saadmin
By Jim Peterson
Wine Enthusiast & Instagram Wine Influencer
“I only drink Champagne when I’m happy. And when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.”
– Lily Bollinger, Bollinger Champagne
There are so many great quotes about Champagne, but I chose this one to kick off this article because it so elegantly disputes the idea that Champagne is only for celebrations. Champagne is a wine we should enjoy like any other type of wine. My favorite wine experience in all my travels was being hosted by Moët & Chandon for an overnight stay at the Moët family estate, Château de Saran in 2002. There was Champagne before dinner, Champagne during dinner, and Champagne after dinner. That visit conclusively proved to me that Champagne is truly a wine for all occasions. Plus, it was amazing.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT CHAMPAGNE?
I have visited the Champagne region twice – in 2002 and 2006. During both visits I had the opportunity for private tours and tastings with various Champagne houses. Another memorable experience was a private lunch with Le Comte Audoin de Dampierre (Count Dampierre) and his wife the Countess. He makes some spectacular Champagnes, and I will never forget sipping some of that Champagne in his Château before he drove us to the restaurant in Reims. I still remember the best steak tartare I have ever tasted. For whatever reason, the magic in the bottle of a Champagne just seems to carry over into everything. That bubbly magic is the closest thing to bottled happiness we can ever see in our lifetime.
I suppose I must be a little practical here, so let us make some distinctions up front. Champagne is both a region in France and a particular type of sparkling wine. Only sparkling wine from Champagne is truly Champagne. Champagne, the wine, starts as a still wine, and then it goes through a second fermentation in the bottle where the Carbon Dioxide (or CO2) dissolves into the wine, and this creates the bubbles. Along the way dead yeast deposits from the second fermentation settle in the neck of the bottle through a “riddling” process that turns the bottles downward. The riddling creates sediment “plugs” which are quick-frozen and removed in a step called disgorgement. The wine makers eventually top off the bottles with a dosage of liqueur just before they complete the final corking.
The dosage component, a mixture of reserve wine and varying amounts of sugar, will determine the designation (or style) placed on the Champagne label. These designations help you determine the level of dryness (or sweetness) to expect in a particular Champagne. From the sweetest to driest, the order is: Doux, Demi-Sec, Sec, Extra Dry, Brut, and Extra Brut. Each level has strict ranges on grams per liter of sugar. I must also note that many wine enthusiasts have recently been enthralled with Brut Nature Champagne (also labeled as Pas Dosé or Dosage Zéro). This means the dosagewas in the range of 0-3 grams of sugar per liter, the driest level for Champagne. Generally, though, most of the Champagnes we are used to seeing are labeled as Brut.
VINTAGE VS. NON-VINTAGE (NV)
Champagne is unique in the wine world because 80% or more of its annual production release is non-vintage wine (you will see NV on the label). Champagne producers hold back “reserve wines” each year, and they will blend these reserve wines with the current year’s harvest to help maintain a consistency of the “house style” for the NV wines produced each year. The ability to blend different vintages and different plots lessens the impact of poorer vintages and allows consumers to be confident that Champagne from their favorite producers will be consistent. They achieve this consistency by a rigorous process of tasting multiple blends until they are satisfied. It is kind of crazy when you think about it. The latest Krug Grand Cuvée, one of the most treasured NV blended Champagnes, contains wines from 120 different vineyards spanning ten different vintages. It falls on the Chef de Cave (or Cellar Master) to oversee the blending selection and make the final decision. Talk about pressure!
Some vintages meet a high standard of quality, so the Champagne producers will produce and eventually release vintage Champagnes. These are easy to spot because they have a vintage year on the label. When you see a vintage on a Champagne label you can be sure all the wine in the Champagne is from that vintage. Vintage Champagne is considered a higher quality wine, and that higher quality is usually reflected in the price. Producers may hold back vintage Champagnes for several years before release. For example, some 2008 Champagne, widely regarded as a spectacular vintage, was not released until this year. Meanwhile, some of the 2014 vintage Champagnes can already be seen on the shelves.
PRO TIP: Champagne is made using three main grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Most Champagnes are blends in varying percentages of these grapes. Champagnes from a single grape variety will be labeled as such. A Champagne with only Chardonnay is a Blanc de Blancs (white of whites), while a Champagne labeled a Blanc de Noirs (white of blacks) is usually just Pinot Noir but sometimes may have Pinot Meunier (both are red grapes). The Blanc de Blancs will have more of a bright citrus or white fruit profile, while the Blanc de Noirs will have more of a berry-like quality. Both are worth trying.
HOUSE CHAMPAGNE VS. GROWER CHAMPAGNE
Nicolas Ruinart established the first Champagne house, Ruinart, in 1729. Eventually other Champagne houses, or négociants, appeared on the scene. The big houses include recognizable names like Moët & Chandon, Billecart-Salmon, Perrier-Jouët, Mumm, Veuve Clicquot, and Bollinger. These houses own vineyards of their own, but they also contract with growers to buy grapes and use them in their Champagnes. The houses have an advantage with wines from multiple vineyards, all of which are vinified separately. This helps lessen the impact of tougher vintages and allows them to maintain their “house style” because they have so many separate wines to mix and match. About 100 Champagne houses (out of thousands of producers) account for two thirds of Champagne sales and about 90% of the total exports. That may seem unfair, but the great houses have earned their dominance. They are, in fact, the ones who built the “brand” of Champagne into what it is today.
Aside from the big house Champagnes, many wine enthusiasts are constantly on the lookout for unique “Grower Champagnes.” These are small Champagne producers who only use the grapes they farm to produce their Champagnes. The grower Champagnes evolved as some of the farmers simply cut ties to the big houses and decided to make their own style of Champagne. Some growers still sell and produce their own wines. In 1971 several of these growers created the Club Trésors to recognize a small group of artisan wine makers committed to excellence. There are only 28 members who have passed the rigorous tests to join this elite group. Aside from their NV lineup, they produce “Special Club” Champagnes, the growers’ version of Prestige Cuvées. The “Special Club” represents the highest quality wines in outstanding vintages. These are, quite simply, some of the most exciting Champagnes on the market if you can find them.
ROSÉ CHAMPAGNE
I am a great fan of rosé Champagne. There are two basic methods to produce a rosé. The first is to add a small amount of red still wine produced from the Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier grapes into the blend before the second fermentation. The second, and to me the more intriguing style, is a saignée rosé where the crushed juice is “bled off” before the skin contact can infuse too much color (the word saignée literally means “to bleed”). These Champagnes can be rich in color and flavor and pair spectacularly with food.
CHAMPAGNE FOOD PAIRINGS
I tend to stick to the classic pairings with my Champagne. For appetizers try caviar (with all the fixings), raw oysters (especially with Blanc de Blancs), a nice pâté, well-made escargot, smoked salmon on toast points, or a nice charcuterie. If you want to be adventurous with a main course, then I suggest a grilled double-cut pork chop, a seared tuna steak, or a tender roasted chicken dish. I also think Champagne as a pairing with foie gras is underrated.
CHAMPAGNE RECOMMENDATIONS
I just want to make a quick note on budget Champagnes. Many of the big houses have entry level Champagnes (both white and rosé) that are quite good. The “value” to you, though, often depends on your style preference. My advice is to keep trying them until you find one that suits you. Meanwhile, here are some of my personal favorites.
Champagne Houses:
Moët & Chandon (Dom Perignon anyone?)
Billecart-Salmon (All of them!)
Bollinger (I mean, if James Bond likes it?)
Grower Champagne:
Pierre Gimonnet & Fils
Bruno Paillard
Marc Hébrart
Favorite Rosé Champagne:
Laurent-Perrier Rosé (a long-time favorite saignée)
Billecart-Salmon Rosé
Marc Hébrart Rosé
Follow Jim on Instagram, @tx_wine_pilot, for more wine tips and reviews.
Biography:
Jim Peterson is a retired U.S. Air Force officer who mainly flew the A-10 fighter jet. He has ties to the wine business going back over 20 years and is an avid wine collector. His extensive wine knowledge includes travel to many wine regions while living in Europe, many tastings led by Master Sommeliers, and ongoing personal wine exploration and self-study. He has cultivated a large following on his Instagram account, @tx_wine_pilot, tasting and reporting on wines from vintage to value. He now works in marketing and resides in San Antonio, Texas.
