Wine Notes: Champagne
I think enough time may now have passed for the festive, Champagne-induced hangovers to have worn off. Countless bottles of Veuve Cliquot, Moet et Chandon, Bollinger and Laurent-Perrier will have been knocked back by everyone from waitresses to bankers. Drinking a bottle of Champagne instead of Cava, for example, is a status symbol but what about the taste?
My favourite Champagne is not Moet et Chandon, I don’t like it at all. Nor is it Veuve Cliquot, famed for it’s orange label, although I do prefer it to Moet. Out of the big-name Champagnes I have always loved Perrier-Jouet’s Belle Epoque cuvee, being fortunate enough to try a few of the vintages, but over recent years I have discovered something a lot more exciting than these big brands… the Grower Champagne.
The term ‘negociant’ is used in France to describe vineyards which buy in a lot of their grapes from other growers in the region and many Champagne houses are negociants themselves. There is considerable demand for Champagne worldwide so by being a negociant, many of the big Champagne houses can meet demand for their well-known non-vintages without having to expand their vineyards. Depending on the Champagne house and the expertise of their winemakers, negotiants can produce Champagne ranging in quality from mediocre to exceptional.
Grower Champagnes, as you might guess by the name, are Champagne houses which grow all their own grapes. They may not be as consistent from vintage to vintage with the style of their Champagne but it’s the individual character of these vineyards which make their Champagnes so exciting. Fewer bottles are produced overall in comparison to most negociants and as the money goes into the quality of the product, rather than flashy advertising campaigns featuring Scarlett Johansson, you’ll generally find that prices are lower for a better quality product.
One Grower Champagne which I particularly enjoyed a couple of years ago was the 1999 vintage Blanc de Blancs by Pierre Gimonnet et Fils. Using only Chardonnay grapes from their Premier Cru vineyards, the Champagne was of exceptional quality; elegant and complex, with apple and pear fruit on a toasty palate, and a touch of honey. Just beautiful.
Other Grower Champagne houses to look out for are Philipponnat, whose 1522 cuvee from Grand Cru vineyards has been on my ‘to try’ list for some time; and Drappier, whose lovely Grand Rose I had a glass of at Christmas.
I should point out that many negociants will produce their top cuvees from grapes only grown in their own vineyards but the house name often pushes the price up. Also, in the above picture, there is fairly cheap Cava in the glasses rather than Champagne, just in case anyone was concerned about the size of the bubbles.
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