Interesting review of some of the best of the single vineyard champagnes including Krug, Philipponnat, Deutz, Billecart-Salmon and Champagne Lanson:
Interesting article – thanks for highlighting…
Marketing, baby, marketing!
Maybe so, but I`m not so sure. In other wine regions, sense of place and specificity of place has been shown to highlight various and distinct characteristics that can offer treasures different from blends. Vineyard designated wines have long provided unique qualities that can and do please discerning palates and yes, command a higher price tag in most cases. There are numerous examples outside of Champagne from Williams Selyem to DRC.
Ive long been a fan of Les Chetilons vineyard which is the source for Taittinger Comtes de Champagne as well as Pierre Peters designated top release. Clos des Goisses has provided many stellar champagnes for decades and to go inside this vineyard and source more distinct terroir related character is of interest to me and I look forward to sampling those qualities.
Yes, this can be viewed as a marketing strategy, but to offer more specificity from unique vineyard locale seems like a good move and one I welcome. I think of all of the different expressions I`ve had from Clos Vogeot which in some instances has been the difference from one row to another. Why should almost all champagne be a blend?
Having stated that, I marvel at the consistency many of the champagne houses maintain in their blends release after release. Here, I`m referencing mostly the Grande Marques.
Cheers
How much Comtes comes from Chetillons? Not a lot I don’t think.
Ive heard its mostly if not all, depending upon the vintage, but I`ll ask Brad for the answer.
Good read, thanks Blake!
Coincidentally, about a week ago I had a bottle of Philipponnat’s Le Leon 2006. I kept thinking that this reminds me of something. I then realized that that it seemed similar to Bollinger’s Special Cuvée. I like them both but a nearly 3 times the price for the Le Leon, I think I’ll go with the Bollinger.
Definitely not all, and I doubt mostly either. I once asked Pierre Emmanuel and his response was “some”.
They make 150-300k bottles right? Up to 500k. The vineyard ain’t that big!
It’s funny that Ulysse Collin is only mentioned in passing, since Olivier Collin is actually the largest producer of lieu-dit Champagne.
The idea that either Selosse or Collin produce ‘heavily oaked’ wines also suggests inexperience, or at least a lack of recent experience, with those wines.
Just had the 14 perrieres yesterday. Piercingly good champagne!
I’m surprised you felt that way. There’s quite a significant difference in pedigree (Le Léon comes from a grand cru lieu-dit in Ay), winemaking (Philiponnat is non-malo and only half of the cuvée ferments in barrel) and, to my palate, taste. About the only thing they have in common is Pinot Noir… But since I encouraged you to try it, I’m sorry you didn’t share my enthusiasm.
And the best is yet to come, believe me.
Olivier kept some 2011 vins clairs in foudre until last year that tasted like Raveneau Les Clos by the time he was done with them. Can’t wait to see how they are from bottle.
No regrets trying it and as I said I did like it. I just didn’t get anything particularly special with it. Perhaps that would be different with some bottle aging.
Ray, when I visited the house quite a few years ago, I faintly remember mention of older vintages having a good share of Les Chet. I certainly stand corrected and retract my statement as to “if not all” even from just thinking of the total allotment available vs. production. Im probably going to have to retract "mostly" as well, but Ill await Brad`s feedback for more accurate clarification.
Brad Baker responded to my inquiry: "Les Chétillons can make up 5-10% of the final Comtes blend depending on the year and I believe it is likely the biggest individual vineyard contributor to the final blend. It also really puts its stamp on the wine as it ages.
Comtes is sourced from across all of the Côte des Blancs Grand Crus (Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, and Oiry) and sometimes Pierry too. To be honest, Oiry is not often used, but like Pierry, it can be. There is a lot that goes into this wine and they make a lot of it too so they need plenty of vineyards."
So, obviously, I stand corrected not only as regards to the % inclusion of Les Chetillons, but also the spelling.
The general rule of thumb in Champagne is that 1ha of land = a max of 10,000 bottles of a quality wine. I don’t remember exactly how much Taittinger owns/sources from Chétillons, but I think it is 2-3 ha. This would give you the equivalent of 20-30,000 bottles in most years or around 5-10% of what they need for Comtes. Also, they don’t use all of their Chétillons for just Comtes BdB. It goes into other wines (like the Comtes Rose) as well depending on the year, the needs, the quality,etc…
It is possible in the past (pre-1990) that they had access to more Chétillons and production was lower so the percentage of Chétillons in the blend could have been higher in old vintages. Also, the Comtes Rose was a Saignée until the early 1980s so you didn’t have Chétillons going into that blend back then either.
Is that really the target? A yield of 75hl per Ha seems pretty high! Do you have any idea of the yield on top cuvées?
That is the normal yield on top cuvees in top vineyard locations. Well cared for top vineyards can handlle this no problem. Most of Champagne is higher than this. Of course it does depend on the year and the vineyard. A number of small producers are going to be closer to 55-60 hl/ha, but I’m not convinced that a lower yield in Champagne always leads to a better Champagne. A better still wine from Champagne, probably, but the bubbly stuff is a different animal. Heck, a lot of beautiful 2004s were made from vineyards that yielded well over 150 hl/ha.