Grower Champagne with French Bubbles
Maude Fierobe was our brilliant host for this virtual tasting, a passionate Champagne expert, who has been working in the industry for more than 15 years, owner of French Bubbles & Champagne + Fromage, with restaurants across London & now Bath.
It was an absolutely fascinating evening, where we had the opportunity to taste some glorious Champagne & unlock the mystery behind the bubbles. There are lots of upcoming dates, so treat yourself, or someone deserving, it’s brilliantly worthwhile for anyone who loves bubbles. I learnt so much during this tasting & I’ve tried to condense if for you here!
For future French Bubbles tastings, see our list of upcoming gatherings.
What is a Grower Champagne?
Not a Champagne that you learn to enjoy in time! A Grower Champagne is made by producers who make their own wines using grapes from their own vineyards.
Unlike a big House or brand, who buys in grapes from elsewhere, they produce a much smaller amount of bottles per year and have more of an artisan approach and a greater expression of their terroir.
Grower Champagnes are often lesser-known, big brands provide familiarity, and with Champagne not being cheap, most consumers are keen to know what they’re getting and go for the ‘safe’ big brand option.
How is Champagne made?
With the Traditional Method, or Méthode Champenoise, the bubbles are created through a second fermentation which takes place in the bottle, where carbonation happens naturally - as opposed to being carbonated in a tank (how Prosecco is made) - this gives the wines much more character & the bread/yeasty notes that you associate with Champagne.
Yeast and sugars (liqueur de tirage) are added to the bottle, which is stored facing downwards, allowing the dead yeast cells to collect in the neck of the bottle. When ready, the neck of the bottle is frozen and the dead yeast cells are removed - disgorgement. It’s then sealed and left to age.
The sweetness of a Champagne is determined by the dosage, amount of sugar in the liqueur d’expedition (a mix of sugar and wine), which is added just after disgorgement. This tops up the wine & helps to balance the acidity and add sweetness, depending on the style required.
Why is Champagne more expensive?
Champagne is generally more pricey than other wines because it takes time, is challenging to make and expensive to produce. For starters, the wine has to be aged for a minimum of 18 months to be classified as Champagne & 3 years for a Vintage Champagne.
Vintage Champagne must be from grapes harvested in a single year. Most Champagne is NV (non-vintage), meaning it is made of a blend of wines from different years, a winemaker must build at least a 6 year library of reserve wine and replicate that taste EVERY year - not an easy task!
Champagne is delicate & made almost like a perfume. For example, Pinot Noir, one of the three main grape varieties in Champagne production, must be picked and pressed within 2 hours to stop the tannins & colour becoming overwhelming.
What are the different areas of Champagne?
Champagne is split into four main regions: La Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des Blancs and Côte des Bars.
It is made up of 319 villages, 17 of these are Grand Cru (top sites) and 42 are Premier Cru (second best sites).
You need 1,400 hours of sunshine per year to make a wine & Champagne has just about enough, whilst crucially being able to maintain its acidity.
Due to climate change, and a similar terroir, England could succeed Champagne as the next best place to produce Champagne varietals! Maude’s tip for an English sparkler is Saffron Grange, made on the outskirts of Saffron Walden.
How can I tell if it’s a Grower Champagne?
Look for two letters (RM) on the label…
NM - Négociant Manipulant: (majority of Champagne) usually large Champagne houses who buy in grapes & wine to make under their own label
RM - Récoltant Manipulant: a grower who makes champagne out of their own grapes
CM - Coopérative-Manipulant: a group of growers blend their grapes collectively and make a Champagne under their own label
RC – Récoltant Co-opérateur: buys back wine from their co-op to sell under their own label
SR – Sociéte des Récoltants – growers share the same winery but make their own labels
ND – Negociant Distributeur – doesn’t produce the Champagne but sells it
MA – Marque d’ Acheteur – A brand that has been bought e.g. a retailer or restaurant own label.
What are the different styles of Champagne?
The main style of Champagne is a blend of 3 grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier. Blanc de Blancs is made from Chardonnay only & Blanc de Noirs is made from black grapes only.
We asked Maude to choose her favourite style and she explained that was ‘like picking your favourite child! It varies depending on the day and how the wine is showing’. I’m happy to confess that my favourite child is Blanc de Blancs.
There are also different levels of sweetness in Champagne. From sweet to dry, they are:
Doux - more than 50 grams of sugar per litre
Demi-sec - 32-50 grams of sugar per litre
Sec - 17-32 grams of sugar per litre
Brut - less than 12 grams of sugar per litre
Extra Brut - 0-6 grams of sugar per litre
Brut Nature / Pas Dosé / Dosage Zéro - contains zero dosage and less than 3 grams of sugar per litre.
Fun facts!
A glass of Champagne emits 30 bubbles every second
There are 49 million bubbles in a bottle of Champagne
The pressure in a Champagne bottles is 3 x the amount of that in an average car tyre
A Champagne cork can reach speeds of 40 mph - the furthest distance recorded was 54 metres (half a football pitch)
If you put a glass of Champagne to your ear, the bubbles in each one sound different!
The wines
Champagne Pertois-Moriset ‘Les Quatre Terroirs’ Blanc de Blancs, Grand Cru, Brut, NV
Côte des Blancs
100% Chardonnay
Fresh, toasty & creamy, white spice & bread & butter with a lovely minerality. This was my favourite Champagne of the three that we tasted.
£46.00 from French Bubbles
Champagne Michel Furdyna, La Réserve, Brut, NV
Côte des Bar
100% Pinot Noir
Made by a ‘master of Pinot Noir’ this comes from the Côte des Bar region which shares a similar terroir with Kent! Lovely fine bubbles with a gorgeous moussey texture. Creamy & salty with hints of quince.
£39.00 from French Bubbles
Champagne Lacroix, Cuvée Tradition, Brut, NV
Vallée de la Marne
70% Pinot Meunier / 15% Pinot Noir / 15% Chardonnay
More complexity due to the blend, where the Pinot Meunier adds a lovely fruity peachy character.
£35.00 from French Bubbles
