Blog posts tagged with 'champagne making process'

No wine is more suitable for a celebration than an exclusive champagne. The tradition of drinking champagne during special occasions dates back to 1789 when royal courts richly poured champagne. Today, we love to pop a bottle as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve or when celebrating a birthday or an important professional achievement. We have selected four Champagne Houses that are respected worldwide for their history, vision, and high-quality champagne: Krug, Louis Roederer, Bollinger, and the relatively young house of Jacques Selosse. It is always our pleasure when we can add one of their champagnes to our collection. The House of Krug The History of Krug The house of Krug was founded in 1843 by Joseph Krug, a visionary who broke with convention to pursue his dream. He worked at Jacquesson, the leading Champagne House of that time, for almost twenty years and even became a partner. At age 42, when most men in his position would be close to retiring, he decided to create a great champagne year after year, regardless of variations in climate. For three years, he and wine merchant Hippolyte de Vivès worked in secret, testing new blends. In 1843, he founded the House of Krug & Compagnie. Joseph Krug was convinced that terroir was crucial and that tasting wines separately plot by plot was essential to make the right selection. To combat climate variations, he began to build a reserve of wines, each made from a separate plot to preserve its unique character. This way, he could compose the perfect mix each year, regardless of the weather or harvest conditions. His passion and methodology have been passed down through generations. The house of Krug is now run by the sixth generation, led by Olivier Krug, who keeps Joseph Krug's legacy alive. The Making of Krug Champagne The Champagne House is mainly based in Reims, the capital city of the Champagne region. They own 30% of their vineyards, while the rest of the grapes are sourced from long-term contract growers. They use Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes in their champagne. The individual selection of each plot is pressed and stored separately in wooden casks, smaller than tanks. They remain in the casks for several weeks before being moved to small stainless-steel vats between December and January. Wines not used for that year’s assemblage are stored in the House’s library of 150 reserve wines, later used in a Krug Grand Cuvée or Krug Rosé. After bottling, the champagne is aged in the House’s cellars for years before being released onto the market. The house produces five champagnes: Krug Grand Cuvée, Krug Rosé, Krug Vintage, Krug Clos du Mesnil, and Krug Clos d’Ambonnay. A Closer Look at Krug Clos du Mesnil In 1971, Krug bought six hectares of vines around the renowned Chardonnay village of Mesnil-sur-Oger, including a walled vineyard of 1.85 acres in the heart of the village. This plot enjoys a microclimate that gives the grapes their unique character. This inspired the family to devote - for the first time - a champagne to a single plot. Krug Clos du Mesnil 1979 was the first in line and was presented in 1986. Krug Clos du Mesnil is made from Chardonnay grapes only and from one single year. The champagne is kept in the House’s wine cellars for over a decade before being launched onto the market. The House of Louis Roederer The History of Louis Roederer Louis Roederer inherited the Champagne House in 1833 and decided he wanted to master every stage of wine creation. He bought some Grand Cru vineyards, which was unusual as other Champagne Houses bought their grapes. Louis Roederer believed that the combination of soil, passion for tradition, and vision made a champagne truly great. In 1870, they began to export their champagne to the United States and Russia. Today, the Louis Roederer House is an independent, family-owned company. The house and Louis Roederer’s vision are in the good hands of the seventh generation, led by Frédéric Rouzaud. The Making of Louis Roederer Champagne The Champagne House owns 240 hectares with 410 parcels in three classic Champagne districts: the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne, and the Côte des Blancs. Only one-third of the grapes are bought from long-term contract growers. They use Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes in their champagne. The house is also the largest biodynamic estate in the Champagne region. The grapes are collected in buckets and pressed in Louis Roederer’s own press-houses. Afterwards, the musts are stored in small stainless steel tanks or oak vats for fermentation, preserving the character of each plot up to the blending stage. During winter, they taste the wines and decide which ones to use immediately and which to put aside for future Brut Premier champagne. The house produces seven champagnes: the multi-vintages Brut Premier and Carte Blanche, the vintages Vintage, Rosé Vintage, and Blanc de Blanc Vintage, and the Cuvée de Prestige champagnes Cristal and Cristal Rosé. A Closer Look at Louis Roederer Cristal The first Louis Roederer Cristal was created in 1876 to satisfy Tsar Alexander II, who asked the house to reserve the best cuvée for him every year. The champagne was called Cristal because the bottle was made of transparent lead-crystal glass with a flat bottom. Louis Roederer Cristal is made of 40% Chardonnay and 60% Pinot Noir grapes. It is aged in the house’s cellars for 6 years and left there for a further eight months after disgorgement. This champagne can be conserved for over twenty years and still taste fresh and balanced. The House of Bollinger The History of Bollinger The story of Bollinger starts in 1829 when Athanase de Villermont, Joseph Bollinger, and Paul Renaudin founded Renaudin-Bollinger & Cie. Almost a decade later, Joseph Bollinger married Athanase’s daughter. Their sons, Joseph and Georges, later took over the company and extended its vineyards. In 1920, Georges’ son Jacques was only 24 years old when he inherited the company. Together with his cousins and wife, known as ‘Madame Jacques,’ he pulled the company through the difficult years of recession and the Second World War. For decades, the company was led by an inheritor of Joseph Bollinger. But in 2008, for the first time in history, the family appointed a chairman who was not a family member. Today, the house is led by Jérôme Philipon with the full support of the family. The Making of Bollinger Champagne The Champagne House owns 170 hectares, of which 85% are planted with Grand Cru and Premier Cru vines, spread over seven main vineyards. Aÿ, Avenay, Tauxières, Louvois, and Verzenay are planted with Pinot Noir, Cuis with Chardonnay, and Champvoisy with Pinot Meunier. The house Bollinger produces the majority of its grapes and has strict guidelines on how the vines should be managed. From the moment the harvest is over, they taste the different wines to understand the specific characters of each plot. Only the finest wines are vinified in old oak casks. The wines are aged in barrels, some of which are nearly 100 years old. When not in use, the barrels are filled, dried, and mended according to traditional methods. Wines not used for that year’s vintage are saved for Grand Crus and Premier Crus reserve wines. These wines are bottled in magnums and aged for five to fifteen years. Bollinger has more than 750,000 magnums, saved cru by cru, year by year. This reserve wine system is unique in Champagne and contributes to the style of the Special Cuvée. The house produces five champagnes: the multi-vintage Special Cuvée and the vintages Grande Année, R.D., Vieille Vignes Françaises, and Coteaux Champenois La Côte aux Enfants. The House of Jacques Selosse The History of Jacques Selosse The house of Jacques Selosse has the youngest history of the four Champagne Houses discussed in this blog. The company was founded in 1949 in Avize, at the heart of the Côte des Blancs area. When Jacques’ son Anselme Selosse took over the company in 1980, he decided to ban chemicals from the land and focus on biodynamic winemaking. This resulted in healthy soils and expressive tasting notes. He was also one of the first winemakers to apply the winemaking techniques of white Burgundy to Champagne, inspiring many young winegrowers. In 1994, Gault-Millau named him France’s best winemaker in every category. The Making of Jacques Selosse Champagne All the grapes used to produce their champagne are grown in vineyards owned by the house Jacques Selosse. They use Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes and have plots in Avize, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil, Ay, Mareuil-sur-Ay, and Ambonnay. The vines are pruned rigorously to keep production low. All grapes are vinified separately in small Burgundian barrels brought in from Domaine Leflaive. After the harvest in June, the wines are fermented in oak barrels while most Champagne Houses use stainless steel tanks. The young wines are regularly stirred up to mix the yeast and sediment with the wine. A year later, the champagne is bottled and placed in the house’s cellars to age for a couple of years before being launched. The house produces six champagnes: Substance, Contraste, Millésime, Brut Initial, Version Originale, and Rosé. Discover our current collection of champagnes by Krug, Louis Roederer, Bollinger, and Jacques Selosse and surprise your guests with the most exclusive bubbles of all.