About the Champagne wine region
Champagne is a sparkling wine made from grapes coming from the Champagne region in north-central France. Producers must follow rules requiring the secondary fermentation of the wine in bottle to create the bubbly carbonation. Champagne is a blending of base wines which, ideally, create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. These “base” wines come from an assortment of wines—the Chardonnay white grape and Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier for red—from various villages and vineyards.
Two areas in the Champagne region are thought to be best for their superior grapes: the Montagne de Reims, which is perfectly located for producing the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier red grapes, and the Côte des Blancs, whose soils of limestone and chalk are excellent for Chardonnay. The Vallee de la Marne, which lies in a thin band along most of the region and is home to both red and white grapes, is the biggest area other than the Aube district, which lies further to the south.
Each decade, there are only four out of five harvests in the tough climate northeast of Paris that generate the needed ingredients to produce complete and balanced Champagne, vintage-designated, wines. They are, by definition, wines made entirely during the year indicated on the label. Because of this, most Champagnes also blend juice from two and more vintages.
This act of blending vintages is the means Champagnes producers employ to maintain their “house style” and provide their customers with a dependable, and consistent, product. With non-vintage wine accounting for about four out of five bottles of all Champagne produced, it makes sense that the status of most major houses depends on the quality and uniformity of their non-vintage offerings. Lucky for the Champagne-enthusiast, non-vintage bottles are often just as good as their vintage counterparts—and considerably less expensive.
Decanter World Wine Awards 2020. Citrus-infused, peachy and creamy characters on the nose with some autolytic nuttiness. Rich, savoury and multidimensional palate brimful of raspberry, white chocolate, coffee, and...
Decanter World Wine Awards 2020. Melon, peach and toast bouquet. Superbly fresh palate with an elegant texture, mouthwatering acidity and confit lemon, dark chocolate and bitter orange flavours.
Aromas of crips orchard fruit, pear and apricot, mingled with hints of fresh bread and pastry, introduce the latest release of Gosset's NV Brut Grande Réserve, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy but incisive wine that's...
A beautifully bright and expressive Champagne, with precision and vivid acidity throughout; roasted coffee bean and graphite notes lead to a rich palate of toasted brioche, crystallized honey, bergamot and crème de...
A pretty Blanc de Blancs with aromas of white grapefruit, lemon pith, dried honeysuckle and white peach. Silky and creamy with bright acidity and an elegant finish. Drink now.
A very fine-textured Champagne with lovely density and finesse. The bubbles roll off the palate. Full body. Extremely creamy and flavorful. Shows wonderful finesse and a lovely, chalky, lemon-curd and brioche aftertaste...
Like a stallion out of the gate, this shows an initial explosion of power, in the form of mouthwatering flavors and fine texture, before quickly settling into an elegant gait. The racy acidity is seamlessly knit, buoying...
Decanter World Wine Awards 2020. Lovely smoky brioche intensity on the nose. In the mouth it begins with cream, moving on to lemon meringue, then opens up further to lively acidity. Very complex, intense and...
Baked cherry and strawberry fruit flavors are ripe and juicy in this bright rosé, underscored by minerally smoke and chalk accents. Hints of candied orange peel, dried thyme and ground ginger play on the fruit range and...
The latest rendition of Delamotte's NV Brut Blanc de Blancs is drinking very well out of the gates, offering up aromas of crisp orchard fruit and citrus zest mingled with hints of fresh bread and wet stones. Medium to...
A firm, fresh Comtes with a tight and composed palate. It’s full-bodied with a racy mid-palate. Long and persistent. Very structured with phenolics and acidity. Minerally. Floral, too. Refreshing and energetic. September...
This vintage of the iconic brand, with its flowery Belle Epoque bottle, is ready to be popped. The high dosage has transformed into mature toastiness, while ripe white fruits still give freshness. ROGER VOSS
94+ Disgorged in January 2020, the 2014 Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Terre de Vertus is a fine follow-up to the excellent 2013 and 2012 renditions. Unwinding in the glass with scents of white flowers, citrus...
A dense Champagne with a tight and linear structure. Compressed and very pretty. Hints of nuts and cream with some pie crust. Some nougat, too. Very long and flavorful. It’s one for a meal. One third of pinot meunier...
While still young, this Champagne has all the makings of greatness. Produced from grand cru vineyards, it already balances ripe white fruits with a firm structure that will age well. It's relatively dry and has plenty of...
Aromas of cooked apple, bread dough and lemon tart follow through to a full body with round, delicious fruit and a rich, flavorful finish. Yet, it remains tight and fine with lovely, compressed bubbles. New energy and...
A first whiff of lemon zest immediately sets the tone. More air and swirling then reveals a backdrop of chalk but also the enticing, cloudlike zestiness of lemon meringue pie. The palate comes in on very light feet – on...
(98+ points) The 2008 Champagne Rare Rosé is straight-up sensational. Only the second time they’ve produced this cuvée, it offers a deep, full-bodied, powerful yet chiseled and laser-focused style carrying loads of wild...
Revisited from the June 2019 disgorgment, Larmandier-Bernier's 2011 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant continues to drink superbly, bursting from the glass with aromas of pear, peach, toasted...
A core of mineral-accented smoke, spice and honey notes is wrapped with flavors of glazed apricot, lemon preserves and candied ginger in this vibrant and well-balanced version. Creamy, with a lasting finish. Drink now...
This producer's location and vineyards on the Montagne de Reims mean it is very much a Pinot Noir house. Full and concentrated, this Champagne sums up the richness possible from the grape. It is dry, textured and ready to...
Sleek and finely-knit, with firm acidity and a chalky underpinning married to a lovely range of steeped raspberry, wild strawberry and dried fig fruit flavors. Hints of salted almond, blood orange zest and smoke play on...
Pale in color, but rich in texture and fruit, this wonderfully mature rosé is structured from 70% Pinot Noir in the blend. There is a nutty character to the wine that springs from the wine's richness and the mellifluous...
What a magnificent bouquet for this Dom Pérignon 2012! Pastry, a hint of smoke and autolytic notes provide a compelling counterpart to eager yet elegant aromas of citrus (lime, tangerine and kumquat) joined by those of...
Remarkable depth of mature aromas - tons of candied lemon peel, dried pear and brioche - plus wonderful textural richness on the palate make this stand out amongst the regular Brut NVs. Then comes the intense and very...
This creamy Champagne is fragrant with baking spice, vanilla and graphite aromatics, accenting flavors of baked apricot, white cherry and green almond. Citrusy acidity cleans the finish. Disgorged January 2021. Drink now...
The current bottle of Delamotte non-vintage Brut in the market has a cépages of fifty-five percent chardonnay, thirty-five percent pinot noir and ten percent pinot meunier. It offers up a refined bouquet of apple chalky...
Disgorged in April 2018, the 2016 Extra-Brut Grains de Celles Rosé is showing beautifully, wafting from the glass with aromas of red berries, pear and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied, with a pretty core of...
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