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The Méthode Champenoise

On September 16, 2008, in Champagne, Champagne and Sparkling wine, wine geeks, by ngorevic

The traditional Champagne method is used all over the world and is a general indication of a certain level of quality. The method is quite complex, and fascinating to study.

Harvest in Champagne happens in October and is done entireley by hand. No machine harvesting is allowed in Champagne.

Pressing is done in the pressoir coquart, a device invented by Dom Perignon, which presses grapes in a shallow pan, that allows the juice to leek away quickly, ensuring that there is no contact with the skins that would add red color to the wine. In the case of rosé champagne, there are two methods used to extract color. In one method, the juice will receive a slight amount of skin contact. In the other, red wine is simply blended in to add color. The pressoir can hold 4,000 kg of grapes, and will extract 2,550 liters of juice from those grapes. Of that juice, the first 2,0050 liters are referred to as the cuvée, which has higher acidity and sugar levels. The remaining amount is called the taille.

After pressing the first fermentation begins. This wine is fermented dry, and is usually done in stainless steel tanks, although there are a few champagne houses that ferment in new oak barrels, to add some oak flavors t the wine.

Malolactic fermentation almost always takes place with Champagne, because the acidity levels are so high.

The assemblage, or blending, is a critical element in champagne production. Each house has developed a particular style of wine, and every year they attempt to match that style by blending anywhere from 70 to 100's of different vintages, vineyards, and grape varieties. This technique of blending is enormously complex and is an art which is only one of the factors that makes champagne so expensive.

The second fermentation, which must take place in the bottle the wine will be drunk from, is started by adding the liquer de tirage, which is a mixture of wine, sugar, and yeast. The bottle is sealed with a bottle cap, and aged either on its side (sur pointe) or while facing down (sur latte). The sur latte method is more expensive because it is harded and less space efficient to store them this way. The wine is then aged in the bottle, on the dead yeast cells, which gives champagne its distintive creamy, yeasty flavor. The process of the decomposition of the yeast cells is called autolysis. For non-vintage champagnes, the bottle must age in this way for at least 15 months, although most of them age much longer. For vintage champagne, the wine must age for at least 3 years, and many are aged much longer before they are released.

After the bottle is done ageing, the sediment from the dead yeast must somehow be removed. This is down through a process called Remuage or riddling. Traditionally the riddling is done by hand. The riddler will take each bottle and shake them slightly while gradually turning them so the top of the bottle points straight down. The entire process takes three weeks, and the riddlers are known for their massive forearms! Today, most of this riddling is done by large gyropallette machines that can accomplish the task in just one week.

After the bottles are pointing straight down and all the yeast has settled to the bottom, the top of the bottle is put into a freezing brine solution. In the Disgorgement phase, the cap is removed, and the gas pressure inside the wine pops out the frozen yeast, leaving only wine behind.

Finally, a dosage, consisting of sugar and wine, is added to the bottle before it is sealed with a cork. The amount of sugar added depends on the type of wine that is being produced. Only extra brut or brut savage champagnes receive no sugar at all. Here is a list of the varying sweetness levels of champagne, and the amount of sugar in each:

Style Residual Sugar (grams/liter)

Extra Brut <6

Brut <15

Extra Sec 12-20

Sec 17-35

Demi-Sec 35-50

Doux >50

Champagne Grape Varieties

On September 15, 2008, in Champagne, Champagne and Sparkling wine, wine geeks, by ngorevic

The three grapes used in Champagne are Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay. Pinot Meunier is a black grape that is closely related to Pinot Noir, but is pretty much only used to make champagne. You might be surpised to find out that two black grapes are used to make a white wine, but champagne is the exception. The skins do not come in contact with the must, so therefore no color is leeched ino the wine. Pinot Noir is used to give body and aroma to champagne. Meunier gives it an extra kick of fruit, and chardonnay adds finesse and elegance. Here is a list of the different districts of Champagne and which grapes they tend to use:

Montagne de Reims: Mostly Pinot Noir

Vallée de la Marne: Pinot Meunier

Côte des Blanes: almost all Chardonnay

Côte de Sézanne: Mostly Chardonnay

Aube Vineyards: Mostly Pinot Noir

Champagne Geography, Climate, and Soil

On September 15, 2008, in Champagne, wine geeks, by ngorevic

Champagne is generally considered to have some pretty bad weather. It's the most northerly wine growing area in France, and it's proximity to the English channel cools down the region quite a bit. It also gets quite a bit of rain, about 26 inches annually. The area is full of rolling hills that create many differnt microclimates. Champagne is divided into five major districts: Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blanes, Côtes de Sézanem Vallée de la Marne, and the Aube Vineyards. The soil is champagne consists almost entirely of a thin top soil over a chalk base. The chalk helps drainage and also produces wine very high in acidity.

Champagne laws

On September 15, 2008, in Champagne, wine geeks, by ngorevic

For a wine to be labled as Champagne, all of the grapes used to make that wine have to be grown in Champagne. In addition, the secondary fermentation must take place within the bottl the wine is going to be drank from, not in a tank.

All the vineyards in Champagne are rated according to L'echelle des crus (ladder of growths). The ladder was created by the Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne (CIVC). The CIVC sets a value for the fruit grown in the different villages in percentages. The grand cru fruit is valued at 100%, Premier Cru at 90-99%, and Village aread at 80-89%. There are 17 Grand Cru and 40 Premier Cru villages.

The following special terms can appear on Champagne labels:

NM- Négociant-Manipulant: a commerical house that buys grapes

CM- Coopérative-Manipulant: a grower cooperative

RM- Récoltant-Manipulant: a grower/producer

MA- Marque-Auxillaire: a brand name

RC- Récoltant-Coopérative: a grower working with a cooperative

SR- Société de Récoltants: a grower partnership

ND- Négociant-Distributeur a distributor label

Garage Wines

On March 13, 2008, in Bordeaux, wine geeks, by ngorevic

Garage wines are a new movement in French wines. They involve very small production amounts, usually from the right bank area. The winemaker takes exquisite care in every step of the process, with almost no consideration for the cost involved. They are usually made with predominently Merlot in the blend, and are aged in new Oak barrels. These wines can be ordinary or exceptional, and some of them, when backed by the right marketing, have attracted large followings. Because the supply is so small, they can command price even higher than top classified wines of Bordeaux. If you want to sound fancy, you can call the people who make these wines Garagistes, but make sure you bust out your best french accent to achieve maximum pretentious effect.

Other Classification Systems

On March 13, 2008, in Bordeaux, wine geeks, by ngorevic

The areas outside of Médoc and Sauternes have their own classification systems. This is part of what makes French wine so difficult to understand. The only way to get your head around it is basically to memorize everything, unfortunately. Here are how the other areas of Bordeaux classify themselves:

Graves

In 1959, Graves decided to classify its wines with separate lists for red and white wines. There is no ranking of wines here, but anything included in the list is allowed to call itself Cru Classé, Chateau Haut-Brion is on this list, although it also has the right to use its 1855 classification. It was the only wine to be included in 1855 that was outside of the Médoc and Sauternes.

Saint-Emilion

This is probably the most confusing system in Bordeaux. The best wines are classified in a separate AC called Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. Inside this AC, the Château are grouped into three subdivisions: Gramd Cru, Grand Cru Classé, and Premier Grand Cru Classé. Premier Grand Cru is then divided into Grand Cru Classé A and B. Confused yet? This system, unike in the Médoc, is flexible. Wines are evaluated every 10 years to see if they deserve to be promoted or demoted within the system, and new wines may apply once a year for entry into the system.

Cru Bourgeois Classification

On March 13, 2008, in Bordeaux, wine geeks, by ngorevic

Because the 1855 classification only included a small number of wineries, in 1939 the Cru Bourgeois system was introduced. It includes over 200 properties and is divided between 9 Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, 87 Cru Bourgeois Supérieur, and 151 Cru Bourgeois. The system was updated to include new wines in 1978, and again in 2003. The idea is that the list will updated once about every ten years or so.

The 1855 Classification

On March 11, 2008, in Bordeaux, wine geeks, by ngorevic

In 1855, Paris was holding a universal exhibition, kind of a world's fair. They decided it would be a good idea to show off their finest wines to the world, so they realized they needed to decide on exactly which wines were the best. They decided to approach the bordeaux chamber of commerce and asked them which wines should be included. The chamber of commerce then delegated the task of classifying the best wines to several brokers. The brokers looked at unofficial classifications and the prices wines were fetching on the open market in the Médoc and Sauternes only, and as a result they listed 61 Chateaux into Cru Classés, which are arranged in a hierarchy of 5 ranks. The crazy thing about the hodgepodge classification, is that there have been very few changes in it since 1855, and the system is still practically universally accepted today. The 5 ranks are as follows:

Premier Crus (or first growth)

The Premier Crus include the chateaux of Haut-Brion, Latour, Lafite, Mouton-Rothschild, and Margaux. You've probably heard of some of these names, they're quite famous and their top wines are very expensive. Haut-Brion is the only chateau outside of the Médoc to be included, and Mouton-Rothschild was a second growth until 1973. This is the only time since 1855 that a château has ever been reclassified, due to the grit and determination of the Baron Philippe de Rothschild, a savvy and determined banking mogul who had to use all his power and influence to lobby for the change. The French are really attached to their wine laws!

Below the Premier Crus are the Deuxièmes Crus (second growth) including 14 châteaux, the Troisièmes Crus (third growth) including 14 châteaux, the Quatrièmes Crus (fourth growth) including 10 châteaux, and the Cinquièmes Crus (fifth growth) including 18 châteaux. If you'd like to see a list of all the Chateaux, I found a nice one here.

Sauternes also received 3 ranks, with Château d'Yquem by itself at the top as a Premier Grand Cru Classé with 11 Châteaux below it classified as first growth, and 14 Châteaux as second growth.

En Primeur Sales

On March 11, 2008, in Bordeaux, wine geeks, by ngorevic

The way wine sales of high-end Bordeaux wines works can be a bit strange sometimes. It works a bit like a stock market, complete with speculating investors and plenty of penny stocks that never amount to anything as far as value. For a prestigious Bordeaux Chateau, cash flow can be a difficult issue, as much of the capital is tied up in the product. To reduce this exposure to risk, the winery will often engage in en primeur sales. To do this, they hold the bottled wine until after the critics have rated it, usually about 2 years after the harvest. They will then test the market with a what is called a tranche. The initial tranche price will be somewhat lower than those that follow, which gives the opportunity for a savvy investor to make a good investment. A lot of times there is so much demand for these wines that the opportunity to buy these wines is determined by a lottery system. You'd probably better think twice about getting involved in this market by yourself though. Just like the stock market, there are professionals that make a living brokering these wine deals and investments and it's definitely recommended to have their help.

Bordeaux Areas

On March 11, 2008, in Bordeaux, France, wine geeks, by ngorevic

As you can see in the map above, Bordeaux is divided into three main areas. Well, actually maybe it doesn't look like that at all when you look at that map, does it! This is where things start to get very complicated. The first thing you should notice is the main body of water coming into the landmass, called the Gironde estuary. In case you're like me and have no idea what an estuary is, it's the part of a river where the river and the sea mix, so it's a mix of salty and fresh water. Learn something new every day huh? It's even labled on the map. The Dordogne and Garonne rivers, which unfortunately are not labeled on that map, are the two forks splitting off of the Gironde to the south and southeast. These rivers help break up Bordeaux into the three areas I'm talking about:

The Left Bank

Everything west and south of the Garonne and the Gironde is what's called the left bank of Bordeaux. Starting at the north with the Médoc AC, the soil is mostly clay, with some outcroppings of gravel. The Médoc AC is generally of lower quality, with higher yields, than the areas immediately to the south. The most respected AC's in this part of the left bank are Sainte-Éstephe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Margaux, and finally the Haut-Médoc. These areas will have lower yields than the Médoc. The southern area of the left bank consists of Graves and Sauternes at the furthest southern point. Graves produces red wines in the north where the soil is mostly gravel and white wines further south where the soil is more sandy. Wines from Graves are a little bit lighter in body and more fragrant than from the Haut-Médoc. In the very top of Graves, Pessac-Léognan is the AC that houses all of the best vineyards of the area, where all the Cru Classé châteaux are located. Red wine from the left bank is almost always a blend consisting mainly of Cabernet Sauvignon, with some lesser amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Dry white wine is mostly Sauvignon Blanc, which is often blended with Sèmillon. Sweet wines, which come from Sauternes and Barsac in the south is a blend dominated by Sèmillon, with some Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle blended in. These grapes will always be botrityzed, which occurs as a result of the mists coming off the nearby Garonne river.

Between the Garonne and Dordogne

The area between the two forks splitting off the Gironde estuary is called Entre-Doux-Mers, which means between two seas. This area produces mostly dry white wines from a blend of Sèmillon and Sauvignon Blanc. In Saint-Croix-du-Mont, they make a sweet wine very similar to what is made in Sauternes. This sweet wine is usually less complex than Sauternes however, because their side of the Garonne river does not get as much botrytis as the Sauternes side. The Premières Côtes de Bordeaux area makes mostly simple dry red wines dominated by Merlot in the blend.

The Right Bank

The area to the east and North of the Dardogne is the right bank of Bordeaux. This areas produces red wine almost exclusively, and the blend here is dominated by Merlot, with some Cabernet Franc taking a role as well. The most important AC in this area is Saint-Emilion. Pomerol is another important AC, and produces some of the most expensive wines in all of Bordeaux. The other AC's on the right bank, including, Bourg, Blaye, Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac, produce wines that can represent an excellent value at much lower price points.