THERE’S nothing like a bottle of champagne to add a bit of sparkle to an occasion, but which variety to pick and how much to pay can be a real problem.
So here is a look at choosing good champagne from Jon Catt, who holds a French Regional Guides qualification for the Champagne Ardennes region. He writes…
THE 24 members of the Club des Grandes Marques largely dominate champagne sales in England and America.
When you see the names Bollinger, Moet et Chandon or Veuve Cliquot on a bottle you know that you are buying a quality product.
They use grapes for their champagne that come from the top vineyards. There are just 17 Grand Cru villages and 38 Premier Cru.
Look for these two qualifications or the name of one of the villages, for example, Avize on the label.
Vintage champagnes display their year of origin on the label but there may only be four vintage years per decade.
It is of a higher quality and aged longer than other champagnes, which makes the champagne less acid and gives it creaminess.
There are also ‘super vintages’ and it was James Bond who started the trend for drinking the Grandes Marques Prestige Cuvees.
These are made with a blend of vintages or the grapes from a single village and are aged even longer than vintage champagnes.
The price range here is from at least £40 to £800 depending on the year and bottle size.
The ‘big houses’ only own 13% of the vineyards so they depend on 19,000 growers to supply them with grapes who also sell them to co-operatives. This is the origin of much of the champagne found in supermarkets.
English supermarket chains started making their own brand champagnes about 20 years ago and they have enough control over the market to make champagnes that suit British tastes.
Three supermarket brands were placed in Which Magazine’s list of the top ten champagnes, however, the Grandes Marques brands tested weren’t considered good enough.
On labels you can see M.A. (Marque Acheteur) or BOB (Buyer’s Own Brand), which is champagne specially made for chain stores or restaurants.
It is the same blend as the Grandes Marques but considerably cheaper.
Wines can be easily damaged by ultraviolet light so if possible check carefully how the champagne is stocked in the supermarket.
If you want a real guarantee of choice and quality go to a specialised wind dealer.
You have to beware though of ‘under brands’ which often have names that begin with Comte de… Duc de… or Marquis de…
Champagne that’s only been aged for the regulation 15 months can be very acid.
If you can’t afford more than £15 then go for Cremant, Cava or some of the other sparkling wines produced throughout the world.
There are now reckoned to be 10,000 or more different brands of champagne but there are only 300 web sites offering information, so probably the best way to explore this rich diversity is to hop over to France.
The Champagne region is just six hours from London by road and there are also regular flights to Reims, the capital of champagne.
The trend in small growers has been steadily increasing with 2,258 growers now producing and bottling their own champagnes.
You can identify them by the R.M. (Recoltant- Manipulant) on the label.
Non-vintage champagne is the mostly widely sold in the world and it consists of the blending of wines that comes from different years as well as different parcels of vines.
Blending and the second fermentation are the hallmarks of champagne.
Three grape varieties are used, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. They grow in particular areas throughout the region.
You can try champagnes that are 100% of a particular variety or different blends with the latter characteristic of the small growers.
When you want to choose champagne think of the occasion when you’ll drink it.
Chardonnay gives champagne its fruity flavour. Blanc de Blancs made with 100% chardonnay is suitable as an aperitif wine.
Pinot Noir gives champagne its body and this can be served with a main course.
Champagne also has different degrees of sweetness. When you see Brut on a label you’ll be buying dry champagne with little sugar. Demi-sec is sweeter.
Whilst a label may give many indications about the quality of champagne it is only by opening it that you can really appreciate it.
It should have a good amber colour and the bubbles should rise in straight lines in the glass. The older the champagne the smaller the bubbles.
There is also the different pallet of aromas depending on the blend and the age of the champagne.
If you don’t want to travel to France and you can wait at least 50 years you may find that the champagne vineyards have been moved to Sussex.
Global warming is thought to be the cause of the increasing number of vintages. A small rise in temperature in the Champagne region over the next half-century and the wine growers will have to move.
The Downs share the same chalks as the hills on which the vines now grow and English land prices are considerably cheaper than their equivalent in the Champagne region.
So certain Champagne houses are said to be making investigations.
About Jon Catt
Jon was a tour guide in the north of England and discovered Troyes, in the Aube, quite by chance and fell in love with this French equivalent to Chester or York. He has lived in the town for 11 years and runs guided tours to the region’s chateauxs, Cistercian abbeys, champagne vineyards and cider makers. Jon is the only English person with the French Regional Guides qualification for Champagne Ardennes. You can contact him via email: Jon.Catt@wanadoo.fr
Comments
2 responses to “Picking a good bottle of champagne”
Hello,
As New Year’s Eve approaches, I have been looking for a bottle of Bollinger to present at a hostess’ gathering. I assume costs would be in the approximate range of $45-60/bottle, although I am unsure of what a proper price would be for a New Year’s party. Would you please recommend a bottle of this champagne, including price range and year? Thank you for your attention.
Hi Brenda,
Saw your comment about looking for a bottle of Bollinger for New Year’s Eve and thought maybe I could help.
I’m not up to speed with US prices these days but I suspect that you’d need to pay nearer $60 than $45 what with the USD being a little weak against the euro.
This would be for a non-vintage bottle i.e. with no specific year on the bottle ( If it has a year on the bottle, it’s vintage and will cost more)
If I were you, and unless you are giving the bottle to someone who really is into champagne, I wouldn’t worry about getting a vintage bottle.
Most champagne, including what the big name brands like Bollinger produce, is non-vintage and the quality is usually fine. In fact the whole point of the champagne system is that by blending wines from different years they can assure you of consistent quality year-in, year-out.
Vintage is slightly different from one year to the next, but again don’t get too hung up on buying a particular year – all vintage is worth trying because if it is not good, the champagne maker simply won’t make it, he/she will stick to producing the regular non-vintage.
There’s a lot of hype about one year or another being the ‘Must Have’ vintage. These carry a price premium and, to be frank, 99% of people could not tell if one year is ‘better’ than the others.
If you want to know more about champagne, do take a look at my web site and blog where you’ll find everything I learned from living and working there for 10 years.
Have a great New Year
Jiles