Styles of Champagne

Cuvee de prestige: Luxury Cuvee. These fabulous and fabulously expensive flagship champagnes are made in the best years. They may be of a single vintage or a combination of different vintages (even sometimes having some non-vintage wine in the blend). But the final quality is deluxe. They are mostly marketed in elegant bottles which are sometimes stylishly decorated to mark a special occasion. Examples are Dom Perignon, Roederer Cristal, Bollinger RD, Pol Roger Wintson Churchill, Dom Ruinart and Tattinger Comtes de Champagane. Terms describing the amount of sugar in champagnes Extra brut-None Bone dry-Brut zero These rare styles are becoming popular Nature Brut- up to 1 % Very dry- Extra sec- Extra dry-

1 – 2 % -Dry to medium dry/Sec 2 – 4 %- Medium sweet/Demi-sec 4 – 6 %- Sweet/Demi-doux 6 – 8 %- Sweeter/Doux Luscious-8 % upwards

Vintage champagne: This wine is made from grapes of single good year. The year will always appear on the label. These wins are well matured before being released for sale. Non-vintage champagne: This is a blend of wines from different years. The finest will have some vintage quality wine in the blend Pink Champagne: May be of vintage or non-vintage character. Classically made by leaving the black grape skins with the juice until it becomes pink in color. It can also be made by adding red wine, such as Bouzy, to white wine, before botling. Cremant: This is style of champagne which is semi-sparkling – having about 3½ atmospheres of pressure. It sometimes has a village name attached, for example Crement de Cramant The Small Print of The Label: Besides the more obvious descriptive information, the label will show in small letters at the bottom the type pf producer, followed by a matriculation number which is coded to each wine-maker. NM (Negicient-Manipulant): The term means merchant-handler and is associated with the great champagne houses who buy grapes from other sources besides their own. RM (Recoltant-Manipulant): This harvest-handler makes their own wine from their own grapes and sells the product usually under their own name. CM (Cooperative-Manipulant): The co-operative handler makes the wine from grapes or base wine obtained from all kinds of sources. MA(Marque Auxilaire): A brand name which can be associated with the producer who sells their wine under second label, either to facilitate a purchaser’s requirement or to distinguish the wine from their own main brand. Sometimes the letters RD appear on the label. They mean recemment degorge - recently disgorged. Those wines have been left upside down (sur pointes) in their bottles to mature, in correct with the yeasts deposits, for many years. This produces a fine, beautifully balanced wine, often of deluxe quality. They are usually released for sale after eight to ten years, sometimes longer. They are disgorged just prior to selling in order to maintain their vigorous brilliance.

Something more to come..........