I came to Champagne from Burgundy, and for a long time, in my hubris, I took a Burgundian perspective when approaching Champagne. I especially believed that one could understand Champagne by understanding the terroirs. My partner and I had the ambition to have a producer from every appellation, and we actually succeeded in doing so. We tasted a lot of young Champagne, and in my opinion, during this phase, it is best to feel the nuances of the soils. However, apart from this aspect, drinking young Champagne offers little joy.
In fact, the longer I am involved with Champagne, the less I believe in the relevance of terroirs. There are obviously better soils and sites, but I think it ultimately comes down to the producer and the work they do. Perhaps I am in a privileged position to be able to taste a lot of Champagnes, but this has led me to think and advise customers to find 4-6 producers whose style they like and are comfortable with the price. I taste so many Champagnes, yet there are so few that I truly wish to revisit.
Regarding the geography, anyone who has visited Burgundy will know how everything fits together as one drives from Dijon to Maranges, especially if they have done a little homework. The Champagne region, on the other hand, is massive. I would approach it like Germany. Break it into 8 or 10 regions and taste the regions from that standpoint rather than trying to understand it as a whole. Also, when visiting, if one has the time, try to explore one region at a time rather than trying to understand the whole region.
I usually find non-dosage too austere, though I haven’t had many aged ones.
Explore Champagne with food. Champagne works well with everything. Trying to understand dosage outside the context of food is challenging. If you say you don’t like high dosage, try a high dosage Champagne with a creamy morel sauce with poultry, veal, or fish. If you struggle with low dosage or non-dosage (ND), try it with a fresh goat’s cheese or a creamy Camembert. Meunier with soy sauce based cuisine, Rosé with cold roastbeef and horseradish. For me, the most enjoyable part of Champagne is pairing it with food. For me the universal best food pairing for any champagne is Kentucky fried chicken. I have hat it with Krug and Cristal and Egly but also with 30€ champagnes and in each case it works.
For me, the most important thing is to approach each new year with an open mind. The Champagne region is so dynamic and ever-changing.
If I were to give tips this year on producers, Brice from Bouzy and Bourgeois-Diaz are unbelievably good. In the Côtes de Blanc, you have high flyers like Vincey, La Rogerie, and Frere Mignon. It’s a bit like the tortoise and the hare. I feel the latter are exhausting themselves, while Pertois-Lebrun just goes from strength to strength.
