Vintage Champagne

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Champagne production is a fairly arcane art by any standards and the complexities of creating it ensure that even non-vintage champagne is never cheap. In fact most champagne is non-vintage and is normally made up of wines from several different years blended together by producers in a distinctive ‘house’ style. Non-vintage champagnes account for about 90% of sales and represent the most important sector of the champagne market.

Vintage champagnes on the other hand are made with the grapes from a single year and are only produced when the producers deem that a particular year has created wines of a good enough quality. They’re identifiable by the presence of this vintage date on the label. The most recent great vintages were 1996, 1990 and 1985. The great champagne houses also bottle their vintages in different cuvees, which can create additional confusion.

Cuvees are ‘premium’ or ‘luxury’ champagnes marketed as an even more exclusive option than a ‘regular’ vintage champagne. Cuvees such as Dom Perignon or Cristal are made from the wine drawn from the first pressing or ‘cuvee’ of the grapes (other champagnes might be blended with wines from second or third pressings and will be less pure).

There are also certain regulations governing the production of vintage champagnes. Apart from the obvious fact that vintage champagnes will only be made with the grapes from one particular year they must also be stored for a longer period. Normal champagne must be stored for fifteen months after the second fermentation (which normally takes place the spring following the vintage).

Vintage champagne must be stored for a minimum of three years. As the yeast breaks down it releases volatile vapours, amino acids and proteins that give the champagne its special aromas and flavours. Increasing the length of time you allow for this process will naturally add depth to the champagne and most producers leave the vintages for about eight years before they release them onto the market.

The final stage of processing when the liquer d’expedition or dosage is added to balance the acidity of the wine or give it the right degree of sweetness is also crucial. Because of all these different factors vintage champagnes can vary greatly and whilst you may love some you might not be so impressed by others; chacun a son gout.

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