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cyn-et-vin news | "all about champagne"
This volume explores:
- Dosage: otherwise known as the final amount of sugar added to
determine a champagne's style.
- Beyond Brut: other styles of champagne.
- More on The Third Grape: follow up to Vol. 2 on still Pinot Meunier.
Oh, that brut! It’s everywhere. Most consumers ask for “brut” champagne like it’s a brand or an indicator of quality. But, what does brut mean, anyway?
Well, this most popular of champagne style accounts for more than 90% of total champagne production. The word “brut” means “raw” in French and indicates a relatively dry wine -
relatively being the operative word! Brut is the standard level of sugar — it accounts for up to 15 grams of sugar per liter — that
most people expect from a champagne. A popular example of a brut would be the oh-so-famous Yellow Label by Veuve Clicquot. Get the idea?
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1. Dosage: The majority of champagne have sugar added; dosage measures the amount. But dosage is not just about adding sweetness.
Sugar also balances out the high acidity in champagne. Think about it this way: if you are adding sugar to a neutral liquid like water,
the more sugar you add, the sweeter the water becomes. In the case of champagne, you’re adding sugar to a highly acidic wine.
So wines with the same level of dosage may taste vastly different from one another because the base wines they started with
were quite different. Complicated? Perhaps, but what an adventure to taste, and savor bruts of all colors and stripes.
2. Beyond Brut: Consumers’ palates are changing, demanding ever drier styles and leading to new champagnes from major houses such as Pol Roger’s zero dosage Pure Brut to grower producers focusing on the extra brut style such as
Tarlant.
A really well-made extra brut (a favorite of yours truly), is made from very ripe grapes, so there is enough material and weight to balance the wine’s high acidity. It’s all about balance!
So, you ask, would that mean then that demi-sec champagnes (once popular in the 19th and early 20th century) which can have up to 50 grams of sugar per liter might not actually taste cloyingly sweet? Exactement! The acidity helps to give the wine some verve. Instead of having demi-secs with dessert, which I find cancels the sweetness of both things out, I’d recommend cheese with your demi-sec, if you have a sweet-and-savory tooth. Or, demi-sec alone “as” dessert.
Live differently! Try other sweetness levels like extra brut and demi-sec.
Some delectable non-brut champagnes include:
Zero dosage:
(0 grams of sugar/liter)
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Larmandier-Bernier Terre de Vertus Non-dosé (Astor, $56)
Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut (Sherry-Lehmann, $65)
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Extra Brut:
(up to 6 grams of sugar/liter)
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Ulysse Colin (Martin Brothers, $70)
Jacquesson Cuvée 733 (Sherry-Lehmann, $50)
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Demi-sec:
(up to 50 grams of sugar/liter)
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Billecart-Salmon Demi-sec (Astor, $56)
Veuve Clicquot Demi-sec (Beacon Wine & Spirits, $50)
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3. More on The Third Grape: For those of you who can’t get enough of the 100% Pinot Meunier still wines that I covered in Vol. 2, I have sourced more from California, Germany and France. Two favorites here:
- 2006 Reynald Héaulé “L’Insoumis du Village” Loire, France (Astor, $30). Earthy and makes me think of Cab Franc from the region. Hearty!
- 2006 De La Montanya Pinot Meunier Russian River, Sonoma, California (Direct from the winery, $34). Spicy. Reminds me of a peppery simple Burgundy Pinot, but the fruitier expression gives away its California origin.
Correction: “Côteaux champenois” should be “coteaux champenois.” A reader pointed out that the word côteaux never has an accent on the “o” when referring to an appellation. He said we should ask the Académie française why! Thanks, Todd Wernstrom.
About cyn-et-vin:
Let me help you find your definitive “hook” to stand out in the champagne market. My specialty: a creative edge, customizing extra-ordinary, vivacious events to present your bubbly in a different light.
Contact me: thia@cynetvin.com
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