Champagne - The Basics: Part One

Where is Champagne and what makes the area unique?

There are several key factors that define the region of Champagne, marking it out from every other major wine-producing region in France.

Firstly, its geographical location. Champagne lies in northern France, about an hour and a half’s drive east of Paris. This is gently-rolling countryside with some sizeable hills in places. Many of the vineyards are planted on the slopes, particularly where there’s a southerly aspect, as it maximises exposure to the sun.

Secondly, the weather here is generally pretty cool averaging just 11°C annually and there’s barely enough sunshine to properly ripen the grapes but on the plus side, it doesn’t fluctuate too dramatically throughout the year. On the downside, the region’s very prone to frosts and hail storms which can cause huge losses in yield in some years, 2021 is a case in point.

The third key factor lies in the soil, which is predominantly limestone-based. In the Côtes des Bars area towards the south, there’s a higher proportion of marl mixed in, and in the Côtes des Blancs chalk is more prevalent. The limestone subsoil helps to accentuate the acidity and freshness in the grapes which then translates into the finished wines, something for which the region is famed for.

The main Champagne grapes and how the region is sub-divided

There are three main grape varieties used in champagne, two red grapes and one white. These are Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay.

In simple terms, Pinot Noir gives weight, structure and aroma, Pinot Meunier gives fruitiness and roundness and Chardonnay gives freshness and precision.

The Champagne region is split into four principal grape-growing areas; Montagne de Reims (mainly Pinot Noir planted), Vallée de la Marne (mainly Pinot Meunier planted), Côtes des Blancs (mostly Chardonnay) and Côtes des Bars (mainly Pinot Noir again).

The Côtes des Bars is the odd one out here as it lies on the southern edge of the appellation, about an hour and half’s drive south of the historical regional epicentre of Épernay, which puts it physically closer to Burgundy than the heart of Champagne. The climate and soils are actually more aligned with the northern half of Burgundy too hence the dominance of Pinot Noir.

Understanding the champagne lingo

Here’s a bunch of terms most commonly associated with champagne, many of which you’ll find on the bottles themselves.

Disgorgement

When the champagne has finished its second fermentation in the bottle, creating the bubbles, the sediment left by the dead yeast cells has to be removed and then the bottle topped up before putting the mushroom-shaped cork and wire cage (muzzle) on. This process of removing the sediment is called disgorgement.

Dosage

With a French pronunciation (as it’s the same spelling), describes the adjustment in sweetness level to determine the final style of the fizz. This happens immediately after disgorgement when topped up.

Cuvée

In a champagne context, the word cuvée has a couple of meanings. It either refers to the juice extracted from the first gentle pressing of the grapes before being fermented or it describes the blend that a particular producer or house creates.

Brut

A legal definition telling you the style of the champagne. In this case it’s dry. It relates to the amount of residual sugar added to the final wine when it’s topped up after disgorgement. For Brut, it must be no higher than 12 grams of residual sugar per litre.

Extra Brut

As above but sits between Brut and Brut Zéro with a maximum of 6 grams of residual sugar per litre so it’s very dry.

Brut Zéro

Also referred to as Zéro Dosage indicates the driest style of champagne you can buy, i.e. must have no more than 3 grams of sugar per litre added after disgorgement.

Brut Nature

This is virtually the same as Brut Zéro, but in this case there is no added sugar. Any residual sweetness is there ‘naturally’ but it still must be less than 3g/litre.

Demi-Sec

This is a much sweeter style of Champagne and typically contains between 32-50 grams of residual sugar per litre. Ideal for pairing with desserts.

Millésime

This is the French word for ‘vintage’, meaning all the wine in the bottle comes from a single harvest.

Grand Cru

This tells you that all the grapes used in this particular champagne are from the very best or ‘Grand Cru’ rated villages only. Out of 319 villages or ‘crus’ in the champagne region, only 17 hold Grand Cru status.

Premier Cru

The next tier down from Grand Cru, these are the next best-rated villages of which there are 42. If this term is shown on the label, the grapes have only come from these villages or better.

Perlage

A French term used to describe the pattern of bubbles in champagne when poured into a glass. The word roughly translates into a ‘collection of pearls’. Also known as ‘beading’ in English, it refers to the quantity and size of bubbles and the persistence before they dissipate.

Blanc de Blancs

A clear sparkling wine made only from white grape varieties; in this case Chardonnay.

Rosé d’Assemblage

The most common form of rosé champagne made by adding a small amount of still red wine (Pinot Noir) to the clear champagne to make it pink

Blanc de Noirs

A clear sparkling wine made only from red grape varieties.

A few of our favourites

We have a pretty broad range of champagnes in our portfolio including some of the most iconic names. Most of the familiar brand names are regarded as Champagne Houses or even ‘Grande Marques’. I’ll be going into more detail about these in a future piece but all you need to know is that these guys dominate the region’s production and exports.

Here are a few of our absolute favourites:

Champagne Ayala

Located in the Grand Cru village of Aÿ in the Vallée de la Marne, Ayala was one of the original founding Grande Marques members of 1882 and even supplied the British Royal Household in the early 1900s attaining a Royal Warrant. Their style has always favoured Chardonnay, whether blended with the two Pinots or as a straight Blanc de Blancs, and consequently makes champagnes with real finesse.

The Brut Majeur spends three years ageing on lees (bottle conditioning in beer terms), more than twice the legal minimum, which optimises refinement and development of the aromas and flavours. This is really expressive and elegantly balanced and will pair with a variety of ingredients from shellfish to poultry to cheese.

If you like pink champagne, the Rosé Majeur is made following the Rosé d’Assemblage method previously described. The 6% of still red wine comes from Aÿ village itself which is famous for its Pinot Noir. Again, aged for 3 years on the lees this has a vivacious, open aroma in the glass but that same fresh elegance and softness on the palate and makes the perfect accompaniment with delicately-cooked salmon or lamb chops.

Champagne Bollinger

Coincidentally from the same village as Ayala, this famous Marque was founded by two French guys and a young German, Joseph Bollinger, who was keen to learn the champagne trade. The house is made unique, as far as larger houses are concerned, by its extensive vineyard ownership, 85% of which lie in Premier and Grand Cru rated areas. And by its in-house cooper (the last resident cooper in the region) who looks after their stock of very old small oak barrels used for fermenting the best selected juices.

Like Ayala, they were issued a Royal Warrant by the British monarchy and they’ve proudly held it since 1884. It’s also been a favourite for real and fictional Brits for decades, think Joanna Lumley in Ab Fab and James Bond!

The flagship Special Cuvée focuses heavily on Pinot Noir (60%) with a decent proportion of reserve wines – vintages between 5 and 15 years old – blended in with the most recent vintage to add depth and consistency. Also aged for around 3 years on lees, this is a powerful, lively Champagne but understated too with very fine bubbles. Another great food enhancer, especially alongside sushi, lobster, crayfish and decent charcuterie. A real stunner!

Common myths about champagne

Here are some of the most common myths surrounding champagne:

• Dangling a spoon in an opened bottle of champagne in the fridge does not keep it fizzy for longer.
• It might look cool letting champagne corks fly when you open the bottle but it’s dangerous, wastes liquid and negatively affects the fizz in the remaining wine.
• Drinking too much Champagne doesn’t give you a worse hangover than drinking the same quantity of still wine, but do drink plenty of water alongside to stay hydrated!
• Drinking Champagne does not get you drunk quicker than still wine even if you think it does.
• Louis Roederer Cristal, one of the most expensive champagnes, doesn’t wrap its bottles in a golden coloured film for decoration, it’s actually to give it protection from harmful UV rays.

Hopefully you now have a better idea about what Champagne is. Look out for part 2 which goes into more detail about how the Champagne industry is structured and how to work out the type of producer that makes any given label.