Champagne: Winemaking

Question 1

Champagne: winemaking

Winemaking

Answer 1

• Traditional method = Méthode Champenoise
• Whole bunches pressed with gradual increase of pressure (to ensure high quality juice + low phenolic (avoid extract tannins from skin and Seeds) and to make white wine from PN and PM grapes
• Traditionally 4000kg of grapes (Marc) are loaded into a basket press (now pneumatic and hydraulic horizontal presses also used)
• max yeald normally 79hL/ha (can be raised to 98hL/ha / surplus put into reserve wines)
• Juice is separated into fractions to avoid over-extraction of phenolics and mantains fruit flavours: Cuvée = first 2050L (free run juice + first pressing / Taille = 500L
• Cuvée = rich in acids / produce wines with great finesse and long ageing potential
• Taille = lower acidity / richer in colouring pigments and phenolics / can be useful in blends helping to produce wines that are more expressive in youth but not the same ageing potential (higher proportion of taille is used in NV)
• Chaptalisation is permitted if natural sugar level are not high enough (alcohol level must be between 11-13%abv)

Question 2

Champagne: winemaking

Alcoholic fermentation

Answer 2

• usually fermented in stainless-steel tanks
• now many producers are re-introducing oak fermentation (large oak foudres) = add more textural richness and mouthfeel
• Malo encouraged ast primary fermentaion to reduce and soften the acidity in final wine (either for style or in cooler vintages)

Question 3

Champagne: winemaking

Blending

Answer 3

• Blending = assemblage
• from different vineyards, grape varieties, vintages
• relies on the expertise of the chef de cave to predict the development of the wine over time, before second fermentation or maturation has even begun
• particularly critical for NV champagne = to achieve consistency
• typical of large brands = 10-15% of reserve wines (last one or two vintages)
• some premium brands = 30-40% reserve wines to add depth and complexity
• reserve wine can be kept reductively in stainless-steel containers or i oak (to add mildly oxidative notes)
• unusual ageing options: ageing in Magnums (Bollinger) / perpetual reserve (a proportion of wine is drawn off every year for blending and it is replaced by young wine = add complexity

ROSÉ
- blending small portion of still dry red wine with white base wine to achieve desired colour and flavour profile
- few rosé made by skin contact (Laurent Perrier)
- Yeast absorbe colour pigments during fermentation (achieving the disired colour requires experience)

Question 4

Champagne: winemaking

Second fermentation

Answer 4

• Liquer de tirage is added at this stage
• Lees ageing = one of the most important stages in the production of traditional method (brioche and/or biscuit characters develop through yeast autolysis)
• More prominent in cool climates (lower intensity of primary fruit flavours)
• NV maturation = min 15 months (12 on lees)
• Vintage wines = min 12 months / not released until 3 years after tirage
• Keeping wine undisgorged and incontact with its lees help to protect it against oxidative development
• Sweetness determined by the amount of sugar in the Liqueur d’expédition (nature of wine in Ld’E is also important: youthful adding freshness or aged in oak reserve wine adding aromas of baked apple and dried fruit)
• In Rosé colour can be adjusted with Ld’E