Champagne: its terroir, production, price, and how to taste it properly

Here is the second part of our report on Champagne. If in the first article we discussed the royal history of the region's wines, the birth of effervescence (as Champagne was not always sparkling), and the current situation of our favorite bubbles, let's now move on to an even more enjoyable part! We will indeed dive into the secrets of its production, the reasons for its (often high) cost, and above all, we will analyze how to properly taste it!

The Champagne terroir

Now that we know more about the history of our famous effervescent, let's analyze the Champagne terroir.

First of all, in Champagne, the climate is rather cold and the soils are clay-limestone. The chalk is often highlighted here to explain the freshness and minerality of the wines, two key characteristics of our favorite sparkling wine. This also allows for fantastic water regulation : when it rains too much, the excess is absorbed and redistributed the following year, and when it is too dry, this limestone acts as a sponge and retains water underground.

On these soils, 3 grape varieties represent almost all of the vineyard plantings : the Pinot Noir (38% of the vineyard), the Pinot Meunier (32%), as well as the Chardonnay (30%). Other varieties such as the Pinot Gris, Arbane or even the Pinot Blanc can be used but remain uncommon. Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are red grape varieties while Chardonnay is a white grape variety.Thus, if you read « Blanc de blancs » on a bottle, it simply means that your champagne is 100% Chardonnay (a white grape variety producing a white champagne). Conversely, a « Blanc de noirs » will be a champagne made from Pinot Noir and Meunier (or just one of the two) as these are black-skinned grape varieties producing a white champagne.

And what about rosé Champagne in all this? Well, the earliest traces of its creation date back to the year 1764 when the Ruinart house produced a rosé by maceration (the juice coloring upon contact with the black skins of the grapes) called "œil-de-perdrix". However, the more common method today of blending a small proportion of red wine with a majority of white wine to create a rosé wine (a process only allowed in Champagne and nowhere else!) was officially created in 1818 by Nicole Clicquot (Champagne Veuve Clicquot). 

Let's now look at the important steps in the production of our bubbles. Champagne is a wine that undergoes two fermentations (you know, this process that converts the sugar in grapes into alcohol). Once the first fermentation is completed, the wines obtained here are called " still wines " and have around 11% alcohol. At this stage, the bubbles do not yet exist and the acidity of these juices is very high, making them not very pleasant to taste.

In order to bear the label " Champagne ", the still wines must undergo  aging on lees, which means a period of at least 15 months (for a classic champagne) or at least 36 months (for a vintage champagne) where they are stored in the cellar and in bottles horizontally. It is during the first weeks of this aging on lees that our effervescence will form ! It is indeed at this moment that the winemaker will add to the still wines " a liqueur de tirage ", a mixture of wine, sugar (often cane sugar), and yeasts. The latter will then once again convert the added sugar into alcohol, while releasing carbon dioxide (CO2) which will this time be trapped in the bottle. It is therefore the second fermentation in the bottle that gives our Champagne its bubbles as well as its final alcohol content around 12.5%.

Beyond the creation of this effervescence (called “ prise de mousse ”), aging on racks is a crucial step in order to obtain a high-quality champagne : it is thanks to these long months of rest in the bottle that the wines, in contact with the lees (dead yeasts remaining in the bottle after generating the second fermentation), develop and gain complexity, sometimes giving these gourmet aromas of toasted bread and hazelnut.

Finally, our sparkling wine will be "disgorged" (the lees are expelled from the bottle to obtain a clear liquid and to prevent a potential new fermentation) and we add " the liqueur de dosage ", a mixture of wine and sugar that defines the style of the champagne : Brut nature, Extra-brut, Brut, etc. If you wish to find all the information regarding these mentions, feel free to check out this article I wrote about sweet wines where everything is explained.

And there you have it, our champagne is finally ready to be sold and enjoyed in good company !

Example of bottles aging on racks

 

Why is Champagne so expensive ?

I am often asked why Champagne is so expensive compared to other sparkling wines. Several technical and structural reasons explain this situation.

First of all, the price of grapes in Champagne varies between 4€ and 7€/kg depending on the plots and vintages. Knowing that it takes on average 1.2kg of grapes for a bottle, so we are already around €8 ! If the raw material is so expensive, it is mainly due to the high land prices as well as the fact that each year, the industry players set the authorized yields among themselves to adjust production according to global demand (to avoid a significant drop in prices).Finally, the great power of brands like  Ruinart, Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon or even Roederer is quite unique in the French wine landscape. Thanks to these groups (particularly LVMH), champagne is a particularly well-marketed product that conveys a luxury image benefiting the entire industry.

As other factors, we could also mention the mandatory manual harvesting in Champagne or the time required for product development, as these long years  in the cellar naturally impact the final cost.But these elements are ultimately common to other products. Take the example of the Vouvray Brut from the Pinon estate: its production method is the same as that of a champagne (traditional method), the harvest is also manual here, and the aging time in the cellar (aging on slats) is 30 months (the same or even superior to some champagnes). The remaining elements explaining the price difference between the two products are therefore a much more valued land in Champagne, a certain rarity deliberately sought, as well as the power of marketing making Champagne a luxury product.

 

In conclusion, let's discuss the tasting part! First of all, most of the champagnes we purchase are meant to be consumed within 3 to 5 years. They are not intended to be stored, and while they may not be less enjoyable at the end of this period, they will not gain in complexity either.

However, other vintages are designed for aging.We are talking here about certain  vintage champagnes  (such as the  Blanc des Millénaires  from the house of Charles Heidsieck) or other large bottles often sold at high prices. There is no universal rule for determining when to open these bottles as it will depend on the style of the champagne, its quality, and the vintage.

The best thing to do in this case is to  seek advice from your favorite wine merchant  (La Cave Éclairée of course) or directly from the concerned winemaker.Nevertheless,  although no specific storage duration can be defined in advance, waiting 15 to 20 years will already be a great testament to patience! Beyond that, champagnes often lose much of their effervescence and may develop aromas of honey, undergrowth, and humus. Personally, I love it, but that's not the case for everyone !

Regarding the serving temperature, it is generally agreed to serve our bubbles between 8° and 10°C. Below that, the cold will have a numbing effect on the taste buds, and beyond that, the lively and refreshing character of champagnes will be less appreciated.

Finally, (and I know this will be difficult to hear) but it's better not to serve champagne in classic flutes or coupes. If that's all you have in stock at home, don't throw away all your glassware, but since a coupe is by definition very wide, it won't be ideal for fully experiencing the aromas and will cause the champagne to lose its effervescence more quickly once served. As for the flute, it will concentrate the carbon dioxide too much, which can sometimes "sting" the nose (this phenomenon is called “ carbonic bite ”).Therefore, a wine or champagne glass with an open bottom but a slightly narrowed neck will be perfect! Voilà, you now know almost everything about our national sparkling wine! To celebrate all this new knowledge, you just have to open a beautiful bottle... and you know which region to turn to! See you soon at La Cave Éclairée!