requirements, including:
- for whites: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay only
- for rosé wines only, 20 per cent of Gamay is allowed
- a vintage is optional, but is commonly used
- a minimum of 36 months’ lees ageing and three months in the bottle before release
- Brut designation only.
Sourcing grapes can be a challenge for Crémant producers in Burgundy. In addition to the general problems of small harvests affecting the region as a whole (due to hail and frost), rising prices for still wine from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Burgundy can reduce the availability of grapes for Crémant. For example, growers in Rully, which used to be a centre for Crémant production, can now get better prices for still wines.
