Champagne Champagnes can be very difficult to understand. The top twenty or so are the Grandes Marques, many of which have very well known names – Bollinger, Moet et Chandon, Veuve Clicquot etc. are examples. But they make such a variety of wines under those names – Prestige Cuvées Particular top quality wines made in small quantities that producers make their No. 1 product – examples such as Cristal, Dom Perignon and Belle Epoque.     Vintage 100% from a particular year.     Non Vintage Wines from various years blended to present a consistent style.     Brut The most popular dry style of champagne.     Rosé Made by leaving the skins of the two black grapes which are in most champagnes in contact with the wine.     Demi-Sec Sweeter than Brut and underrated.

What all these wines have in common along with any bottles with Champagne on the label is that they must be produced by the ‘methode champenoise’ from grapes grown in the delineated Champagne area around Reims and Epernay in North-East France. Briefly, the grapes are fermented en masse, sometimes in oak, then blended. Some Champagne houses may use 70 different base wines to create their non-vintage wine. The wine is bottled and sugar, selected yeasts and a filtering agent added. This promotes the secondary fermentation which may take months. The average bottle of champagne will end up with about 250 million bubbles in it. Only with champagne does the process called ‘remuage’ take place. This helps clarify the wine by turning the bottle upside down for eight weeks and removing the sediment by freezing the neck then topping up the bottle. Not the cheapest process ever invented.

WHY ARE SOME MARQUES GRANDES?
Literally Grande Marque means ‘Famous Brand’. Not surprisingly, the qualification tends to be based on history. There are about 300 Champagne houses and co-operatives marketing their wines mostly for the domestic market. The Champagne houses use their own vineyards but buy a considerable amount of extra grapes from small growers. There was an Association of Grandes Marques de Champagne but it was disbanded in 1997. The following houses are now considered Grandes Marques by most commentators:-

Billecart-Salmon Gratien Jacquesson Laurent Perrier Mumm Pommery Salon Vilmart

Bollinger Charles Heidsieck Krug Mercier Perrier-Jouet Roederer Taittinger

Gosset Piper Heidsieck Lanson Moet & Chandon Pol Roger Ruinart Veuve Clicquot

Twenty two only of the 300 making Champagnes of very different styles – some full and meaty, some light and elegant but all consistently very high quality.

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