 A
non-vintage champagne cannot be sold until January 1st one
year after harvest, which gives a minimum aging of about
14 months. However most non-vintage champagnes are aged for
18 to 30 months.
Vintage champagne must be aged for at least 36 months from
the 1st January following the year of harvest, so the year
2000 vintage cannot be released until 2004. A vintage champagne
must be made exclusively from grapes grown in the year indicated,
which is not usually the case elsewhere.
On the label you may also see the quality of the grapes used.
The best rating is Grand Cru, followed by Premier Cru. Out
of the 301 villages in the region, 17 qualify for Grand Cru
status and 41 for Premier Cru.
There are 250 million bubbles in the average bottle of Champagne,
although I’m not sure who counted them.
Vintage Champagne
The grapes must be 100% from the year of the vintage. In
other areas of the world, this figure is as low as 75%. Some
houses will produce a vintage every year; others only produce
a vintage if the wine is of sufficient quality.
Vintage champagne is usually the result of careful selection
of that year's base wines. Non-vintage wines are still produced
in vintage years. In fact, to ensure the consistent quality
of non-vintage wines, a maximum of 85% of a year's production
can be made into vintage champagne.
As there are no base wines from other years, a vintage wine
usually takes longer to reach its peak than a non-vintage.
Typically, they approach their peak between seven and ten
years after harvesting, although this is a matter of personal
taste. The aging adds biscuit and toast notes.
Non-vintage (NV) Champagne
Non-vintage champagnes do not have a declared year, although
no rule stops them being a single year's wine. They usually
contain 5% to 10% of the previous year's wine, although some
will be up to 50% older wines, going back fifteen years or
more.
Non-vintage doesn't mean that it's bad; the aim is to blend
the base wines to produce a consistent product that is typically
ready for drinking much sooner than a vintage wine from the
same year. They will still often benefit from a year or two
in the cellar, particularly if you prefer the toasty aromas,
but their immediacy means that they don't usually have good
long-term potential. There are exceptions to every rule,
however.
Blanc de blanc Champagne
This simply means a white wine produced from white grapes;
in this case, Chardonnay. Such champagnes usually possess
the greatest aging potential and some can appear to lack
fruit when young. They open up with age, however, to give
a toasty, biscuity, nutty flavor. Others, particularly from
the Cote de Sezanne, contain much more tropical fruit and
are best drunk young. This is a consequence of the slightly
warmer climate that allows the grapes to ripen more fully.
Blanc de noir Champagne
A white wine produced from black grapes. Some are very
good, others are unremarkable, and the skill of the wine-maker
is very important.
Rose Champagne
Most rose champagnes are made by adding a small amount
of red wine, as the practice of extracting some of the color
from the black grapes at the pressing stage is too imprecise.
They are usually made for drinking young, as they are slightly
less acidic than white champagne and they have delicate floral
aromatics that quickly disappear with age.
Rose, blanc de blancs and blanc de noirs can all be vintage
or non-vintage.
Sweet or dry?
Champagne's sweetness is varied by the amount of sugar
present in the dosage. The three main types seen today are
brut, sec and demi-sec. Brut is the driest, sec is medium
and demi-sec is considered sweet.
Article © 2002-2006, The
Champagne Shop. All rights reserved.
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