Champagne Should Not Have To Be Decanted!

WINE TALK
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Champagne Should Not Have To Be Decanted!

  • 1. Agree
  • 2. Disagree
  • 3. Agree in principle, but can tolerate an occasional exception.

0 voters

Inspired by the current Collin thread.

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I never decant Champagne, and I never saw Collin, Bouchard, Selosse or any other grower decant Champagne either. Perhaps they do it when I’m not looking.

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I do think some very young Bouchard does benefit from a brief decant because it can be very nervy. I used to decant some Collin, I do not think the current releases need it.

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Greg and I have disagreed about this in other threads. I find that recent releases of Collin are much more forthcoming after a 60-90 minute decant.

Last week I was fortunate to drink ‘16 Enfers and Pierrieres twice at long tasting menu dinners where it was my only beverage (except for a glass or two of red wines to accompany courses), so I paid particular attention to how each evolved over several hours.

The wines were all at their best at the end of the evening, up to four hours after decanting, and they all were more open, richer, and better to my palate after 60-90 minutes.

Les Enfers didn’t fully open up and I preferred both bottles of Les Perrieres.

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I’d go way further and say I’ve come to think it’s a mistake not to decant many Champagnes that are tight (and not only super young or recent releases), UNLESS one has hours and sometimes 1-2 days to let them open up in the glass or bottle.

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For fans of decanting or long aeration in the glass, how does it work and what are you left with? I’ve found that after an hour or so, I’m basically left with flat wine. At that point, what is the point of drinking champagne other than enjoying leesy still wine? newhere

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But, but, but…… the bubbles!

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Have you done this with the bottles being open vs being decanted?

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Anselme did used to ‘suggest it’ on his price list though.

“Nos Champagnes s’exprimeront pleinement après un séjour minimal d’une année dans vos caves,
ou une ouverture de une à deux heures à l’avance ou après carafage. Tp° 10°-12°.“

I never bother.

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that’s pretty surprising. It shouldn’t be terribly different from a wine that’s been poured multiple times through the night.

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I never decant champagne, I appreciate the bubbles. Even the last glass out of a bottle loses something for me.

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Could you clarify your question? For some champagnes (including those like Collin, Bouchard, Larmandier-Bernier, other growers) there aren’t a ton of bubbles to begin with, so while decanting will allow more of the bubbles to dissipate, that’s not a big difference.

I do agree that if what you’re really looking for are the bubbles, decanting makes no sense. But the more you talk to growers the more they openly say that they’re trying to make “great wine rather than great champagne”, so I’m not surprised to see a bit fewer bubbles - it’s less important to them.

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13

Sorry to be pedantic, but, to confirm, “should not have to be” or “does not have to be” or “should never be”?

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Wait…Doesn’t Bouchard put his in a blender since he doesn’t like bubbles? [scratch.gif]

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The question is one I’ve had for many years and still I`ve not pulled the trigger and decanted any. One of my wine groups is about to embark on some decanting experiments and perhaps we add champagne to the project. It does make sense to me to do so for those big ones that are super tight early on; I’m thinking many of the 2008 vintage early releases, but I have not decanted any and still am questioning the potential benefits.

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I wouldn’t have thought it would make a difference to many 2008s where, to me, the issue is a lack of integration rather than “tightness” - the wines simply haven’t come together yet. I think 2008 Comtes and Cristal will eventually be great, but giving them air won’t make the various components whole. YMMV of course!

Personally the champagnes I have decanted in recent years have been either young Bouchards or super reductive bottles, like the occasional 04 Comtes. I think decanting works for some things but not others. It’s a bit like people (not directed at you Blake!) posting about oak “blowing off” after a wine is open long enough, which confuses me to no end. But to each their own.

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I think this is a really good and interesting point deserving of its own thread - the difference between tight and not-yet-integrated. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. It’s one of the reasons I shake my head at the automatic assumption that long decants will help all young wines.

Anyway…I don’t decant champagne, but I do often observe it improving with air over the course of drinking a bottle.

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Yes, but not side by side. Yet. Also, my standard approach to young, vinous Champagnes at home (where I’m the only drinker) is to pour out a glass, recork, and drink the bottle the next day or two. I find that they are better the next day(s) after opening.

I wonder about pouring half a bottle into a decanter and comparing the two halves over an evening. Perhaps I will do so as an ‘experiment’.

Edit: I agree with Sarah’s point and Greg’s that aeration is not a substitute in any manner for aging Champagne that is youthfully unintegrated. I also agree with Greg that Collin’s wines are ready to drink on release, but they are much better to my taste after decanting when they are young.

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Actually, I think you got my point. As implied, I am new to Champagne (a year or two), so bubbles seem to be a significant part of the experience. And in reading the Champagne thread, the quality of the mousse is frequently referenced. That said, I have often found that the last glass of the bottle tastes the best, but that it is almost a still wine, so I see that as an “unfortunate” trade off. I have heard the grower comment you reference before and also that some are producing at lower atmospheres (sic?). That would suggest to me that there would be a significant move towards making Coteaux Champenois. Or does the very process of making Champagne (as opposed to the grapes and terroir) create a different wine even when it has gone flat (i.e. leesy still wine)?

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I haven’t noticed any really issue with bubbles dissipating with a careful slow decant. (I don’t recommend shaking). I find the lost bubble concern to be overblown for my palate but recognize others may have a different experience. It’s worked well for Bouchard sure but also young Vilmart, young Roederer, young and old Peters, ….

On the correct observation that decanting won’t prematurely age a Champagne or integrate an entirely disjointed wine (one that is not merely tight): while true, once the top is popped, the distinctions don’t matter practically except in how to treat, or leave be, the next bottle. Decanting will either help or won’t. In any case I see only upside personally for bottles that might be tight or might be just disjointed/not ready. Again we are talking bottles that appear to be tight on opening even if they are really just not ready, not every bottle of young Champagne.

I also don’t usually do it if I’m at home. If there’s a Champagne that needs air there after trying a glass, I’ll just put a stopper on the bottle after pouring and stick it in the fridge for a day or two.

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