The History of Champagne
Champagne is both the name of a province and a wine. The name is derived from the Latin campania, which mean open, flat countryside (much like the Campania in Italy). It was once the major trade routes for Flanders (northern part of Belgium) and Switzerland, and as well as Paris to the Rhine. The official record of wine in Champagne dated back to the end of the fifth century. During then, a pinkish still wine (not sparkling) made from Pinot Noir were produced. During the French Revolution, the province of Champagne was divided into départements of Ardennes, Marne, Aube, Haute-Marne and parts Aisne.
The arrival of Dom Pérignon in the 17th century has dramatically improved the wine quality of Champagne. His Abbey of Hautvillers (above Épernay) has become the region's leading viticultural centre. During then, wines were cloudy, the criteria for greatness actually lies on supreme clarity in wine (not finesse, not complex depth of flavor in a bottle of wine), which explains the origin of the word claret derives (French for clairet). Bordeaux at that time was a light red that achieved its clarity by blending white wines, hence the evolution of clairet into claret. This is the myth behind how Dom Pérignon created a sparkling Champagne. His original goal was in fact to craft a clear wine, and along the line, a sparkling wine was accidentally made. To add to that story, we must also credit Madame Clicquot that has invented the ridding table (later evolved to the pupitres system for the remuage process) and eventually produce a Champagne that is free from those cloudy sediment.
How the bubbly liquid form?
Being the northern-most grape growing region. The fruits in Champagne are generally very high in acid. The cool winter often results in a slow and inefficient fermentation, whereby, the function of yeast can be disrupted and want into hibernation. Eventually, when the young wines were shipped during spring to Paris or London (during then, young wines were more expensive and popular than aged wines), as the weather warm-up. A second fermentation occurred in the bottle, and result in a fizzy juice. No one knows exactly why this come and go fizziness. Since very often, the force of carbon dioxide gas could effortlessly explode a flimsy bottle. The English glassmakers eventually come out with a stronger glass bottle that can withstand the pressure from the second fermentation. Added to that, when Jean-Antoine Chaptal (the person who invented chaptalization) eventually learn the formation of carbonate gas was due to enclosed environment in the bottle before the fermentation was completed. And later, a young pharmacist from Châlons-sur-Marne, André Francois mastering the precise amount of sugar to induce a second fermentation in the bottle without bursting the bottle. The famous méthode champenoise or Champagne method was achieved. By adding additional yeast and sugar to the base wine and after, capped the bottle tightly with crown cap. The secondary fermentation took place in the bottle and since the carbon dioxide gas was unable to escape, it has dissolved back into the wine. The Champagne is further aged on lees, and the aging varies from house-to-house and according to the style of Champagne (like Salon, which generally released some ten years after the vintage). The wine than undergo riddling (process involved overturning the bottle in riddling rack (pupitre), shacking and turning the bottle (remuage) to dislodging the deposit from the bottom into the neck. Subsequently dégorged (frozen the sediment from the neck of bottle and subsequently removed them) and added liqueur d'expédition (mixture of wine and sugar syrup) before bottling them. Some champagne house may choose not be added with the dosage (sugar), which the champagne will later labeled as Extra Brut. All Champagne that called themselves Brut, normally consist of 3-15 gram per litre of residual sugar.
The Style of Champagne
Champagne vineyards are spread over six major sub-communes, with Montagne de Reims (near the town of Reims) above the Vallée de la Marne, Côte de Blancs lies underneath of Épernay, Côte de Sézanne on the west and Aube in the east, but in fact closer to the Chablis of Burgundy rather than the main district of Champagne. Most vineyards in Champagne are from the slopes of the hills, as the flat land would not provide sufficient sunlight to ripen the grape as well as enough protection against wind and rain that brought by Atlantic breezes. Beside the harsh growing condition where grape struggled to ripen but in turn, gave high acidity that is essential for the making of a good bubbly. The thick, well drained chalk subsoil, which encourage the vine roots to dig deeper, avoiding the extreme climate above the ground and as well as retaining good humidity in the soil to further assist the grape ripening. Those are crucial elements that contribute Champagne for the making of world famous sparkling. Montagne de Reims is generally referred as the finest zone, where vineyards are well protected from rain and wind by the forested hilltops. In addition, there are some warm air currents running through this area, which explains why Pinot Noir ripen well here. Especially with ideal south facing grand cru vineyards like Ambonnay & Bouzy, where the best pinot noir are from. Vallée de la Marne, with the exception for south banks of Marne like Aÿ, produced beautiful pinot noir fruit, the further west, toward Paris, where chalk turned thin, only the pinot meunier flourish. The best chardonnay vineyards are from Côte des Blancs, which was just outside Épernay. The soils here are predominantly chalk, with occasionally thin layer of clay topsoil. All vineyards are east and south-east-facing slopes and the famous Blanc-de-Blancs (white wine from Blancs) vineyard of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is from here, which produces the world-famous Krug's Clos du Mesnil and Salon Champagne. Other noticeable grand crus vineyard in Côte de Blancs also include, Cramant, which is the principle fruit soured for Perrier Jouët and Mumm (Mumm de Cramant).
However, despite all the above communes and crus in Champagne, one should be aware that, all vineyards in Champagne are exposed to cold autumns and icy winters, which challenge the grape from ripening. Quality vary from year-to-year. Even for Krug or Salon to make their blanc de blancs from a single cru of Mesnil-sur-Oger every year is impossible. So, traditionally, Champagne has always been known for their "art of blending". Not only did they blend from various villages, but also from several vintages, which are legally permitted. The Champagne house may use up to 50 - 200 communes for their blend. In addition, they are also allowed to use between 10 and 50 per cent of what so called, vins de réserve from previous vintages in order to concoct their exclusive house-style. With the exception for some Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs (made solely from pinot noir & pinot meunier. However, Bollinger's Vieilles Vignes Françaises is coming from 100% old vine pinot noir grown at Aÿ and Bouzy), which can come from sole vineyard source. Even for such De Luxe Cuvée like Dom Pérignon, Bollinger RD, Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill, Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame, they are rarely coming from one single source. As for vintage Champagne, which is generally only declared in an exceptional year with a minimum of 39 months old before it allow to release. However, apart from such great years like 1985, 1990, 1996, the quality for vintage Champagne vary from house-to-house.
To sum up the above, what matters in choosing a bottle of Champagne is that particular house-style you prefer, rather than which communes, crus they are from. Much like the way you chose a Cognac - nobody give a damn whether the cognac is coming from Grande Champagne or Petite Champagne! Obviously, here we are dealing with a more interesting "living" product, compared to a product, which will not improve with age (the level of alcohol found in cognac, can effortlessly killed all living microbes. Think about antiseptic!). In the franchise-movie of James Bond. You are well aware that they've switch to Bollinger from Dom Pérignon. However, how many of you actually notice that, Bond's Martini is no longer "shaken, not stirred", but rather "three measures of gin, one of vodka and half of kina Lillet (French vermouth)". Now, you get it?
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
First, I would like to give credits to Clive Coates for his book, an Encyclopedia of The Wines and Domaines of France; Jancis Robinson for her book, Oxford Company to Wine; Oz Clarke's Wine Atlas; Jay McInerney's Adventures in Wine and Matt Kramer's Making Sense of Wine for assisting my above writing. However, I must confess, I am no expert in this area. I love Champagne for their liveliness and knife-cut acidity, and it has been my favorite drink when I hangout in a bar. Like me, anyone who is new to Champagne, chances are, you would prefer those raised partially or completely in wood, with more oxidative nutty, dried fruit qualities in the like of Krug, Bollinger or Veuve Clicquot. Also, the vintage Champagne, with its round, complex, rich textured can be equally appealing. Lately, I find myself drinking more and more the lighter weight Champagne like Billecart-Salmon, Taittinger, Delamotte's Blanc de Blancs and off course, my very own agency - Jules Lassalle. I like the brightness, raciness and details of those elegant Champagne. I increasingly find those wood/oxidative style Champagne to be heavy, especially after emptying the first one.
Champagne is both the name of a province and a wine. The name is derived from the Latin campania, which mean open, flat countryside (much like the Campania in Italy). It was once the major trade routes for Flanders (northern part of Belgium) and Switzerland, and as well as Paris to the Rhine. The official record of wine in Champagne dated back to the end of the fifth century. During then, a pinkish still wine (not sparkling) made from Pinot Noir were produced. During the French Revolution, the province of Champagne was divided into départements of Ardennes, Marne, Aube, Haute-Marne and parts Aisne.
The arrival of Dom Pérignon in the 17th century has dramatically improved the wine quality of Champagne. His Abbey of Hautvillers (above Épernay) has become the region's leading viticultural centre. During then, wines were cloudy, the criteria for greatness actually lies on supreme clarity in wine (not finesse, not complex depth of flavor in a bottle of wine), which explains the origin of the word claret derives (French for clairet). Bordeaux at that time was a light red that achieved its clarity by blending white wines, hence the evolution of clairet into claret. This is the myth behind how Dom Pérignon created a sparkling Champagne. His original goal was in fact to craft a clear wine, and along the line, a sparkling wine was accidentally made. To add to that story, we must also credit Madame Clicquot that has invented the ridding table (later evolved to the pupitres system for the remuage process) and eventually produce a Champagne that is free from those cloudy sediment.
How the bubbly liquid form?
Being the northern-most grape growing region. The fruits in Champagne are generally very high in acid. The cool winter often results in a slow and inefficient fermentation, whereby, the function of yeast can be disrupted and want into hibernation. Eventually, when the young wines were shipped during spring to Paris or London (during then, young wines were more expensive and popular than aged wines), as the weather warm-up. A second fermentation occurred in the bottle, and result in a fizzy juice. No one knows exactly why this come and go fizziness. Since very often, the force of carbon dioxide gas could effortlessly explode a flimsy bottle. The English glassmakers eventually come out with a stronger glass bottle that can withstand the pressure from the second fermentation. Added to that, when Jean-Antoine Chaptal (the person who invented chaptalization) eventually learn the formation of carbonate gas was due to enclosed environment in the bottle before the fermentation was completed. And later, a young pharmacist from Châlons-sur-Marne, André Francois mastering the precise amount of sugar to induce a second fermentation in the bottle without bursting the bottle. The famous méthode champenoise or Champagne method was achieved. By adding additional yeast and sugar to the base wine and after, capped the bottle tightly with crown cap. The secondary fermentation took place in the bottle and since the carbon dioxide gas was unable to escape, it has dissolved back into the wine. The Champagne is further aged on lees, and the aging varies from house-to-house and according to the style of Champagne (like Salon, which generally released some ten years after the vintage). The wine than undergo riddling (process involved overturning the bottle in riddling rack (pupitre), shacking and turning the bottle (remuage) to dislodging the deposit from the bottom into the neck. Subsequently dégorged (frozen the sediment from the neck of bottle and subsequently removed them) and added liqueur d'expédition (mixture of wine and sugar syrup) before bottling them. Some champagne house may choose not be added with the dosage (sugar), which the champagne will later labeled as Extra Brut. All Champagne that called themselves Brut, normally consist of 3-15 gram per litre of residual sugar.
The Style of Champagne
Champagne vineyards are spread over six major sub-communes, with Montagne de Reims (near the town of Reims) above the Vallée de la Marne, Côte de Blancs lies underneath of Épernay, Côte de Sézanne on the west and Aube in the east, but in fact closer to the Chablis of Burgundy rather than the main district of Champagne. Most vineyards in Champagne are from the slopes of the hills, as the flat land would not provide sufficient sunlight to ripen the grape as well as enough protection against wind and rain that brought by Atlantic breezes. Beside the harsh growing condition where grape struggled to ripen but in turn, gave high acidity that is essential for the making of a good bubbly. The thick, well drained chalk subsoil, which encourage the vine roots to dig deeper, avoiding the extreme climate above the ground and as well as retaining good humidity in the soil to further assist the grape ripening. Those are crucial elements that contribute Champagne for the making of world famous sparkling. Montagne de Reims is generally referred as the finest zone, where vineyards are well protected from rain and wind by the forested hilltops. In addition, there are some warm air currents running through this area, which explains why Pinot Noir ripen well here. Especially with ideal south facing grand cru vineyards like Ambonnay & Bouzy, where the best pinot noir are from. Vallée de la Marne, with the exception for south banks of Marne like Aÿ, produced beautiful pinot noir fruit, the further west, toward Paris, where chalk turned thin, only the pinot meunier flourish. The best chardonnay vineyards are from Côte des Blancs, which was just outside Épernay. The soils here are predominantly chalk, with occasionally thin layer of clay topsoil. All vineyards are east and south-east-facing slopes and the famous Blanc-de-Blancs (white wine from Blancs) vineyard of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is from here, which produces the world-famous Krug's Clos du Mesnil and Salon Champagne. Other noticeable grand crus vineyard in Côte de Blancs also include, Cramant, which is the principle fruit soured for Perrier Jouët and Mumm (Mumm de Cramant).
However, despite all the above communes and crus in Champagne, one should be aware that, all vineyards in Champagne are exposed to cold autumns and icy winters, which challenge the grape from ripening. Quality vary from year-to-year. Even for Krug or Salon to make their blanc de blancs from a single cru of Mesnil-sur-Oger every year is impossible. So, traditionally, Champagne has always been known for their "art of blending". Not only did they blend from various villages, but also from several vintages, which are legally permitted. The Champagne house may use up to 50 - 200 communes for their blend. In addition, they are also allowed to use between 10 and 50 per cent of what so called, vins de réserve from previous vintages in order to concoct their exclusive house-style. With the exception for some Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs (made solely from pinot noir & pinot meunier. However, Bollinger's Vieilles Vignes Françaises is coming from 100% old vine pinot noir grown at Aÿ and Bouzy), which can come from sole vineyard source. Even for such De Luxe Cuvée like Dom Pérignon, Bollinger RD, Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill, Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame, they are rarely coming from one single source. As for vintage Champagne, which is generally only declared in an exceptional year with a minimum of 39 months old before it allow to release. However, apart from such great years like 1985, 1990, 1996, the quality for vintage Champagne vary from house-to-house.
To sum up the above, what matters in choosing a bottle of Champagne is that particular house-style you prefer, rather than which communes, crus they are from. Much like the way you chose a Cognac - nobody give a damn whether the cognac is coming from Grande Champagne or Petite Champagne! Obviously, here we are dealing with a more interesting "living" product, compared to a product, which will not improve with age (the level of alcohol found in cognac, can effortlessly killed all living microbes. Think about antiseptic!). In the franchise-movie of James Bond. You are well aware that they've switch to Bollinger from Dom Pérignon. However, how many of you actually notice that, Bond's Martini is no longer "shaken, not stirred", but rather "three measures of gin, one of vodka and half of kina Lillet (French vermouth)". Now, you get it?
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
First, I would like to give credits to Clive Coates for his book, an Encyclopedia of The Wines and Domaines of France; Jancis Robinson for her book, Oxford Company to Wine; Oz Clarke's Wine Atlas; Jay McInerney's Adventures in Wine and Matt Kramer's Making Sense of Wine for assisting my above writing. However, I must confess, I am no expert in this area. I love Champagne for their liveliness and knife-cut acidity, and it has been my favorite drink when I hangout in a bar. Like me, anyone who is new to Champagne, chances are, you would prefer those raised partially or completely in wood, with more oxidative nutty, dried fruit qualities in the like of Krug, Bollinger or Veuve Clicquot. Also, the vintage Champagne, with its round, complex, rich textured can be equally appealing. Lately, I find myself drinking more and more the lighter weight Champagne like Billecart-Salmon, Taittinger, Delamotte's Blanc de Blancs and off course, my very own agency - Jules Lassalle. I like the brightness, raciness and details of those elegant Champagne. I increasingly find those wood/oxidative style Champagne to be heavy, especially after emptying the first one.
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