Bubbles, Blunders and Brilliance - How Science Saved Champagne
- choosing the right Champagne style for you - inside the world of Champagne blends - Drappier's 200 year legacy
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You are finally doing it!
Finally writing about Champagne! Perfect time of year!
Yes, I was putting it off and writing about other sparklings as I do try to focus on value wines … and well … Champagne is not a value wine! But my hope is to give you an appreciation of why it is a special wine!
Champagne. It is an acquired taste. Not everyone likes it. Here, we will explore different Champagne styles. My wish is to help you find a style that is right for you should you care to explore!
Let’s start with its history and origins.
The Champagne region, 145 km northeast of Paris, is the first region to make sparkling wine in any quantity. As the wine world has grown, Champagne is now responsible for only about 8% of total global sparkling wine production. However, Champagne is the model that many sparkling regions globally aim to emulate, often with the same grapes.
Interestingly, the Champagne region’s wines were not initially bubbly. They were lightly colored (pinkish) Pinot Noir still wines (“still” means not sparkling).
Like many ‘inventions’, the sparkling wines of Champagne were created by accident and were unpredictable. Champagne is a cool weather region. It has a cool continental climate with cold winters. In years past, fermentation would stop when it got cold in the fall, as the yeast need a minimum temperature to do their thing. Come spring, fermentation would start again.
The whole bubble thing was considered a hassle, particularly when fermentation had not completed by bottling time. The resulting carbon dioxide production in the bottles built excess pressure, shattering them. It was disastrous economically for producers. (Watch the Widow Clicquot movie and your heart goes out to her.)
Glassmakers started to make stronger bottles which remedied the situation somewhat. Some people started to dig this new bubbly beverage, particularly frequenters of the London café society.
Whatever that is!
So, then producers started to introduce bubbles intentionally?
Exactly, as the bubbles rose, Champagne rose to the occasion and attitudes towards bubbles shifted. Some ‘serious’ winemakers (and their clients) however still believed sparkling wines to be inferior wines.
There would still however be bottle mishaps mainly because wine producers did not understand fermentation. It was not until 1860 that the French microbiologist and chemist, Louis Pasteur, recognized that yeast was responsible for fermentation. This led eventually to the measurement of sugar to precisely control the amount of pressure generated from the fermentation, thereby avoiding bottle blow-ups.
Okay so tell us about Champagne styles. How do you go about figuring out which style works for your clients?
Let’s discuss Champagne grape varieties: Chardonnay is the main white grape, while the black grapes are Pinot Noir and Meunier (aka Pinot Meunier – a mutation of Pinot Noir). The different proportions of these grape varieties in the Champagne blends creates very different styles.
When Champagne (or other sparkling wines) is called Blanc de Blancs, it contains 100% Chardonnay. This is one end of the Champagne style spectrum. These wines have the most acidity and can have very pronounced yeast aromas, as Chardonnay’s apple and citrus flavors complement these notes synergistically. Yeast flavors come across as brioche, dough, graham cracker/biscuit, and toast.
The other extreme of white Champagnes is called Blanc de Noirs, made with 100% black grapes. These wines will be more rich, less acidic, and consequently have more body. There will be some red fruit notes as well.
Between these two spectrums of white Champagnes exist many permutations, depending on the percentage of the different grapes, creating various styles. The higher the percentage of Chardonnay the higher the acidity and the leaner the Champagne will be. The higher the percentage of Pinot Noir and Meunier the richer the Champagne.
Rosé Champagne typically has red wine added to the white wine blend. The red wine is made with Pinot Noir and/or Meunier, adding black grape notes of red fruit and potentially more body to the blend.
Okay, let’s keep going, I have a party to get to. What’s the featured Champagne house?
Drappier Champagne.
The Drappier family started as grape growers in 1808 when François started a vineyard surrounding a medieval abbey.
Sounds like the classic formula, monks, saints, etc, blah, blah, blah…
Indeed, the Drappier’s property was influenced by a Saint, in this case St-Bernard, who was a Cistercian monk. In 1152, the year before he died, Brother Bernard founded the Clairvaux Abbey, including cellars where Drappier Champagne is now aged.
Not unlike many grape growers, André and Micheline Drappier decided to expand their business into winemaking. In 1952 they produced their first Champagne, calling it Drappier Carte d’Or – today’s featured wine.
Today, Drappier Champagne is managed by Michel and Sylvie Drappier. Their kids mark the 8th generation of Drappiers involved in the operations. Their Carte d’Or blend consists of 80% Pinot Noir, 15% Chardonnay, and 5% Meunier and is my favorite Champagne since I discovered it almost exactly a year ago. I secretly call it a gateway Champagne as it seemingly has converted a few non-believers to the other side!
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Champagne Drappier Carte d’Or Brut from Champagne, France
Style: Dry sparkling wine
Varieties: 80% Pinot Noir, 15% Chardonnay, and 5% Meunier
This rich sparkling wine has flavors of green & crab apple, unripe pear, lemon and unripe stone fruit, with the complexity of toast, brioche, graham crackers, and nutty notes. The bubbles are fine & delicate. This wine has a moderately full body and a persistent finish.
Best pairings: Plain kettle potato chips, Lobster or crab with butter, Seafood ravioli in lemon butter cashew sauce, Grilled scallops, Mushroom stuffed puff pastry, Brie or Camembert cheese.
Serving Temperature: 5-7 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Keep it cold! Check out this article (and respect the bubbles!)
Price: ~$67 Cdn
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SOURCES:
Clairvaux Abbey - Tourism & Holiday Guide. (no date) Available at: https://www.france-voyage.com/tourism/clairvaux-abbey-56.htm (Accessed: 17 December 2024).
Harding, J. and Robinson, J. (2023) The oxford companion to wine. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
History of the family (no date) History of the Family | Champagne Drappier. Available at: https://www.champagne-drappier.com/en/history-family/ (Accessed: 17 December 2024).
MacNeil, K. (2022) The wine bible. New York, NY: Workman Publishing.
Wine & Spirit Education Trust (2021) D3: Wines of the World - An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Perfectly timed thank you!! Laughing at the variety and scale of pairing options
I love a Blanc de Noirs, and I loved that Widow Cliquot movie! Thanks for reminding me of both :-)