Champagne – Decanter

Champagne and Prosecco: What's the difference?

Elie Lloyd Ellis — Mon, 20 May 2024 04:00:55 +0000

Though both may be great picks to elevate a celebration, there’s a lot to distinguish Champagne and Prosecco from each other. Geographical location, permitted grape varieties, production method and flavour profile all make a difference in understanding these two wine styles.

But let’s start with the similarities. Both Champagne and Prosecco are permitted to make rosé sparkling wines under the respective names; although for Prosecco, this was only approved in May 2020.

The two regions have also been recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage sites for their viticultural heritage. The hillsides, houses and cellars of Champagne around Reims and Epernay in 2015 and the region of Le Colline del Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene, including the DOCG winegrowing area, in 2019.

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Champagne and Prosecco: Regions and grapes

Champagne comes from the Champagne region of France, located approximately 150km northeast of Paris. Prosecco comes from the northwestern Italian regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Champagne can be a blend or single varietal wine. The most planted grape varieties are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, but another four are also permitted: Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.

Prosecco is made principally from the Glera grape variety, which must make up at least 85% of the blend. The variety used to be called Prosecco but in 2009 its name was changed to Glera. At the same time, Prosecco was registered in EU law as the DOC, preventing other regions from using the name, although this caused a certain amount of controversy in other parts of the world.

Champagne and Prosecco: Production methods

Another key difference between these two wines is the way in which they are made, particularly in terms of how the bubbles are created. In both cases, the base (still) wine undergoes a second fermentation, creating the CO₂ which gives it its sparkle.

In Champagne, the méthode Champenoise or ‘traditional method’ is used to achieve this. The base wine is bottled along with yeast and sugars (liqueur de tirage), causing the second fermentation to happen in the bottle.

The wine is then left in contact with the dead yeast cells, so that it can mature. For a non-vintage Champagne the minimum time is 12 months (plus three further months ageing post disgorgement), whereas vintage Champagne must spend three years on its lees.

After this, the yeast needs to be removed. The riddling process rotates and tilts the bottle in small increments so that the sediment collects at the neck. The neck of the bottle is then frozen and the dead yeast cells released – a process called ‘disgorgement’. Liqueur d’expedition (a mixture of wine and sugar) is used to top up and balance the final wine, in a process known as dosage.

By contrast, in Prosecco the tank method is normally used for the second fermentation. Rather than being bottled, the base wine is placed in a pressure tank to which sugar and yeast are added. CO₂ is created and the wine is then filtered to remove the sediment before dosage and bottling.

Champagne and Prosecco: Flavour profiles

These two methods of production result in quite different flavour profiles for these wines.

The extended contact with the yeast in the traditional method means that Champagne generally has more autolytic flavours – bread, brioche and toast, as well as a rounder mouthfeel.

The yeast has less of an influence on Prosecco made with the tank method, because there is no extended lees contact. Most Prosecco is more about the fruit flavour profile of the Glera grape – associated with pear, apple, honeysuckle and floral notes.

However, some of the best Prosecco styles are made with the traditional method or undergo lees ageing, resulting in a more complex wine.

Regional profile: Champagne’s Marne Valley

Prosecco: Panel tasting results

Ageing Grower Champagne: The peaks and pitfalls

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How to store Champagne at home

Michael Edwards — Thu, 16 May 2024 05:00:30 +0000

The wine cellar of the French champagne house Bollinger.

Here are three things to keep in mind if you’re planning to store Champagne at home:

Keep the bottles away from bright light.
Try to store your Champagne in a cool place where the temperature is relatively constant (if you don’t have a dedicated wine fridge or temperature and humidity-controlled cellar).
If you can, consider buying magnums for longer-term ageing potential.

Some experts say, surprisingly, that it’s best to store Champagne and sparkling wines standing up.

I agree that this is the best and most practical method for short-term storage, say, up to one month. However, keep the bottles away from bright or artificial light.

Long-term storage of vintage cuvées is quite another matter. These bottles should be stored on their sides in a wine rack or stacked the same way as in a cellar.

Fine maturing Champagne, like all great wine, runs the risk of the cork drying out if it is kept upright for long periods.

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The actual temperature of storage (ideally about 7°C to 10°C) is less important than its constancy.

Wild fluctuations of heat and cold kill all good wine, so avoid storing bottles in the kitchen and never in the garage or shed.

How to store Champagne: Bottle vs magnum

For laying down Champagne, forget about half-bottles. Their capacity to age is very erratic, and the wine ages too fast.

While standard bottles (75cl) age well and at a moderate rate if properly stored, magnums (1.5 litres) are the best format for long-term ageing.

That’s because the ratio of wine to surface area allows for a slower, more even maturation of the wine and finer enduring flow of bubbles.

In most cases, the magnum beats the bottle for added complexity, structure and nuances in the wine for 20 to 30 years.

This is an excerpt from an article that first appeared in Decanter magazine in 2015. Copy editing for Decanter.com in 2021 by Chris Mercer and by Clive Pursehouse in 2024.

Six of the best vintage Champagnes for your cellar from 2013 to 2019

Recently reviewed by our experts for Decanter Premium subscribers. Listed by oldest vintage first.

Collector’s Guide: Champagne

Regional profile: Champagne’s Marne Valley

How long should you chill Champagne before serving?

The post How to store Champagne at home appeared first on Decanter.

Regional profile: Champagne's Marne Valley

Tom Hewson — Tue, 07 May 2024 10:09:09 +0000

Vineyards of Famille Moussé in Cuisles.

It is September 2023 in the vineyards of Champagne Christophe Mignon in the village of Leuvrigny. As an early autumn heatwave takes hold, a harvester stops to pick an enormous bunch of grapes, dark purple and pristine.

Snipping the bunch in two, he looks up at me and shrugs his shoulders; beneath the purple exterior is a layer of green, unripe berries. ‘This is 2023!’ he says, with more than a dash of exasperation.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Tom Hewson’s top picks of Marne Valley Champagnes

Tom Hewson’s picks of the best Champagnes from the Marne Valley

Regional profile: Champagne’s Montagne de Reims

Regional profile: Champagne’s Côte des Bar

Ageing Grower Champagne: The peaks and pitfalls

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Brothers in arms: Champagne Pierre Paillard

Tom Hewson — Thu, 02 May 2024 10:18:40 +0000

The historic cellars of Pierre Paillard.

Champagne’s stories are often told by soloists – the legendary cellar master, the visionary grower, the lone rebel elevating a previously unremarkable village to cult status. It’s a little rare to find not only a genuine double act but, at a time when many of independent Champagne’s established names of the 1980s and 1990s are wondering if the next generation will take on the keys to the cellar, a sibling act.

Antoine and Quentin Paillard are just that, though. It would be easy to assume that Antoine and Quentin’s choice of estate vehicle – their father’s ancient but immaculately maintained Citroen 2CV van – was a spot of kitsch, something for the visitors and the Instagram feed. It quickly becomes clear, though, as we rattle along the chalky vineyard paths, that while there may be more than a touch of nostalgia behind the decision to keep the car they saw their father drive around the village of Bouzy as children – it wouldn’t have survived if it couldn’t do the work.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 13 Pierre Paillard Champagnes

See notes and scores for 13 Pierre Paillard Champagnes:

First taste: Bollinger’s La Grande Année 2015

Ageing Grower Champagne: The peaks and pitfalls

Top rosé Champagne to try

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First Taste: Billecart-Salmon's 2012 releases

Tom Hewson — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 08:11:07 +0000

Billecart-Salmon has launched the 2012 vintage of both the Elisabeth Salmon Rosé and the Louis Salmon Blanc de Blancs.

Even though 2012 has become one of Champagne’s most celebrated recent vintages, ‘the beginning of the season was horrible,’ says Billecart-Salmon’s president Mathieu Roland-Billecart, ‘frost, hail, mildew, sunburn – we had the lot.’

Yet Roland-Billecart says there was a glimmer of hope: ‘we pulled out a great vintage because, as we say here, “août fait le moût”, or in other words, “August makes the must”.’

The weather in August made good on the early summer chaos, producing small yields of grapes that were unusually concentrated in sugars, aromas and acidity.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Billecart-Salmon’s new 2012 releases

Billecart-Salmon’s 2012 releases tasted and rated:

First taste: Bollinger’s La Grande Année 2015

First taste: Champagne Lallier’s Réflexion R.020

First Taste: Krug 2011 vintage release

The post First Taste: Billecart-Salmon's 2012 releases appeared first on Decanter.

First Taste: Laurent-Perrier's Grand Siècle Les Réserves Itération No. 20

Anne Krebiehl MW — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 08:38:02 +0000

For only the second time since the creation of Grand Siècle, Laurent-Perrier has released a long-aged and late-disgorged version of its prestige cuvée. One that has spent 21 years ageing under cork: the Grand Siècle Les Réserves Itération No. 20.

It was in 2021 that Laurent-Perrier finally started revealing the individual vintages behind each of the releases of its prestige cuvée Grand Siècle, the same year that it started numbering each new release, or itération, of this flagship wine.

Lucie Pereyre de Nonancourt, granddaughter of the cuvée’s creator, Bernard de Nonancourt, explains why this rare wine will be released in 2024.

Scroll down to see Anne Krebiehl MW’s tasting note and score for Grand Siècle Les Réserves No 20

Anne Krebiehl MW’s tasting note and score for Grand Siècle Les Réserves No. 20

First Taste: Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Itération No. 26

Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle: vertical tasting

First taste: Bollinger’s La Grande Année 2015

The post First Taste: Laurent-Perrier's Grand Siècle Les Réserves Itération No. 20 appeared first on Decanter.

First taste: Bollinger's La Grande Année 2015

Tom Hewson — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 09:44:43 +0000

Champagne Bollinger moves on this week from what were arguably two of the best-regarded releases from the Grandes Marques in 2014, La Grande Année and its rosé sibling, with a new pair from an entirely different vintage – the hot, dry 2015.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for La Grande Année white and rosé 2015

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Tasting notes and scores for La Grande Année white and rosé 2015

Also listed below are three other Bollinger Champagnes tasted alongside the new releases

Ageing Grower Champagne: The peaks and pitfalls

First taste: Champagne Lallier’s Réflexion R.020

First Taste: Krug 2011 vintage release

The post First taste: Bollinger's La Grande Année 2015 appeared first on Decanter.

First taste: Champagne Lallier's Réflexion R.020

Tom Hewson — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Lallier, purchased by the Campari group in 2020, sits in one of Champagne’s in-between spaces.

On the one hand, this is a house like many others, buying in 90% of its grapes from all over Champagne. On the other hand, it has a sense of local identity too, alongside a handful of prominent neighbours in the grand cru-rated village of Aÿ in the Grande Vallée of the Marne river.

‘We have more than 10 hectares in Aÿ,’ says cellar master Dominique Demarville, pointing out an unusual feature for this Pinot Noir-heavy region: ‘one third of this is Chardonnay.’

Scroll down to see notes and scores for two latest releases from Champagne Lallier

See notes and scores for two Champagne Lallier releases

First Taste: Krug 2011 vintage release

First taste: Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rosé 2015

Champagne Egly-Ouriet: Maestro of the Montagne de Reims

The post First taste: Champagne Lallier's Réflexion R.020 appeared first on Decanter.

Ageing Grower Champagne: The peaks and pitfalls

Tom Hewson — Sat, 16 Mar 2024 08:00:38 +0000

Credit: Diana Miller / Getty Images

Where in the world might you find a £100 wine that won’t benefit from a decade in the cellar?

The list is certainly short, though Champagne is arguably on it. The ageworthiness of Champagne’s Grandes Marques is fairly well understood: entry level wines will usually benefit from a year or two, vintage wines should still be going strong a decade after release, and any prestige cuvée worth its salt ought to still be shining well beyond that.

Price, in other words, should give us a clue.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for five older Grower Champagnes

Notes and scores for five older Grower Champagnes:

Collector’s Guide: Champagne

First Taste: La Grande Dame Rosé 2015

Egly-Ouriet: Maestro of the Montagne de Reims

The post Ageing Grower Champagne: The peaks and pitfalls appeared first on Decanter.

First Taste: Krug 2011 vintage release

Tom Hewson — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 08:00:45 +0000

Credit: Krug

Champagne’s great houses are often accused of playing it safe, yet Krug begs to differ: the house has gone where few others have ventured, having chosen to celebrate the unusual 2011 growing season with a vintage release.

As cellar master Julie Cavil explains, though, the reputation of the year – or the season’s trials and tribulations on paper – counts for nothing when it comes to deciding on whether to release a vintage or to blend the wines with other years (as with the house’s flagship Grande Cuvée).

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for Krug 2011 and four other cuvées tasted

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Krug 2011 and four other cuvées tasted:

Wines are listed in score order

Rleated articles

First taste: Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rosé 2015

Collector’s Guide: Champagne

Champagne Egly-Ouriet: Maestro of the Montagne de Reims

The post First Taste: Krug 2011 vintage release appeared first on Decanter.

Best sparkling wines for Mother's Day

Natalie Earl — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 06:00:23 +0000

Mother’s Day falls on Sunday 10 March in the UK this year, just as spring approaches, when the mimosa trees are beginning to blossom, buds are breaking and there are signs of new life.

Flowers, plants and bulbs make for wonderful gifts on Mothering Sunday, but adding in a bottle of something sparkling as well is sure to keep a smile on mum’s face. We’ve put together a selection of options below that should suit many tastes.

The list includes varying styles of sparkling wine from classic Champagne and Cava to English sparkling, Franciacorta and pétillant naturel. Prices range from under £20 to over £400.

Looking for something very, very special? Try Philipponnat’s stunning Clos des Goisses, Juste Rosé, Champagne, France 2012.

Would you prefer to find something she won’t have tried before? This pink sparkling from Wales is sure to surprise and delight.

Keen to impress but don’t want to break the bank? The Le Colture, Fagher, Prosecco, Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Superiore Brut comes in under £20 and is an alluring, refreshing fizz.

Scroll down to see our round up of sparkling wines for Mother’s Day

Quick guide to the sparkling wine styles shown below:

Champagne – Mostly made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, this must come from the French region of Champagne. It’s produced using the traditional method, with secondary fermentation taking place in the bottle.
Traditional method – This refers to wines made using the same method as Champagne, where a second fermentation takes place in the bottle. The key examples are:
Cava – Sparkling wine from Spain using both native grapes, such as Xarel·lo and Parellada, as well as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Reserva and Gran Reserva Cavas undergo extended ageing in bottle, bringing additional complexity.
English sparkling wine – The cool climate and limestone soils in southern England are similar to those in Champagne, producing fantastic sparkling wines.
Franciacorta – From the northern Italian region of Lombardy, this serious wine can be both fresh and complex.
Crémant – There are eight appellations in France where Crémant sparkling wines can be produced, and local grape varieties tend to be used. Examples include Crémant de Bourgogne, Crémant de Limoux and Crémant de Loire.
Other very good traditional method sparkling wines can be found in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.
Prosecco – Made in the Veneto region of northeast Italy from the Glera grape, using the tank – or charmat – method.
Pétillant Naturel – This is in fact the oldest method of making sparkling wine, also known as méthode ancestrale. Unlike Champagne, the wine is bottled before it finishes its first fermentation, so the bubbles develop in the bottle. They can be slightly cloudy due to sediment, fairly low in alcohol, with a gentle fizz and sometimes a touch of sweetness. For the more adventurous mothers out there, what’s not to like!

Need more inspiration? These fantastic Cavas should fit the bill

At a glance: top picks for Mother’s Day

Sparkling wines for Mother’s Day:

The wines below were tasted by Decanter’s editorial team and experts.

Tom Hewson: My top Champagnes of 2023

Expert’s Choice: American sparkling wines

Best Prosecco under £20: More than 20 recommendations

The post Best sparkling wines for Mother's Day appeared first on Decanter.

First taste: Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rosé 2015

Tom Hewson — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 17:49:03 +0000

‘It is a Grande Dame first and a rosé second,’ says Veuve Clicquot’s cellar master Didier Mariotti speaking of the newly released rosé cuvée of the 2015 La Grande Dame.

It is one year on from the 2015 release of the white iteration of this homage to one of Champagne’s most important historical figures – Madame Clicquot, the widow – or ‘veuve’ – who perfected the riddling process in the late 18th century.

Scroll down for the review of La Grande Dame Rosé 2015

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Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015:

Collector’s Guide: Champagne

Top rosé Champagne to try

Champagne Egly-Ouriet: Maestro of the Montagne de Reims

The post First taste: Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rosé 2015 appeared first on Decanter.

Collector's Guide: Champagne

Chris Mercer — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 06:00:59 +0000

The past decade has seen Champagne take a commanding place in the fine wine market. Exclusive and luxurious while simultaneously attainable and – relatively – affordable, Champagne has been blessed with multiple attributes.

Exceptional winemaking, critical acclaim and stylistic diversity have delighted collectors and propelled secondary market price appreciation.

The last 12 months have dampened the celebratory mood somewhat, however. Worldwide shipments dropped 8% in volume in 2023 according to the Comité Champagne, although exports still accounted for 172 million bottles. Prices too were checked by the difficult trading conditions last year – though Champagne remains a top price-performer in the long-run.

Collector’s guide: Bordeaux 2020 En Primeur

Collector’s Guide: Right Bank Bordeaux

Collector’s Guide: Left Bank Bordeaux

Collector’s guide: The rise of Piedmont

Collector’s guide: Napa Valley wine

The post Collector's Guide: Champagne appeared first on Decanter.

Champagne Egly-Ouriet: Maestro of the Montagne de Reims

Tom Hewson — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 06:00:07 +0000

Credit: Tom Hewson

On a bitter January morning, as a snowstorm catches Champagne’s gritting lorries unawares, 10 barrels sit unceremoniously under one of two Coquard presses, their bungs stained pale cherry.

The new Champagne base wines from the 2023 vintage are downstairs in the cellar, but here, making use of what ought to be slightly warmer temperatures above ground, is Francis Egly’s still red, Coteaux Champenois.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for Egly-Ouriet’s latest Champagne releases

Champagne Egly-Ouriet: Latest releases

First taste: Billecart-Salmon 2016 & Le Clos St-Hilaire 2007

Champagnes to impress and where to find them

A guide to non-vintage Champagne

The post Champagne Egly-Ouriet: Maestro of the Montagne de Reims appeared first on Decanter.

Top rosé Champagne to try

Natalie Earl — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 06:00:00 +0000

In 2023 global Champagne shipments fell by around 8% to 299 million bottles but Champagne remains a firm favourite with UK customers and is particularly popular as a celebration wine.

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, rosé Champagne is in sharp focus right now. This is a category which has been on the rise for a while, but how is rosé Champagne made and what should it be paired with?

See the results of the Decanter vintage rosé Champagne panel tasting

Rosé on the rise

While non-vintage rosé Champagne is still a popular choice with consumers, sommelier Jan Konetzki notes that vintage and prestige cuvée rosé Champagnes are gaining traction, particularly in restaurants.

It’s easy to see why, as many of the best examples can work brilliantly at the dinner table – whether it’s Valentine’s Day or not.

The list below features rosé Champagnes reviewed by our experts and available at a range of prices, with some great value options to more expensive choices over £300 a bottle.

How rosé Champagne is made

There are two ways to achieve the pink hue of rosé Champagne: rosé d’assemblage or saignée.

Rosé d’assemblage

Champagne is the only region where the blending of red and white wine is permitted for the production of rosé wines, and it is common across quality levels.

A small amount of red wine made from Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier is added to the white base wine prior to its second fermentation. The percentage of red wine added at this stage depends on the producer’s preference and can vary from 5% to more than 15%.

The aim is to ensure that the freshness and tension of the Champagne is maintained. Carine Bailleul, chef de cave at Champagne Castelnau, says her goal is ‘to have a fine balance between fruitiness, sweetness, colour and acidity’.

It goes without saying, therefore, that the red wine added should be of high quality. It not only contributes colour to the finished Champagne, but also flavour and texture.

Saignée

The saignée method involves bleeding off the pink-tinged juice from macerating red grapes.

Louis Roederer uses a version of this technique alongside cold maceration to make Cristal rosé, for instance.

The Fleur de Miraval variant uses the saignée method, blended with top Chardonnay, according to winemaker Rodolphe Péters, who worked on the project alongside Brad Pitt and the Perrin family.

How rosé Champagne tastes

It is difficult to generalise about what rosé Champagne tastes like because styles can vary, yet many will have noticeable red berry characters alongside citrus such as grapefruit and orange. In more complex styles, such as vintage rosé, you might find this balanced with the traditional autolytic flavours of Champagne, such as brioche or bread-like aromas, associated with ageing on lees.

Rosé Champagne and food pairing

Pink Champagne is versatile when it comes to food pairing. Richer styles can stand up to bigger flavours and richer foods, while the more delicate, fruit-driven wines make for a stylish aperitif. Sweeter styles such as demi-sec are a great match for fruit-forward desserts.

Konetzki recommends ‘a colossal, Pinot Noir-heavy prestige cuvée like Bollinger La Grande Année Rosé with Peking duck’. The plum sauce in the dish matches the sweet plummy flavours in the wine.

He suggests a beetroot Wellington with something like the Philipponnat Clos des Goisses Juste Rosé. The pastry-rich, fruity, earthy flavours in the wine pair perfectly with the sweet, earthy beetroot.

For extra glamour, add some preserved black truffles into the dish and try it with a 20-year-old vintage rosé Champagne for a superb – yet fairly pricey – match.

Rosé Champagnes to try for Valentine’s Day

Sparkling rosé wines for Valentine’s Day

A guide to non-vintage Champagne

First Taste: Billecart-Salmon 2016 & Le Clos St-Hilaire 2007

The post Top rosé Champagne to try appeared first on Decanter.

Oregon's 00 Wines: Producer profile and 18 wines to try

Charles Curtis MW — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 08:00:18 +0000

Chris and Kathryn Hermann of 00 Wines

Before creation, the void. Naught as a concept is a somewhat recent creation, thought to date to fifth-century India. However, it was not introduced to Europe until the twelfth century when the Italian mathematician Fibonacci explained his ‘Modus Indorum’.

To Chris and Kathryn Hermann, the founders of 00 Wines, the number symbolizes ‘potential’. The Hermanns are great believers in the potential of the Willamette Valley. Still, their vision extends far beyond local boundaries. The quest that truly motivates 00 Wines is to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the world’s greatest cool-climate sites.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 18 wines from 00 Wines

00 Wines to try: 18 bottles from France, Oregon and Burgundy

Wines are listed in score order by style

Willamette Valley 2021: Chardonnay report and top-scoring wines

American Chardonnay: The top bottles worth seeking out

Buy Grand Tasting tickets for DFWE NYC 2024

The post Oregon's 00 Wines: Producer profile and 18 wines to try appeared first on Decanter.

First Taste: Billecart-Salmon 2016 & Le Clos St-Hilaire 2007

Tom Hewson — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 08:00:54 +0000

The new vintage of Billecart-Salmon's Le Clos St-Hilaire is released.

The latest vintage from one of Champagne’s rare walled vineyards, Le Clos St-Hilaire, has been released after more than 15 years ageing in the cellars. Champagne Billecart-Salmon has been making 100% Pinot Noir wines from this one-hectare plot, formerly the family garden behind the house in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ until it was planted with vines in 1964, since 1995, during which time nine vintages have been released.

Scroll down to see the new Billecart-Salmon vintages tasted and rated

Tom Hewson’s ratings: Billecart-Salmon 2016 and Le Clos St-Hilaire 2007

Billecart-Salmon’s Le Clos Saint-Hilaire: a vertical tasting

Champagne harvest 2023: A bumper crop

Regional profile: Champagne’s Montagne de Reims

The post First Taste: Billecart-Salmon 2016 & Le Clos St-Hilaire 2007 appeared first on Decanter.

Champagne shipments fall in 2023 to 'steady' pre-Covid levels

Chris Mercer — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 08:48:30 +0000

Global Champagne shipments fell 8.2% in 2023, versus 2022, to 299 miliion bottles, according to new data released by the Comité Champagne.

It said orders have returned to a ‘steady pace’ and to pre-Covid levels, following a rollercoaster three years that saw shipments slide during lockdowns in 2020 before rebounding strongly in 2021 and 2022.

The total value of Champagne shipments remained above €6bn (£5.15bn) in 2023, largely thanks to consumer thirst for higher-end cuvées in export markets.

David Chatillon, president of the Union des Maisons de Champagne and co-president of the Comité Champagne, said, ‘The decline was to be expected – but with the value maintained, Champagne is still optimistic for the future, whilst remaining sensitive to the geopolitical context and the state of the global economy.’

Champagne shipments 2023: Exports vs France

Although both France and export markets saw similar rates of decline in volume terms last year, the Comité Champagne said French household budgets had been hit particularly hard by inflation.

Some data released prior to Christmas suggested more French wine drinkers turned to alternative sparkling wines in 2023, from domestic Crémant styles to Italian Prosecco, according to France-based media outlet BFMTV.

Champagne shipments within France still reached 127 million bottles in 2023, showed the new Comité figures.

Yet, exports have continued a long-term trend of accounting for a higher proportion of overall sales. Exports constituted 57% of shipment volumes in 2023, at 172 million bottles, versus 45% 10 years ago.

In last year’s full report on shipment data, the Comité noted that France was still the biggest individual market for Champagne.

Maxime Toubart, president of the Syndicat Général des Vignerons and co-president of the Comité Champagne, welcomed a return to market stability in the 2023 shipment figures.

‘Champagne is a protected appellation produced within a delimited area and governed by strict rules that make it impossible to sustain strong growth in volume over the long-term,’ he said.

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Philipponnat: An 'astounding' Clos des Goisses 1978-2014 vertical

Peter Liem — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 08:00:48 +0000

Clos des Goisses.

In the modern era, the idea of single-vineyard Champagne is commonplace, yet the concept of making a Champagne from a single site is comparatively new. The first that we know of, or that has stood the test of time, is Philipponnat’s Clos des Goisses, which the house has been producing for nearly 90 years.

One of Champagne’s most renowned vineyard sites, the Clos des Goisses is also one of the most picturesque, its steep slopes descending dramatically towards the Marne river below. It was purchased by Philipponnat in 1935, and since that time the house has used it to make a single-vineyard Champagne of intense expression and distinctive personality.

Scroll down for notes and scores for 31 releases of Clos des Goisses and Clos des Goisses Juste Rosé

See notes and scores for 31 releases of Clos des Goisses and Clos des Goisses Juste Rosé

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The post Philipponnat: An 'astounding' Clos des Goisses 1978-2014 vertical appeared first on Decanter.

Tom Hewson: My top Champagnes of 2023

Tom Hewson — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 09:24:12 +0000

Vineyards in Champagne.

I’m often asked what my favourite Champagne is. These days I tend to try and answer a subtly different one: what’s my favourite style of Champagne?

The answer tends to be something along the lines of: long-aged blanc de blancs, preferably in magnum. Wines with austere DNA, chipped away at and mellowed by time. Wines that take a bit of work to prise apart, but reward you for doing so. Champagne has many natural advantages over other sparkling wines in its ability to ripen grapes to the rare specifications required for extended ageing, but seldom are they felt as keenly as in those moments.

It was a surprise, then, when hunting back through a year’s worth of tasting notes, scores, Instagram posts and Decanter reviews, to find I didn’t recognise my own answer. Where were these monumental blanc de blancs?

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This is an excerpt from an article that first appeared in Decanter magazine in 2015. Copy editing for Decanter.com in 2021 by Chris Mercer and by Clive Pursehouse in 2024.

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