Developed by clergymen in the 17th century, the production of champagne has evolved over time but the original principles have actually changed very little. This is what makes this sparkling wine so unique, a blend of tradition, complexity, alchemy and human inspiration. The story of an exceptional wine.
It all starts with the harvest
It most often takes place in September but can vary from August to October. It is the maturity of the grapes that sets the tone. You should know that in Champagne the harvest is done exclusively by hand. Once harvested, the grapes are pressed, vintage by vintage, grape variety by grape variety. This step is already essential and it is better for the quality of the champagne to come to favor a long and gentle pressing than a short and violent press.
The grape juice is then bottled and placed in vats and left to ferment for about fifteen days at a temperature of around 18°. This is where the process of transforming sugar into alcohol begins. It is in fact from this first stage that the yeasts contained in the grapes and the sugar will transform into carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Assemble, man at the heart of the choices
Man takes over in the work of nature because it is he who will assemble the different vintages to balance as precisely as possible and even sublimate what nature has not managed to offer. This is how he will assemble vintages with different characteristics or grape varieties (such as Pinot Meunier for example) with complementary personalities. We will find vintages, grapes that are the fruit of an exceptional year and that we keep as they are. We can also find a single grape variety (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier or a vintage from a single terroir).
Drawing and foaming
From January 1st of the year following the harvest, a liqueur called tirage composed of sugar, yeast, and a riddling aid can be added to this champagne wine. The bottles are recorked and placed to rest again in cellars at a constant temperature of 12°. Their resting time is at least 15 months until the tirage but can go up to 10 years for vintages. On average, the bottles remain between 2 and 3 years.
It is after all this time that the stirring takes place….
After this time, the wine will have deposits that formed during the fermentation. The traditional hand-riddling will gradually bring them to the neck of the bottle where they will be eliminated during disgorging. In the meantime, the bottles are moved regularly, going from the lying position to the upside-down position.
Time for disgorging
This deposit, now concentrated at the neck of the bottle, can be evacuated by mechanical disgorging, which consists of plunging the neck into a solution at -27°, thus forming an ice cube that traps the deposits. When opened, the internal pressure ejects the ice cube and the sediment with it. Next comes the dosage stage: a liqueur d'expédition (mixture of reserve wine and cane sugar) is added to the champagne. This will determine the type of wine that we want to obtain, from the least sweet (Extra brut) to the sweetest (Doux) via the intermediate Demi-sec.
The wine is then corked and "wrist-wrist" (shaken again) before being placed back in the cellar for a new resting time of varying length. It will then be shipped to the four corners of the world where it will be tasted around English or Chinese tables.
