No dosage champagne

[M. Taylor]

We spent a couple of days in Champagne recently. Tried a no dosage at Ployez Jacquemart and really liked it. It was the first we had tried.

We live in Austin, and apart from one producer at Total Wine I haven’t been able to find any no dosage champagne. Is it really that limited in the states?

[ChrisM]

Talk to Robert Panzer. He’s a board member and sells Ployez amongst others. It’s my house wine, we love it, we also stayed there for part of the honeymoon.

Edited per the request of others...

[Ian S]

No dosage? Does that mean it's available over-the-counter without a prescription?

[Eric Sch]

Everybody likes something different, though I (and my drinking crew) are all in line with you - no or very low dosage is our preference for Champagne.

I think you'll find some really good ideas in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=141238

The OP of that thread FMIII is of a similar mind, and you'll find lots of good chatter about wines that fit your palate, and some pretty good ideas about where you might get them.

Disclaimer: We accept no blame for what happens after you start reading there - for many of us there is no space left in our storage, but a big hole in the wallet where the money once was.

[alan weinberg]

lots of love here for Ployez-Jacquemart. We had a great visit there in 2018 and I love the wines and the d’Harbonville.

[Chris Seiber]

lots of love here for Ployez-Jacquemart. We had a great visit there in 2018 and I love the wines and the d’Harbonville.

I had a lovely 1999 d’Harbonville recently, excellent wine.

Back to the OP, I think Champagne producers are finding ways to get the grapes ripe enough that dosage is needed less, or sometimes not at all. Some of them are the fruitless enamel scrapers that the name conjures, but more of them seem pretty mainstream tasting these days.

[Scott Jameson]

No longer relevant ...

[Frederico L e e]

lots of love here for Ployez-Jacquemart. We had a great visit there in 2018 and I love the wines and the d’Harbonville.

I had only tried their Extra Brut Rosè and liked it a lot. Any others of their lineup that you'd recommend?

[chetkern]

Rootstock Wines in Austin I’m sure has a few that they sell locally in Austin. They are importer/wholesalers.
Larmandier Bernier Terre de Vertus if you like Chardonnay is brilliant is a great non dose Champagne I have been buying since the 2008’s.

[alan weinberg]

lots of love here for Ployez-Jacquemart. We had a great visit there in 2018 and I love the wines and the d’Harbonville.

I had only tried their Extra Brut Rosè and liked it a lot. Any others of their lineup that you'd recommend?

Ive liked all I try—08 is super, as is the NV rosé.

[alan weinberg]

lots of love here for Ployez-Jacquemart. We had a great visit there in 2018 and I love the wines and the d’Harbonville.

I had only tried their Extra Brut Rosè and liked it a lot. Any others of their lineup that you'd recommend?

I’ve liked all I have tried—08 is super, as is the NV rosé.

[james l moleberg]

Jacky Blot Domaine de la Taille Aux Loups "Triple Zero" - fantastic stuff for around $30/bottle

[Dan Kravitz]

commercial post:

I import Champagne from a medium-sized Estate Bottler. His wines are available in (from memory) about 20 states. His normal dosage is at the lower level of Brut, normally 0.7% (seven grams/litre). For orders as low as one case (from a distributor, we are obliged to sell through the 3-tier system) he will do custom-dosage. I know a number of retailers, some of whom take orders from consumers, who request zero dosage, or other numbers. One store orders five cases a year at 0.3% (3 grams/litre), more stores order Brut Zero, a few order 0.5% (5 grams/litre). He does this for the basic NV wines as well as vintage. This fall he will release his 2008s. This is a grower with excellent press. Interested members can PM or e-mail me if interested.

I try not to do commercial posts, but this is a subject that a lot of people find of interest. I rarely drink Brut Zero (only for really good producers, and usually with a lot of age), but 0.5% is my sweet spot.

Dan Kravitz

[Warren Taranow]

commercial post:

I import Champagne from a medium-sized Estate Bottler. His wines are available in (from memory) about 20 states. His normal dosage is at the lower level of Brut, normally 0.7% (seven grams/litre). For orders as low as one case (from a distributor, we are obliged to sell through the 3-tier system) he will do custom-dosage. I know a number of retailers, some of whom take orders from consumers, who request zero dosage, or other numbers. One store orders five cases a year at 0.3% (3 grams/litre), more stores order Brut Zero, a few order 0.5% (5 grams/litre). He does this for the basic NV wines as well as vintage. This fall he will release his 2008s. This is a grower with excellent press. Interested members can PM or e-mail me if interested.

I try not to do commercial posts, but this is a subject that a lot of people find of interest. I rarely drink Brut Zero (only for really good producers, and usually with a lot of age), but 0.5% is my sweet spot.

Dan Kravitz

That could make an interesting side-by-side tasting, especially if followed over several years.

[Neal.Mollen]

commercial post:

I import Champagne from a medium-sized Estate Bottler. His wines are available in (from memory) about 20 states. His normal dosage is at the lower level of Brut, normally 0.7% (seven grams/litre). For orders as low as one case (from a distributor, we are obliged to sell through the 3-tier system) he will do custom-dosage. I know a number of retailers, some of whom take orders from consumers, who request zero dosage, or other numbers. One store orders five cases a year at 0.3% (3 grams/litre), more stores order Brut Zero, a few order 0.5% (5 grams/litre). He does this for the basic NV wines as well as vintage. This fall he will release his 2008s. This is a grower with excellent press. Interested members can PM or e-mail me if interested.

I try not to do commercial posts, but this is a subject that a lot of people find of interest. I rarely drink Brut Zero (only for really good producers, and usually with a lot of age), but 0.5% is my sweet spot.

Dan Kravitz

Interesting Dan. Have you had the reg dosage along side a no-dosage version? If so, what do you think?

[Keith A k e r s]

Hi Mark,

I don’t know what is carried in Austin, but, for low dosage producers, be sure to check out:

Georges Laval
Benoit Marguet
Cedric Bouchard


Just to start. There are tons out there and a lot of small producers are using low to no dosage these days.

[William Gladstone]

Perhaps Champagne Drappier (whom we import and represent for 20 years) is considered a leader of Zero Dosage Champagne,
as well as an approach to low dosage through-out their range.

The Brut Nature is the blanc and there is a Rosé version, obviously I am prejudice, however my experience is those who try it are as well.

[K John Joseph]

We spent a couple of days in Champagne recently. Tried a no dosage at Ployez Jacquemart and really liked it. It was the first we had tried.

We live in Austin, and apart from one producer at Total Wine I haven’t been able to find any no dosage champagne. Is it really that limited in the states?

You can find Roederer's Philippe Stark No Dosage at Specs and Goody Goody. Try it and see how you like it. Marie Courtin also makes a no dosage that you should try to find. No dosage is not typically my favorite, but Frank Murray III can probably provide some guidance on another bunch of good options.

[Frank Murray III]

JJK, we're aligned on these wines it would seem, too.

For me, Marie-Courtin is making the best no dose stuff I have tasted. The 2014 Eloquence bottling is my current WOTY and I plan to try it 1-2 more times again before year end. Really profound stuff for me. I enjoy Marguet, which like Marie-Courtin, exhibits no signature for me of anything screechy or out of balance. The fruit and balance is superb. These are the producers I recommend. I have not drank enough Bouchard to comment, and have had some Laval, which I don't find to be anywhere as good.

[Russ Williams]

Bouchard Val Vilaine is my favorite no dosage.

[M. Taylor]

Thanks all