How to learn Champagne

I got Liem’s book, pored over it. Have opened literally dozens of bottles past 6 months. No closer to understanding champagne than I was. I get Bordeaux. I get Burgundy. I do not get champagne. There are big houses making bubbly from dozens of areas, other guys making single vineyard bubblies, many different styles. I don’t get it yet. Don’t understand the geography, the winemaking. Need help.

I know what I like but that’s by trial and error.

1 Like

Just pretend that you know all about it.

3 Likes

Alan,

When in doubt, buy more.

1 Like

Alan,

I feel your frustration. I too am wandering through the forest of New Champagne with the helpful guidance of a couple of people who are on here (hi Eric, Keith and Beau!) and hopefully will chime in, but let me see if I can help untangle a couple of things. First, don’t feel frustrated! The biggest question is - what do you want out of Champagne? If it’s Burgundy with bubbles… you can have that but it’s going to be expensive. If it’s learning about the terroir, that’s a lot easier than it used to be.

Imagine if 95% of Burgundy you had access to was just labelled “Burgundy” and was blends of various villages etc… you wouldn’t feel too bad about not being able to tell Gevrey from Morey St. Denis from Beaune much less Les St. Georges from Vaucrains from Roncieres! That’s where Champagne was maybe 30 years ago - think Krug vs Moet vs Taittinger. People spoke of house styles and not much else. But imagine you were used to drinking “Burgundy” and someone handed you a bottle of Meo Camuzet’s Clos Vougeot… it might be hard to understand, but you’d probably know the wine was trying to say something.

Then there was a phase where producers became known for their villages and people became excited to know the different ratings of the echelle system. Suddenly ou could buy Champagne so that you could tell the difference between Oger and Cramant and Les Mesnil-sur-Oger, or at least between Ambonnay and Verzenay. The former Theise book was dedicated to this project - people like Pierre Peters and Vilmart and Gimmonet. Now the conversation started to be about terroir, at least on a larger scale.

Today, it’s weird. There’s some fantastic wine coming out of the Aube - a place more akin to Chablis than big house Champagne. Cedric Bouchard, Olivier Lassaigne and Piollot come to mind. People are doing great things with Pinot Meunier, which I was always taught (back in the early 2000s) was a blending grape - the Champenois equivalent of Merlot. There are people like Georges Laval, Laherte Freres, Coussens, Mousse Fils, Lilbert, and Paul Launois who are starting to dig into cadastral maps and put out single vineyard Champagnes. Minor grapes like Petit Meslier or Arbanne are showing what they can do when they’re treated well. It’s a brave new world out there, and while prices on some producers are accelerating quickly (hi Selosse, Ulysses Collin, Cedric Bouchard), you can still find really cool stuff for under $100, and generally around $50.

The other thing you might find appealing is that Champagne is becoming more gastronomic - dosage levels are down significantly, and while thery’re not a great indicator of how serious a producer is, good growers pick ripe fruit and can use less dosage in their wines.

I have the following things coming when the weather cools down:

Laherte Freres “Autrefois” “Crayeres” and “Beaudieres” (which is a rose), rose of Pinot Meunier
Lilbert Extra Brut and Perle
Coussens Rose
Cossy Rose, VV and L’Instant Blanc de Blanc

All these are between $50 and $90 and are pretty available. I hope that people more knowledgeable than I can chime in here, but also that this helps a bit.

Thanks,

Zachary

18 Likes

Although a little bit dated now, Breaking Bubbles is an excellent review of the grower champagne movement

EDIT: As Chis Rickey correctly pointed out, it is in fact entitled “Bursting Bubbles” by Robert Walters.

1 Like

Sounds like a good reason to visit Champagne!

+1 Definitely worth a read, the historical introduction is very thoughtful, too.

Drop me a direct message and I can send you a couple of articles that might be instructive.

2 Likes

Would love to get in on those articles if you you don’t mind me butting in. :slight_smile:

+1

Lilbert is going to release a single vineyard wine?

Is it Bursting Bubbles?

I also like Peter Liem’s book, but your first stop should be Yoko’s whimsical primer.
You can have them both for under the cost of most bottles.
My best resource may be the “What Champagne Are You Drinking” thread.
I’d love to see what William Kelley recommends.
Cheers,
Warren

1 Like

I also thought the TV show was called Bursting Bad as well……

It was a real question. I couldn’t find a book called Breaking Bubbles, but that might just have meant I’m not good with the internet.

Alan, I agree with John. You gotta fly to Paris, train/car to the region, lodge, appointments…it takes effort and forethought. But for me, and the trips now (two) I have taken, you can accomplish the sensory pieces that you simply cannot get from reading content or tasting notes. To see the Cote de Blancs, its position relative to the Aube, or the forest line of the Montagne, or the Marne and its position in context to the Coteaux Sud d’Epernay. It really hits home if you can see it. And if you can get there, and do the driving plus the visits to meet winemakers and ask questions, then you get the other piece you want.

You’ve done great work to lay the foundation with the reading and bottles you have opened…fill in the picture with a visit now if you can make it work.

been twice.

Third time’s the charm?

1 Like

Well,

What are you looking/wanting “to get” about champagne? I think that’s the first question that you need to ask yourself. It could be that your focus has been too wide and you just need to narrow it down.

You’ve been twice and whatever it is hasn’t “clicked” yet for you. It’s clear you’re investing time and emotion into it. But, what if you don’t really need it to click? I think for all of us, there are regions that we enjoy and drink but maybe it doesn’t resonate with us on an intellectual level like others do. And that’s completely okay!

2 Likes

Alan, so like what Keith says, what would it look like if you were to ‘get it’? You’ve been twice, but when was that last trip? Was it pre-COVID? Would another trip incrementally (or significantly) ramp your appreciation and knowledge of the area and who is there, why they do it? You’ve done a lot of hard lifting recently with bottles opened and reading you have undertaken here so maybe a 3rd trip catalyzes all of that work into something that you ‘get’. Or with Burgundy or Bdx, what does ‘getting’ it look like for those areas and what would it take for you to align Champagne with those two areas?

My trip this past May pushed me further along, in part because of the hard work I had done (like you) since the last time. I was receptive and able to take in more, to plug more of the pieces together and advance how I ‘get’ it.

Maybe I am overthinking it for you. Yet, you made a post, inserted time and thought to how it wasn’t making sense so some of us are trying to just help.

Oops, my mistake there - as far as I know they have holdings in Cramant, Chouilly, and Oiry and make three wines: a NV, a wine they call Perle bottled under lower pressure, and a vintage wine from Cramant (which is mostly from a vineyard called Buissons).

Thanks,

Zachary