To celebrate the official launch of talkTV, we’re going all out with a Champagne tasting! I’ve had the tough job of tasting through many different styles recently and have chosen a trio of tipples that each show something different about the Champagne region and the key styles to be found there. Here are four things to know and some bottles to try:
What does Brut NV mean with Champagne?
NV stands for Non-Vintage; a wine made with grapes harvested from multiple years instead of one ‘vintage’ year. These wines are often a blend of wine from the current vintage year with some ‘reserve’ wines. These reserve wines have been held back over multiple years and kept separately so they can be blended with the current vintage to create a house style that is consistent, year after year. This bit of aged wine is also what gives Champagne its famously complex, brioche, toasty notes.
Brut refers to style and means ‘dry’ as opposed to something like demi-sec which literally means, ‘half sweet’. Brut NV wines are often a blend of the key Champagne grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
What does Blanc de Blancs mean with Champagne?
Translated as ‘white from whites’, this style of Champagne is a white wine made from white grapes only, which in Champagne can only mean Chardonnay. Blanc de blancs Champagne will therefore mean 100% Chardonnay, 99.9% of the time! (There is some Albane and Pinot Blanc technically permitted but it is rarely used in practice).
Blanc de blancs Champagnes tend to have a more ethereal, mineral style in youth and age with notes of cool white peach and melon and often, a chalkiness and salinity thanks to the soil. They fill out and become richer and nutty with age.
What does Blanc de Noirs mean with Champagne?
As you may have guessed from the above, a blanc de noirs Champagne will be a white wine made from the black grapes of the region, namely Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The red skin of the grape often adds not just a hint of colour, making the wine a touch darker, but will mean there are more red fruit notes in the wine too, like red apple or redcurrant and often noticeable richness.
What is vintage Champagne?
Vintage Champagne means it is a wine made from grapes grown in one growing season only and in the region of Champagne, these single vintage wines are made only in the very best years when conditions are perfect. This means the grapes will have exact;y what they need to create perfectly balanced wines with fruit. Acidity, tension and structure that can age for a long time. They are often very expensive because only a finite amount of them can be made and once they are gone, they are gone.
TRY THESE
The Brut Non Vintage
Try: Champagne Collet, Brut NV
A blend of over 100 different wines from across the whole Champagne region, this wine sees 35% of reserve wines featuring 50% Meunier, 30 % Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. Think of citrus, apple and dried flowers. A classic aperitif champagne, that loves puffed pastry and patés.
Find it for £28 - £32 from Strictly Wine, Amazon and others.
The Blanc de Blancs (Chardonnay-led)
Try: Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs, NV
A stunning Chardonnay only Champagne that the cellar master describes as a white Freesia for its vibrant, aromatic personality, its structure and elegance. Ripe, melon and peach notes here are complemented by a classic, mineral salinity and a floral nose that the maison has become famous for. Perrier-Jouët is a house that loves Chardonnay.
Find it for £62-69 from The Champagne Company, Hedonism and others.
The Blanc de Noirs (Pinot Noir-led)
Try: Drappier Carte d'Or Brut Champagne NV
Ok, so this is not 100% red grapes but it is mostly that and the style is exactly what you’re looking for with a blanc de noirs. A fabulous melange of brioche notes with great aromatics, mineral notes and red fruit. A lovely, foodie champers!
Find it for £40 - 43 from Strictly Wine and others.
The Vintage Champagne
Try: Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2013
This is an Icon wine. The most beautiful bottle you will ever see. Majestic, so much going on but not in your face, all dancing around white flowers and fleshy white fruits, a touch of spice and a real creaminess. It’s almost 50% Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from an exceptional weather year.
The Belle Epoque is an icon bottling a with an iconic bottle, adorned with a spray of Japanese white anemones. Created in 1902 by Emile Gallé, one of the pioneers of the Art Nouveau movement, the inspiration for this was the hothouses that existed in the Perrier-Jouët gardens in Epernay with a collection of orchids, palm trees, pineapple and orange trees. It used to be regarded as one of the most impressive gardens in France.
Find it for £140-£150 from Harrods and Amazon as well as others.