The Language Of The Label

Question 1

What it means Blanc de blancs?

Answer 1

Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay.

Question 2

What it means Blanc de noirs?

Answer 2

Champagne made exclusively from dark-skinned grapes (Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier).

Question 3

What it means Cuvée?

Answer 3

A blend, which most champagne is.

Question 4

What it means NV (Non-Vintage)?

Answer 4

Champagne containing wines from more than one year.

Question 5

What it means Réserve? And Cuvée de Prestige?

Answer 5

Much used but meaningless term, is referred to some reserved wine of the maison which is added to the cuvée.

A producer might also indulge in a cuvée de prestige, normally a vintage champagne made from premium grapes and aged for an even longer period.

Question 6

What it means Vintage?

Answer 6

Wine from a single year.

Question 7

Talking about sweetness levels, what it means Brut nature or zero dosage?

Answer 7

<3 g/l residual sugar levels, and no sugar additions of any sort.

Question 8

Extra brut?

Answer 8

Blonde-dry: 0-6 g/l

Question 9

Brut?

Answer 9

Dry: <12 g/l.

Question 10

Extra dry?

Answer 10

Dry: 12-17 g/l.

Question 11

Dry or Sec?

Answer 11

Dryish: 17-32 g/l.

Question 12

Demi-sec?

Answer 12

Medium sweet (despite the name): 32-50 g/l.

Question 13

Doux?

Answer 13

Positively sweet: >50 g/l.

Question 14

Talking about bottler codes, what it means NM?

Answer 14

Négociant-manipulant: champagne house that buys in grape.

Question 15

RM?

Answer 15

Récoltant-manipulant: grower who makes his or her champagne wine.

Question 16

CM?

Answer 16

Coopérative de manipulation: a co-op.

Question 17

RC?

Answer 17

Récoltant-coopérateur: grower selling wine made by a co-op.

Question 18

MA?

Answer 18

Marque d’acheteur: buyer’s own brand. ND (négociants-distributeurs) is similar, even if MA is applied to a finished champagne marketed under the label of a retailer such as a supermarket group or celebrity.

Question 19

What is it prestige cuvée?

Answer 19

One of several names given to a champagne house’s highest-quality wine.

All the major firms have now followed the example of Roederer with their Cristal bottling and Moët & Chandon with Dom Pérignon and produce ‘luxury’, ‘de luxe’, or prestige cuvées to show their house styles at their best.

Question 20

SR?

Answer 20

Other entities in the champagne industry are sociétés de récoltants (SR), growers who group together to produce a champagne outside the co-operative system.

Question 21

ND?

Answer 21

Négociants-distributeurs (ND), négociants who buy a finished champagne and market it under their own label.

Question 22

What it means “grandes marques”?

Answer 22

Obsolete, self-imposed term for some of the major houses or brands of champagne. The original Syndicat des Grandes Marques was founded in 1882 but was disbanded in 1997. The term means literally ‘big brand’ in French and is still used informally.

Question 23

Which are some of the most important investments of the maison Bollinger?

Answer 23

The Bollinger family company, Société Jacques Bollinger, acquired Burgundy producer Chanson in 1999. It also owns a majority stake in the saumur house Langlois-Chateau, as well as a minority stake in the cognac house Delamain. In 2005 the company bought their neighbouring house in Aÿ, Champagne Ayala, one of the original grandes marques.